Urban residents are exposed to high noise levels that can disturb their sleep, said researchers, and if that happens enough there can be serious consequences. (peasap/Flickr Creative Commons)
Think your doctor is as healthy as she or he tells you to be? Think again. Doctors tend to overeat, gain too much weight and eat the wrong foods just like many of their patients do – often thanks to the food provided at their place of work, says the Los Angeles Times. Now three groups of researchers are calling for that to end, saying physicians ought to "take a lead in demanding healthier food be more available."
Folks who find it hard to sleep at night because of a noisy environment – think any highly urbanized area in Los Angeles County – will likely agree with the World Health Organization's recent recognition of environmental noise as a type of harmful pollution. In a study appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that urban residents are exposed to high noise levels that can disturb their sleep, and if that happens often enough, there can be serious health consequences.
Kids of immigrants to the U.S. may have an academic advantage over kids of U.S.-born parents, says a new study. According to HealthDay, the study's lead author says children of immigrations "are actually at an advantage on some key early adult outcomes" compared to the children of native-born parents.
New medical research challenges the notion that folks with asthma need to take their medicine every day. ABCNews.com reports that after testing several groups of asthma patients, researchers found that "less may be the same," which could mean some major cost benefits to people who have the condition and don't have to buy medication as often. But if you have asthma, talk to your doctor and get her or his approval before changing your medication schedule.
Other headlines of note:
– Once prescription drugs go over-the-counter, says HealthDay, their advertisements are much less likely to talk about the potential harms and side-effects.
– Also from HealthDay: Three types of screenings intended to find whether breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body have been found to be fairly ineffective, spotting only a small portion of tumors that had done so.
– And for you fish oil fans, USA Today has the news that taking fish oil pills to stave off heart attacks, stroke or death doesn't seem to work. It doesn't hurt to take them – it just may not have the effect you were hoping for.
Photo by peasap via Flickr Creative Commons.
