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While older women are treated for falls more often than elderly males, men are more likely to sustain skull fractures when they topple over, new research suggests. This is a serious concern because more than 3 million people aged 65 and older are treated in U.S. emergency departments each year for falls. “The high incidence of head injury and subsequent skull fractures due to falls is a cause for concern as our aging population continues living active lifestyles,” study co-author Dr. Scott Alter, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Florida Atlantic University College of Medicine, said in a university news release. Head trauma is the leading cause of serious injury, and skull fractures are a serious head trauma outcome, the study authors noted. About 58% of these falls happen to women, according to the 2016 National Trauma Database annual report. To study this further, Alter and his colleagues evaluated all patients seen with head trauma at two level-one trauma centers in southeast Florida. The researchers examined skull fractures due to acute trauma, comparing them by gender, patient race/ethnicity and how the injury happened. About 56% of the more than 5,400 patients were women. About 85% of the head injuries sustained happened in falls. The women and men had a mean age of about 83 and 81 years, respectively. Men had a significantly increased incidence… read on > read on >

(HealthDay News) – U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will remain hospitalized with a concussion after suffering a fall during a dinner on Wednesday night. “Leader McConnell tripped at a dinner event Wednesday evening and has been admitted to the hospital and is being treated for a concussion,” McConnell’s communications director David Popp said in a statement released Thursday, NBC News reported. “He is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days of observation and treatment. The Leader is grateful to the medical professionals for their care and to his colleagues for their warm wishes.” When the 81-year-old, who is the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in history, might return to the Senate after his injury is unclear, according to the New York Times. Democrats have a slim 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate and have recently needed Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes on some judicial nominations as some Democrats have been absent. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.), 53, is working remotely during treatment for depression and unable to vote because he is not physically present. Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), 89, is also out, after being hospitalized with shingles. McConnell was previously injured in 2019, having surgery after fracturing his shoulder on a patio at his home in Louisville, the Times reported. He was last re-elected as minority leader in 2022.… read on > read on >

New U.S. federal regulations will require mammography facilities to tell women if they have dense breasts, a description of how the tissue looks on the X-ray. It can be more difficult to detect cancer in dense breast tissue on a mammogram. Having dense breasts is also a risk factor for developing breast cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration update amends regulations issued under the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) of 1992 (MQSA). “Today’s action represents the agency’s broader commitment to support innovation to prevent, detect and treat cancer,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hilary Marston. “Since 1992, the FDA has worked to ensure patients have access to quality mammography,” she said in an FDA news release. “The impact of the Mammography Quality Standards Act on public health has been significant, including a steep decrease in the number of facilities that do not meet quality standards. This means that more women have access to consistent, quality mammography. We remain committed to advancing efforts to improve the health of women and strengthen the fight against breast cancer.” The update also strengthens the FDA’s oversight and enforcement of facilities and helps doctors better categorize and assess mammograms. The original act was designed to ensure quality mammography, an important tool for early breast cancer detection. About half of U.S. women over 40 have dense breast tissue. The amendments… read on > read on >

New moms who live on tree-lined streets may be somewhat less vulnerable to postpartum depression, according to a new study — the latest to link “green space” to better mental health. The study, of medical records from more than 415,000 new mothers, found that those living in urban areas with more tree coverage had a lower risk of being diagnosed with postpartum depression, versus women from less-green neighborhoods. The link was not explained by factors like household income, or mothers’ race or education level. Experts said the findings do not prove that living among trees lowers the likelihood of postpartum depression. But they do add to a body of research suggesting that having green space within sight is a boon for people’s mental well-being. The study also points to one reason: physical activity. It’s a lot easier to go out for a walk when you live in a tree-lined neighborhood, with its built-in shade and better air quality. And for new mothers, that may be especially important, said senior researcher Jun Wu, a professor at the University of California, Irvine. They have little time and are likely exhausted, Wu said, and getting to the park, especially if they have to drive, might be out of the question. Stepping outside into the fresh air and shade is much more doable, she suggested. Kathleen Wolf is a… read on > read on >

Tossing and turning, waking up frequently or lying awake for hours is no laughing matter. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average adult should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Why? The Cleveland Clinic explains that lack of sleep can lead to: impaired memory relationship stress decreased quality of life increased risk of a car accident Chronic lack of sleep, or insomnia, can also lead to serious health issues including: high blood pressure diabetes cardiac issues obesity So, if you are asking yourself why can’t I sleep, here are some tips on getting better shut-eye: Try sleep restriction therapy According to Dr. Sanjeev Kothare of Northwell Medical in New Hyde Park, N.Y., “insomnia from an unknown cause or underlying anxiety or depression” is one of the more common sleep disorders. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says that approximately 35% of adults experience insomnia at some point. One potential solution is sleep restriction therapy. The basis for this therapy is that time spent in bed and not sleeping can increase anxiety and worsen insomnia. For example: If you usually go to bed for seven hours but only sleep for five hours, then you would limit your time in bed to five hours. Once your sleep improves, slowly increase your time in bed by 15 to 30 minute increments. Initially, sleep… read on > read on >

