News by Subject Social & Behavior

Older individuals with diabetes impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had a 40% higher one-month mortality rate than those who lived in unaffected counties and a 6% increase ten years later.

Patients with type 2 diabetes who were in poor health were more likely to continue taking insulin after age 75 than their counterparts in better health, according to Kaiser Permanente research published today in JAMA Internal Medicine. As people with type 2 diabetes age, the risks of insulin use can outweigh its benefits, creating the need for increased provider and patient education.

A new study of men and women with hypersexual disorder has revealed a possible role of the hormone oxytocin, according to results published in the journal Epigenetics. The finding could potentially open the door to treating the disorder by engineering a way to suppress its activity.

Unauthorized immigrants who receive liver transplants in the United States have comparable three-year survival rates to US citizens, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco. Yet access to life-saving organs for this population varies widely by state, in part due to a medical misperception that undocumented migrants face a higher risk of transplant failure.

Storytelling that educates and entertains -- aka 'edutainment' -- is a powerful communications tool that can lead to positive health-related changes among multicultural millennials, according to a new marketing study from Baylor University.

To best serve the clinical needs of individuals with MS, neuropsychological testing needs to be viewed in larger context comprising non-cognitive variables, such as motor ability and demographic values, fatigue and depression, and disease activity and level of disability, as well as person-specific factors such as personality and coping styles. 'It's important to note that other types of assessments used to evaluate individuals with MS need to be subjected to the same standards for validity as neuropsychological assessments,' said Dr. Weber.

Predicting heart disease might also be a warning sign for Alzheimer's; A new way to think about the environment and Alzheimer's research; Most dementia patients don't receive care from physicians who specialize in brain health.

Disparities in rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV between Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino adolescents and their white counterparts are well documented. Culturally and developmentally appropriate efforts targeted to help these youth establish healthy practices to lower their risk of sexually transmitted infections are warranted. However, such interventions present unique challenges in recruiting and retaining research participants.