Harvard Health Content API

A new study shows that many people with bleeding in the upper GI tract can safely be treated without a hospital stay. That’s according to an article in an upcoming issue of The Lancet. About 103 to 172 people per 100,000 land in the hospital each year for stomach bleeding. This study tested the use of a guideline called the Glasgow-Blatchford bleeding score. It includes a few office and lab tests. People who scored at low-risk were safely managed as outpatients. In the study, the use of the guideline lowered hospital admissions for stomach bleeding from 96% to 71%.

Condoms can help to protect people against genital herpes, a study finds. But the protection is only partial. That’s because herpes can be spread by simple skin contact as well as by sex. Researchers used data from six studies. They included a total of 5,384 people. These men and women did not have herpes when the studies started. Within 12 to 19 months, 415 people became infected. The risk of getting infected was 30% less among those who said they always used condoms. This means that 70 people using condoms got infected for every 100 non-users who got infected. Protection was less for people who only sometimes used condoms. The study appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. HealthDay News and Reuters Health news service wrote about it July 13.

A new study finds that a common type of drug used for people with chronic lung disease may not help them. Researchers put together the results from 11 previous studies. The studies included 8,164 people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This condition gradually destroys the lungs. Drugs can treat symptoms, but there is no cure. In the studies, people were randomly assigned to take inhaled corticosteroid drugs or placebos. Researchers found that the drugs had only a small effect in reducing flare-ups. Even this benefit occurred only in people with the most severe illness. The study appeared in the journal Chest. HealthDay News wrote about it February 4.

Research shows that about half of Americans with depression get treatment. But a new study finds that treatment meets current guidelines for only about 1 out of 5. The number drops to 1 out of 10 for depressed Mexican-Americans and African-Americans. Researchers looked at information on 15,762 adults with depression. They found that for most people, treatment is too short to do much good. Talk therapy was used more often than medicines. It was also more likely to meet guidelines than drug treatment. The study appeared in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. HealthDay News wrote about it January 5.

Don’t think that taking a multivitamin will prevent cancer or heart disease. It won’t, according to a large study of older women. This study used data from long-running government research on women age 50 or older. More than 4 out of 10 said they took multivitamins regularly. The studies kept track of women for eight years. In that time, the rates of cancer and heart disease were about the same whether women took vitamins or not. Death rates also were similar. Researchers said people should get nutrients from food, not pills. The study appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The Associated Press wrote about it February 10.

Bone density may help to predict breast cancer risk, a study suggests. The research looked at nearly 10,000 women who were past menopause. Each woman was given a bone mineral density test and a Gail score. This score predicts breast cancer risk based on family history, race and medical history. Researchers tracked the women for eight years. In that time, women with normal bone density had four times the breast cancer rate of women with osteoporosis (low bone density). Those with high Gail scores and high bone density were most likely to develop breast cancer. MedPage Today wrote about the study July 28. It was published in the journal Cancer.

Both race and residence have a major impact on the health care Americans receive, a study has found. One example is among diabetics on Medicare in Memphis. In this group, blacks are six times as likely as whites to have a leg amputated. But both races are much more likely to receive preventive care in some states than others. The study of Medicare claims was done by Dartmouth researchers. It was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation will give grants totaling $300 million to states, communities and regions to help reduce these disparities. The Associated Press reported on the study June 5.

Very old adults with poor or declining handgrip strength may be more likely to die than those who are stronger, a study finds. The study looked at handgrip strength in 555 people at age 85 and again at age 89. People with low hand strength in the first measurement were more likely than others to die in the next 8 to 10 years. Death rates also were higher in people whose hand strength declined from the first to second measurement. Researchers said handgrip strength may indicate overall muscle strength. They said improving muscle strength possibly could help people live longer. The study appeared February 8 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

U.S. health officials want people to get up to three flu shots this year, instead of one. That’s because the shots will have different aims. Persuading people to get all three could be difficult, officials say. The earliest vaccine available will be for seasonal flu. That should be in doctors’ offices starting this month, the New York Times News Service reported August 7. The other two shots will be for swine flu (H1N1 flu). Some of that vaccine may be available in September. But the rest won’t come until late October or November. The two swine flu shots should be given three weeks apart. Pregnant women, children and health care workers are urged to get all three shots. But older adults need only the shot for seasonal flu. They seem to have some immunity to swine flu, health officials say.

Nearly 1 out of 5 Medicare patients discharged from a hospital is admitted again within a month, a study has found. About 1 out of 3 is admitted again within three months. And half of those who are back within a month don’t even visit a doctor in between. Researchers did the study based on Medicare records. They told the Associated Press that many people leaving hospitals don’t get clear instructions on how to stay healthy at home. The issue already has drawn the attention of President Obama. He wants to reduce Medicare payments for hospital readmissions. The study was published April 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine.