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Preventable hospital deaths are occurring less often, a new report says. The government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did the report. It was based on medical records. The agency focused on preventable infections, drug errors and falls in hospitals. It found that 17% fewer of these problems occurred in 2013 compared with 2010. That trend led to 50,000 fewer deaths. About 1.3 million fewer people developed infections and other problems that were acquired in the hospital. Fewer errors also led to a $12 billion drop in avoidable hospital costs, the report said. But 10% of hospital patients were still affected by some sort of error. The Associated Press and Reuters Health news service wrote about the report December 2.

Contrary to some earlier research, a large new study concludes that statins do not reduce the risk of broken bones. People take statin drugs to reduce cholesterol and inflammation. But some studies suggested that people who took them also had fewer fractures related to osteoporosis (thin or brittle bones). In the new study, nearly 18,000 older adults were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group took the statin drug rosuvastatin (Crestor) daily. The other group received placebo (fake) pills. Researchers kept track of them for up to 5 years. During the study, fractures were about equal between the 2 groups. The study also found no connection between fractures and the amount of C-reactive protein in people’s blood. C-reactive protein is substance in blood that indicates inflammation. Increased inflammation is linked with artery disease.

More than half of families use soft bedding for sleeping infants, despite warnings that the practice is unsafe, a study shows. Soft bedding includes quilts, blankets and pillows. They have been shown to increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sleep-related suffocation. The American Academy of Pediatrics has advised against soft bedding for babies since 1996. They should be placed on a firm surface without any objects that might trap air. The bed should be covered only by a fitted sheet. The new study looked at results from a U.S. phone survey on infant sleep habits. It was done each year from 1993 through 2010. Researchers interviewed parents of babies younger than 8 months old. Use of soft bedding dropped from 86% in the first 3 years of the survey to 55% in the last 3 years. Bedding use of was most common among teen mothers (80%).

Nearly half a million cancers worldwide each year are linked with excess weight, a new study estimates. The study was based on 2012 cancer data. Researchers looked at 184 countries. They found there were 481,000 obesity-related cancers that year. That’s about 3.6% of all cancers in the world. About 2 out of 3 occurred in North America and Europe. In developed nations, about 8% of cancers in women were linked with obesity. The rate was 3% for men. In developing nations, rates were 1.5% for women and 0.3% for men. Cancers of the breast, uterus and colon among older women accounted for 250,000 cases. That was nearly three-quarters of all obesity-related cancers among women. Nearly 90,000 cases among men were colon and kidney cancers. They accounted for more than two-thirds of the obesity-related cancers among men. Rates of obesity-related cancers also varied by country and by region.