Elderly adults who eat plenty of leafy green vegetables, fish and other healthy fare may take years off their “brain age,” a new study suggests. Researchers found that seniors with either of two healthy eating patterns — the Mediterranean and MIND diets — showed fewer brain “plaques,” abnormal protein clumps that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, people with the highest Mediterranean or MIND scores had brains that were up to 18 years younger than their counterparts with more of a burger-and-fries diet. Experts said the findings do not prove that spinach and fish will ward off dementia. But they do add to a growing body of evidence linking healthy eating to slower brain aging. Lead researcher Puja Agarwal called the results “exciting,” because they suggest that even a simple dietary change could make a substantial difference. Based on the findings, older people who eat, say, a cup of leafy greens a day could have a brain that’s four years younger, versus their peers who shun the likes of kale and spinach. The study, published March 8 in Neurology, builds on past research into diet and dementia. Both the Mediterranean and MIND diets have already been linked to slower mental decline and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers said in background notes. Now the new findings connect the diets to fewer… read on > read on >

Ongoing shortages of a medication that hospitals and emergency rooms rely upon to treat breathing problems are likely to worsen in coming days and weeks, experts warn. That’s because one of the two major U.S. suppliers of liquid albuterol, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, abruptly laid off its entire workforce and closed plants in New Jersey, New York and Illinois in late February. “We’re down to just one plant that’s supplying liquid albuterol to all patients in the United States,” said Dr. Juanita Mora, a Chicago allergist/immunologist and volunteer spokesperson for the American Lung Association. That remaining supplier of liquid albuterol, Nephron Pharmaceuticals, has had manufacturing issues of its own, exacerbating the situation even more, said Bayli Larson, a strategic initiatives associate with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). “Another phenomenon that could be at play is institutions, anticipating the shortage, may have increased their orders to ensure they had enough on hand,” Larson added. “ASHP discourages hoarding as a countermeasure to medication supply disruptions; however, some institutions feel they have to do it to avoid jeopardizing patient care.” The shortage comes at an extremely inopportune time, Mora said. “We are about to enter allergic asthma season, where pollen levels are going to begin to rise all throughout the United States,” Mora said. “And we know so many kids and adults suffer from allergic asthma symptoms and… read on > read on >

Troubling new research finds that rates of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are continuing to increase in children and young adults. Asian or Pacific Islander, Black and Hispanic children had higher rates, the study found. “Our research suggests a growing population of young adults with diabetes who are at risk of developing complications from the disease,” said lead researcher Lynne Wagenknecht, a professor and director of public health sciences at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. “It’s a troubling trend in young people whose health care needs will exceed those of their peers,” she said in a university news release. The findings are from the final report of the large SEARCH For Diabetes in Youth study, launched in 2000 with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Wake Forest School of Medicine was coordinating center for the study, which included five U.S. medical centers. It identified more than 18,000 young people age 19 and under who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 5,200 10- to 19-year-old diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 2002 and 2018. The annual incidence of type 1 diabetes was 22.2 per 100,000 in 2017-2018 and 17.9 per 100,000 for type 2 diabetes. “In our 17-year analysis, we found that the incidence of type 1 diabetes increased by 2% per… read on > read on >

Side effects from a COVID-19 vaccination might have made you feel poorly for a day or two, but that may have come with an extra benefit. A new study of health care workers finds a link between stronger side effects and a longer-lasting vaccine. In addition, those who had a COVID-19 infection prior to their vaccination also had a more powerful immune response, according to researchers from UConn Health in Farmington. “Prior infection with COVID meant you were more likely to have a sustained immune response. It definitely set your immune system to respond in a more vigorous way to the vaccination,” study co-author Dr. Kevin Dieckhaus said in a university news release. He’s chief of infectious diseases at UConn School of Medicine. To study this, researchers recruited 296 nurses, doctor and other hospital workers. That included 46 who had already been infected with COVID. Participants were vaccinated with either the Pfizer or the Moderna mRNA vaccines. The study had originally included health care workers vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, but not enough chose that option to make the results statistically significant. The health care workers had their blood tested for neutralizing antibodies at two months post-vaccination, then at five months and again at nine months. These neutralizing antibodies attack the parts of the virus important for infection, the study noted, while other antibodies… read on > read on >

In yet another example of the mind-body connection, people with depression symptoms may face an increased risk of having a stroke, as well as a worse recovery afterwards. A new international study, published online March 8 in the journal Neurology, found about 18% of those who had a stroke had symptoms of depression, compared to 14% of those who did not have a stroke. After adjusting for other contributing factors, researchers determined that people with symptoms of depression before stroke had an overall 46% increased risk of stroke compared to those with no symptoms of depression. As the symptoms increased, so did the higher risk of stroke. “Depression affects people around the world and can have a wide range of impacts across a person’s life,” said study author Dr. Robert Murphy, of the University of Galway in Ireland. “Our study provides a broad picture of depression and its link to risk of stroke by looking at a number of factors including participants’ symptoms, life choices and antidepressant use,” Murphy said in a journal news release. “Our results show depressive symptoms were linked to increased stroke risk and the risk was similar across different age groups and around the world.” The researchers used data from more than 26,000 adults in the INTERSTROKE study, which included 32 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Falls Can Be More Dangerous for Older Men Than for Women

Mitch McConnell in Hospital With Concussion After Tripping at Washington Hotel

Mammogram Centers Must Notify Patients of Breast Density, FDA Says

Could Walks in the Park Ward Off Postpartum Depression?

Why Can’t I Sleep? What Can I Do About It?

Two Healthy Diets May Reduce Brain ‘Plaques’ Tied to Alzheimer’s Risk

Pharmacies, Hospitals Facing Shortage of Asthma Drug Albuterol

Diabetes Rates Keep Rising Among Young Americans

Strong Side Effects From Your COVID Shot? That Could Be a Good Thing

Depression Ups Odds for a Stroke