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Infant Mortality Rates: U.S. Ranks Poorly Among Industrialized Nations

New information released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics links preterm births and infant mortality rates in the United States. The U.S. ranked 30th out of 31 countries in overall infant mortality rates, showing 6.9 of every 1,000 live births resulted in death, a statistic that is complemented by the fact that 1/8 of the births in the U.S. were preterm, a high rate compared to numbers from European countries.

HealthNews Dozen: 12 Top Health Threats for Women

Men and women have different health needs, and each gender finds itself with special health risks and needs. Women, in particular, are required to pay particular attention to certain health conditions because of body composition, such as reproductive organs. And for reasons left to scientists, women are also more susceptible to certain diseases, thereby requiring them to pay more attention to their health and prevention practices.

Knee Osteoarthritis Can Benefit from Tai Chi

Every day, people in parks, community centers, YMCAs, gyms, churches, and living rooms across the country are performing tai chi, a centuries-old Chinese martial art—not because of their interest in martial training, but for its purported physical and mental health benefits. Tai chi’s slow, repetitive movements provide a low-impact method for strengthening the body’s muscular, skeletal, and organ systems while the emphasis on breathing and inner stillness relieves stress and anxiety.

Staying Healthy: Healthy Habits for Men

Juggling jobs, relationships, social obligations, bills, and staying on top of a healthy gym routine is a lot to handle. As a woman, trying to find the time to eat better seems to be the last thing on my list and it can’t be much easier for men. Here are a few tips for making men’s lives a little bit better from morning to night:

Eat Breakfast

Health Care Reform Edges Closer with House and Senate Bills Introduced

It was in June of 2009 that President Obama charged all members of Congress with the task of coming to agreement on proper and forward-thinking health care reform. It was the last week of October before bills were actually introduced to the House and the Senate, as months of fighting between the political parties and struggling with a sometimes misinformed public (and media) delayed the process much longer than anticipated.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices Can Reduce Diabetes Risk

Today’s fast-paced world leaves people little time to worry about their health—that is, until a medical emergency forces them to reassess their habits. That’s when it becomes apparent how much influence lifestyle choices have on our quality of life. For example, each day in the U.S., more than 4,000 people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition marked by high levels of blood glucose that can lead to serious complications and premature death.

Single Embryo In-Vitro Fertilization as Successful as Multiple Implantation

Many couples experiencing fertility issues who opt for In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) presume that the implantation of multiple embryos will increase their chances having a healthy baby. However, results of a recent analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that the use of two or more embryos actually increase the likelihood of a multiple birth pregnancy.

Antipsychotic Drugs Can Cause Rapid Weight Gain in Kids

Obesity is still a big problem within our country, and now one of the medications prescribed for children could be a factor in their weight gain. Up to one-third of adolescents and children who took some of the common antipsychotic drugs for the first time became overweight or obese in as little as 11 weeks, which in turn raised their risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Why the Increase in Heart Attack Rates Among Women?

Each year, about 1.2 million Americans suffer heart attacks, and roughly 40 percent die from them. Men, in general, are at an increased risk of heart attack, at least until women reach menopause and lose the protective effect of the estrogen hormone, when the risk among genders becomes almost equal. But a new study shows the gender gap has also narrowed between middle-aged men and women—meaning that either hormonal influence isn’t protecting women in midlife as well as in the past or that not enough emphasis is being given to women’s cardiovascular health.

National Analysis Reveals Vitamin D Deficiency in 20% of American Children

At least one in five American children between the ages of 1 and 11 are at risk for a variety of health issues by not getting a sufficient amount of vitamin D. The findings of the first national analysis to evaluate vitamin D levels among children in this age group were recently published online in the journal Pediatrics.