FOCUS: THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
Daily aspirin has 'no effect' on healthy life span in older people
September 19th, 2018 Daily low-dose aspirin in healthy older adults without previous cardiovascular events did not prolong healthy, independent living (life free of dementia or persistent physical disability), according to the large ASPREE clinical trial. Risk of dying...
Dairy consumption linked to lower rates of CVD and mortality
September 19th, 2018 Dairy consumption of around three servings per day is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality, compared to lower levels of consumption, according to a study led by a team of McMaster University researchers. The...
IARC report shows rising global toll of cancer
September 19th, 2018 One in five men and one in six women around the world develop cancer during their lifetime. The Guardian reports that this is according to the latest figures from the from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which found that one...WEEKLY ROUNDUP
SA health market inquiry final report delayed yet again
The Competition Commission’s long-running health market inquiry has announced yet another delay in the release of its final report, saying it wants... September 19th, 2018Discovery: Capetonians the fittest, Bloem trails in last
Cape Town is the fittest city according to Discovery, and the people also drive better. According to a Health-e News report, for exercise levels,... September 19th, 2018Tower Hospital psychiatrist won't appeal Ombud's findings
Psychiatrist Dr Kiran Sukeri‚ who the Health Ombudsman accused of making false claims of ill-treatment of patients at the Tower Psychiatric... September 19th, 2018SA Heart and Stroke Foundation removes its logo from refined grains
The Heart and Stroke Foundation SA (HSFSA) regularly reviews the criteria for its Heart Mark endorsement programme, which is part of an ongoing... September 19th, 2018Eastern Cape Health paid out unbudgeted R260m in 2017/18 lawsuits
The Eastern Cape Health and Education Departments are facing hundreds of lawsuits‚ with Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle admitting last week... September 19th, 2018World hunger growing — WHO State of Food Security and Nutrition report
New evidence continues to signal that the number of hungry people in the world is growing, reaching 821m in 2017 or one in every nine people,... September 19th, 2018More affordable SA health 'imperative' in SA — Afrocentric
Black-owned health-care group Afrocentric says that more affordable health-care models have become "an imperative" given that consumers are under... September 19th, 2018Fort Hare's Alice campus clinic languishes without medication
The campus clinic at the University of Fort Hare in Alice has received no medicines since the end of April this year, the dispensary is nearly bare,... September 19th, 2018400 Health Department employees protest over building safety
Around 400 national Health Department employees, who work at a building in Pretoria, staged a protest last week to demand that they be moved for... September 19th, 2018Two dead as plague season starts in Madagascar
An outbreak of plague in Madagascar has killed two people, a health official said, marking the official start of the season when the disease is... September 19th, 2018EC Health scraps planned mental health facility as 'too expensive'
The Eastern Cape Health Department has quietly scraped a multi-million-rand mental health facility, earmarked for Dora Nginza Hospital. But, says the... September 19th, 2018Smoking, drinking, obesity and anti-vaxxers put Europe at risk — WHO report
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) flagship publication, the European Health Report 2018, welcomes an increase in life expectancy and... September 19th, 2018Trauma cases strain EC's Livingstone Hospital to the limit
You may have to lie in a Livingstone Hospital bed for an entire month before a surgeon operates on your broken ankle. The Herald reports that that is... September 19th, 2018Tips on medication adherence in HIV/AIDS
Infectious Disease Advisor has tips on improving medication adherence in HIV patients. Patients with HIV are living longer thanks to advances in... September 19th, 2018CARDIOVASCULAR
Lifestyle changes help reduce hypertension risk
Men and women with high blood pressure significantly reduced the need for anti-hypertensive medications within 16 weeks after making diet and exercise changes, according to a small study presented at the American Heart Association's Joint... September 19th, 2018Home BP monitoring signifcantly improves hypertension control, cuts costs
Home blood pressure monitoring improved hypertension control and saved substantially on medical costs, according to results of a pilot initiative presented at the American Heart Association's Joint Hypertension 2018 Scientific Sessions.
American...
September 19th, 2018
Dangerously high BP spikes more prevalent in black adults
Black US adults experience a hypertensive crisis, at a rate that is five times the national average, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Joint Hypertension 2018 Scientific Sessions, an annual conference focused on... September 19th, 2018ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Sooty air pollution particles reaching the placenta
Previous research has indicated links between pregnant mothers’ exposure to air pollution and premature birth, low birth weight, infant mortality and childhood respiratory problems. Now a study, presented at the European Respiratory Society... September 19th, 2018HIV/AIDS
Symptom screen less likely to detect active TB in people on ART
The four-symptom screen for active tuberculosis (TB) that is recommended for all people living with HIV in lower-income settings is less likely to detect active TB in people taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) and may be improved by the additional... September 19th, 2018Innovative delivery implant for long-term PrEP administration
A nanochannel delivery implant (NDI) can deliver pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) antiretroviral (ARV) drugs subcutaneously, according to study results. PrEP with ARVs can prevent HIV transmission effectively; however, issues with poor adherence,... September 19th, 2018NEUROLOGY
Day-time sleepiness linked to Alzheimer's risk
Data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Ageing, started in 1958, shows that adults who report being very sleepy during the day were nearly three times more likely than those who didn’t, to years later have brain deposits of beta amyloid, a...
September 19th, 2018
ONCOLOGY
Breast cancer screening does not reduce mortality
Fewer and fewer women die from breast cancer in recent years but, surprisingly, the decline is just as large in the age groups that are not screened. The decline is therefore due to better treatment and not screening for breast cancer.
This is...
September 19th, 2018
PUBLIC HEALTH
Almost 40% of South Africans dangerously inactive — WHO study
A quarter of the world’s adults are doing too little exercise, putting them at risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers – and there has been no improvement over the past 15 years. Health-e News reports that...
September 19th, 2018
