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Middle school children are more likely to get recommended shots if their states require them, a new study finds. The study focused on 2 shots that U.S. guidelines recommend for boys and girls ages 11 to 12. The TdaP vaccine protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. An alternate vaccine, Td, protects against just the first two. Menactra protects against meningococcal disease. The new study looked at immunization rates for the 2008-2009 school year. At the time, 32 states required TdaP or Td. Only 3 required Menactra. About 80% of kids ages 13 to 17 received TdaP or Td in states that required them for entry into middle school. The rate was 70% in other states. In states that required Menactra, 71% received it compared with 53% in other states. The journal Pediatrics published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it May 7.

Aspirin and warfarin (Coumadin) are equally effective in preventing strokes and death for many people with heart failure, a new study finds. The study included 2,300 people with severe heart failure. All of them had a normal heart rhythm. They were randomly assigned to take either aspirin or warfarin daily. These drugs help to prevent blood clots that can cause strokes. Researchers kept track of people for up to 6 years. In that time about 7.5% of those taking warfarin died or had a stroke or bleeding in the brain. The rate was 7.9% for people who took aspirin. Researchers said that difference was small enough to be caused by chance. The risk of stroke was nearly 50% lower in those who took warfarin. But they were twice as likely to have bleeding as those who took aspirin. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it May 2.

A blood test may be able to predict a woman’s risk of breast cancer years ahead of time, a new study suggests. The blood test looks for methylation of a gene called ATM. Methylation happens when small molecules called methyl groups attach to a gene’s DNA. High levels of methylation can stop a gene from working properly. The new study included 640 women with breast cancer and 741 women without breast cancer. Researchers analyzed blood samples from all of the women. They were taken an average of 3 years before cancer diagnosis. Women who had the highest levels of methylation were twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those with the lowest levels. The effects were especially strong for women under age 60, one of the study authors told HealthDay News. Researchers said this type of test might be used to help predict women’s risk of breast cancer.

The growth of painkiller use and abuse has led to another surge in drug dependence, this one among newborns, a study finds. The study takes the first close look at the problem. Newborns go through withdrawal symptoms if their mothers take opiate drugs. These include street drugs such as heroin. But similar effects occur with prescription painkillers. Hydrocodone (Vicodin and others) and oxycodone (Oxycontin and others) are the best known. Researchers looked at data on U.S. hospital stays between 2000 and 2009. They found that in those 10 years the number of babies with withdrawal symptoms tripled. Babies need to be weaned off these drugs slowly, in the hospital. Usually, they are given smaller and smaller doses of methadone, which is used to treat addicts. This can take weeks or months.

Exercise and healthier eating may help to keep cancer from returning after treatment, the American Cancer Society says. The new advice was based on dozens of studies published in the last five years. The studies found lower rates of cancer return (recurrence) and longer survival for people with better diet or exercise habits. The studies were mostly observational. The cancer survivors were not randomly assigned to one program or another. So the studies can’t prove that exercise or diet caused the better outcomes for these patients. But the cancer society said the number of studies made their results worth trusting. Most involved prostate, breast or colon cancer survivors. The new guidelines urge doctors to talk to cancer patients about moving more, eating healthier foods and losing weight, if needed.

Doctors may be able to diagnose appendicitis with a scan that uses a much lower dose of radiation, a new study finds. The study included 891 people. All of them were between ages 15 and 44. All had suspected appendicitis. Researchers randomly assigned half of them to receive a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen. The others had a standard-dose CT scan. In all, 172 people in the first group were diagnosed with appendicitis. In the standard-dose group, the number was 186. During surgery, doctors discovered that just over 3% of each group did not have appendicitis. So the low-dose scan was just as accurate as the standard scan, researchers said. The standard scan used about 8 millisieverts of radiation. The low-dose scan used 2 millisieverts, or one-quarter as much. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it April 25.