Archive for 2016

Swipe Right to Connect Young People to H.I.V. Testing – The New York Times

Read article – In an opinion piece in the NYT’s Well blog, Tim Lahey, associate professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, writes about about new technology being made available to young people to improve access to H.I.V. testing. This technology includes free phone apps that harness GPS technology to locate nearby H.I.V. testing facilities. “They need evidence-based sex education, supportive parenting and better access to the H.I.V. testing information that could save their lives,” says Lahey.

Babies who eat rice cereal have higher arsenic levels: study – CBS News

Read article – Coverage of study led by Margaret Karagas, chair and professor of epidemiology and professor of community and family medicine, which found that babies fed with rice cereals and other rice-based food products are likely to have higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic in their urine compared with babies who are not. The study appeared in JAMA Pediatrics.

Officials Wary of Zika’s Threat to NH – New Hampshire Union Leader

Read article – Cites comments by Elizabeth Talbot, associate professor of medicine, who participated in a roundtable discussion on Friday with some of the state’s top health experts to discuss the Zika virus and assess the level of risk to New Hampshire residents. Talbot traveled to West Africa in late 2014 to help protect humanitarian workers battling the Ebola epidemic, and said like Ebola, fears of the Zika virus affect the overall sense of safety even in areas where the disease is not present.

Sleep Aids Carry an Array of Risks, Including Next-Day Hangover Effects – The Boston Globe

Read article – Lisa Schwartz, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, is quoted about her work with Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs on investigating the benefits and harms of sleeping pills. “But those benefits aren’t as great as many people assume, and the drugs have important harms,” says Schwartz.

Life Expectancy Drops For White Women, Increases For Black Men – NPR

Read article – Ellen Meara, professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, is quoted about a report recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, that found that white women are dying at a slightly younger age than they used to, and that the average life expectancy for non-Hispanic black men increased by about a half year. “There are people for whom life expectancy is falling—and that’s happening at a time where everywhere else and for every other group we’re seeing all these amazing gains in survival,” Meara says.