Pediatricians can better help parents prevent peanut allergies if they are provided support that helps them follow national guidelines, a new study says. Doctors were more likely to recommend early introduction of peanut-containing foods into the diets of infants if they had educational and clinical support, researchers reported Oct. 6 in the journal Pediatrics. These docs were three times more likely to follow the guidelines for kids at high risk for peanut allergy and 14 times more likely for low-risk kids, the study found. “We found that supporting pediatricians with training, electronic health record prompts, and educational materials for parents significantly improved their ability to counsel families on early peanut introduction,” said lead researcher Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician and researcher at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “Because pediatric visits at four and six months are so busy, this support is critical to ensure families receive clear guidance,” Gupta added in a news release. “Our hope is that these conversations will help parents feel confident introducing peanut products early. We want to reverse the trend of increasing food allergies in the U.S. through prevention.” Guidelines recommend early introduction of peanut-containing foods for all infants, but a 2022 survey found that only 26% of pediatricians are following these recommendations, researchers said in background notes. To improve allergy care, researchers developed the Intervention…  read on >  read on >

Pediatricians can better help parents prevent peanut allergies if they are provided support that helps them follow national guidelines, a new study says. Doctors were more likely to recommend early introduction of peanut-containing foods into the diets of infants if they had educational and clinical support, researchers reported Oct. 6 in the journal Pediatrics. These docs were three times more likely to follow the guidelines for kids at high risk for peanut allergy and 14 times more likely for low-risk kids, the study found. “We found that supporting pediatricians with training, electronic health record prompts, and educational materials for parents significantly improved their ability to counsel families on early peanut introduction,” said lead researcher Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician and researcher at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “Because pediatric visits at four and six months are so busy, this support is critical to ensure families receive clear guidance,” Gupta added in a news release. “Our hope is that these conversations will help parents feel confident introducing peanut products early. We want to reverse the trend of increasing food allergies in the U.S. through prevention.” Guidelines recommend early introduction of peanut-containing foods for all infants, but a 2022 survey found that only 26% of pediatricians are following these recommendations, researchers said in background notes. To improve allergy care, researchers developed the Intervention…  read on >  read on >

A recently approved injectable drug can significantly stall deteriorating health among people newly diagnosed with the most severe form of high blood pressure, a new study says. Sotatercept reduced patient’s risk of deterioration by 76% due to pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the heart-to-lung system, researchers reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Patients treated with sotarecept within the first year after diagnosis proved more likely to maintain their exercise regimen, ward off worsening symptoms and avoid unplanned hospitalizations, results showed. “These results are incredibly promising for patients early in their journey with pulmonary arterial hypertension, which still has limited treatment options,” lead researcher Dr. Vallerie McLaughlin, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at University of Michigan Medical School, said in a news release. In fact, the clinical trial concluded early because results were so positive the research team felt they couldn’t ethically continue to allow randomly selected patients to keep taking placebo. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sotatercept in March 2024 for treatment of pulmonary hypertension, according to the drug’s maker Merck. The drug is sold under the brand name Winrevair. A biologic drug, sotatercept works by targeting proteins called activins. Elevated activin signaling can lead to thicker arteries in the lungs, which in turn makes the heart work harder to pump blood through them, researchers explained. For…  read on >  read on >

A recently approved injectable drug can significantly stall deteriorating health among people newly diagnosed with the most severe form of high blood pressure, a new study says. Sotatercept reduced patient’s risk of deterioration by 76% due to pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the heart-to-lung system, researchers reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Patients treated with sotarecept within the first year after diagnosis proved more likely to maintain their exercise regimen, ward off worsening symptoms and avoid unplanned hospitalizations, results showed. “These results are incredibly promising for patients early in their journey with pulmonary arterial hypertension, which still has limited treatment options,” lead researcher Dr. Vallerie McLaughlin, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at University of Michigan Medical School, said in a news release. In fact, the clinical trial concluded early because results were so positive the research team felt they couldn’t ethically continue to allow randomly selected patients to keep taking placebo. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sotatercept in March 2024 for treatment of pulmonary hypertension, according to the drug’s maker Merck. The drug is sold under the brand name Winrevair. A biologic drug, sotatercept works by targeting proteins called activins. Elevated activin signaling can lead to thicker arteries in the lungs, which in turn makes the heart work harder to pump blood through them, researchers explained. For…  read on >  read on >

