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Even children without special health needs are healthier and make better use of health care if they have a “medical home,” a new study finds. A medical home meets certain standards. Care should be easy to get. The office should coordinate all of it. Care should be sensitive to family needs and cultural differences. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a medical home for all children. The new study was based on a large health survey. It focused on 70,000 children who did not have special needs. About 58% had a medical home. They were more likely than other children to get preventive care. They had fewer sick visits and trips to the emergency room. Their parents were more likely to describe the kids’ health as excellent or very good. The kids also were more likely to wear a bike helmet. They watched less TV and were read to more often.

Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea may also reduce heart disease risk, a new study suggests. Obstructive sleep apnea blocks the airway and hinders breathing during sleep. Most people with this condition also have metabolic syndrome. This is a group of symptoms that add up to a higher risk of heart disease. The symptoms include a large waist, high blood sugar, low HDL (“good cholesterol”) and high levels of another blood fat, triglycerides. The study included 86 adults. All had obstructive sleep apnea. About 87% had metabolic syndrome. Half were treated with a machine that uses continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to keep the airway open. Half got a fake treatment. That machine looked similar but did not maintain air pressure. After 3 months, each person was switched to receive the other treatment (real or fake).