Universal free meal programs appear to improve kids’ heart health, a new study says. The proportion of students with high blood pressure fell by nearly 11% over five years among schools that signed up for free meal programs, researchers recently reported in JAMA Network Open. The better nutrition kids get from these free meals at school likely helped drive this improvement, along with healthy eating’s subsequent effects on children’s body weight, researchers said. “Adoption of free meals is associated with decreases in average body mass index [BMI] scores and childhood obesity prevalence, which are closely linked to risk of high blood pressure,” said senior researcher Jessica Jones-Smith, a professor of health, society and behavior at the University of California Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. “So in addition to directly affecting blood pressure through provision of healthier meals, a second pathway by which providing universal free meals might impact blood pressure is through their impact on lowering risk for high BMI,” she said in a news release. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. Unfortunately, cuts to food assistance programs are threatening this access to free school meals, researchers noted. “We’re in a contentious time for public health, but it seems like there’s bipartisan support for healthy school meals,” said lead investigator Anna Localio, a postdoctoral…  read on >  read on >

Universal free meal programs appear to improve kids’ heart health, a new study says. The proportion of students with high blood pressure fell by nearly 11% over five years among schools that signed up for free meal programs, researchers recently reported in JAMA Network Open. The better nutrition kids get from these free meals at school likely helped drive this improvement, along with healthy eating’s subsequent effects on children’s body weight, researchers said. “Adoption of free meals is associated with decreases in average body mass index [BMI] scores and childhood obesity prevalence, which are closely linked to risk of high blood pressure,” said senior researcher Jessica Jones-Smith, a professor of health, society and behavior at the University of California Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. “So in addition to directly affecting blood pressure through provision of healthier meals, a second pathway by which providing universal free meals might impact blood pressure is through their impact on lowering risk for high BMI,” she said in a news release. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. Unfortunately, cuts to food assistance programs are threatening this access to free school meals, researchers noted. “We’re in a contentious time for public health, but it seems like there’s bipartisan support for healthy school meals,” said lead investigator Anna Localio, a postdoctoral…  read on >  read on >

Immigrants come to the United States hale and healthy, but that doesn’t last long, a new study says. Immigrants’ heart disease risk increases the longer they live in the U.S., according to research scheduled for presentation today at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Dubai. Living in America takes its toll on immigrants’ blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other risk factors for heart disease, researchers found. “We see that as immigrants are exposed to U.S. dietary and lifestyle habits for prolonged periods of time, it has a negative effect on their heart health,” researcher Krishna Moparthi, a medical student at the John F. Kennedy University School of Medicine in Curaçao, said in a news release. For the new study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 16,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2016. Participants were sorted by whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad, and then, by how long they’d lived here — more or less than 15 years. In all, 86% of U.S.-born adults versus 80% of foreign-born adults had at least one risk factor for heart disease, the study found. Compared to U.S.-born adults, immigrants living in America for less than 15 years had lower rates of high blood pressure (38% versus 49%); high cholesterol (28% versus 30%); and smoking (13% versus 20%).…  read on >  read on >

Immigrants come to the United States hale and healthy, but that doesn’t last long, a new study says. Immigrants’ heart disease risk increases the longer they live in the U.S., according to research scheduled for presentation today at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Dubai. Living in America takes its toll on immigrants’ blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other risk factors for heart disease, researchers found. “We see that as immigrants are exposed to U.S. dietary and lifestyle habits for prolonged periods of time, it has a negative effect on their heart health,” researcher Krishna Moparthi, a medical student at the John F. Kennedy University School of Medicine in Curaçao, said in a news release. For the new study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 16,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2016. Participants were sorted by whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad, and then, by how long they’d lived here — more or less than 15 years. In all, 86% of U.S.-born adults versus 80% of foreign-born adults had at least one risk factor for heart disease, the study found. Compared to U.S.-born adults, immigrants living in America for less than 15 years had lower rates of high blood pressure (38% versus 49%); high cholesterol (28% versus 30%); and smoking (13% versus 20%).…  read on >  read on >

Experts praise the commitment as a significant response to consumer desire for cleaner ingredient lists  read on >

New research suggests that older adults, particularly Generation X women, have high rates of addiction to ultra-processed foods, such as fast food, sugary drinks and packaged snacks. These products — made with high levels of fat, salt and sugar to maximize their appeal — appear to be catching up with the very first generation, now in their 50s and early 60s, to consume them widely since childhood. The research, published Sept. 29 in the journal Addiction, found that 21% of women and 10% of men in Gen X and the last wave of Baby Boomers, met the criteria for ultra-processed food addiction.  (Boomers are folks born between 1946 and 1964, while Gen X spans 1965 to 1980.) This is substantially higher than among 65- to 80-year-olds, where rates drop to 12% for women and 4% for men, the University of Michigan researchers reported. Their study used a modified version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale, a tool based on criteria used to diagnose substance use disorders. It assesses experiences like intense cravings, repeated attempts to quit and withdrawal symptoms when highly-rewarding ultra-processed foods are the “substance.” Lead author Lucy Loch, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Michigan, noted the significance of studying this age group. “Today’s older adults were in a key developmental period when our nation’s food environment changed,” she said…  read on >  read on >