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What percent of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine?
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Online only: New program launched to help more smokers quit

A major new public health education campaign to help more Americans quit smoking was unveiled in March.


Online only: Breast cancer more aggressive among obese

Women with breast cancer have more aggressive disease and lower survival rates if they are overweight or obese, according to findings published in the March 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Online only: Curbing teen drinking difficult in urban areas

Keeping middle schoolers from alcohol is a tougher task in the inner city than in rural areas, even for experts armed with the best prevention programs, a new University of Florida study shows.


Online only: Depression increases risk of Alzheimer’s disease

People who have had depression are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than people who have never had depression, according to a study published in the April 8, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.


Online only: Increased allergen levels in homes linked to asthma

Results from a new national survey demonstrate that elevated allergen levels in the home are associated with asthma symptoms in allergic individuals. The study suggests that asthmatics that have allergies may alleviate symptoms by reducing allergen exposures inside their homes.


Online only: Investing in community health centers would bring high return

Inaugurating its new research brief series on health centers and health policy, the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services estimates that a $250 million appropriations increase in the community health centers program would yield health care for an additional 1.8 million patients and a nationwide four-to-one return on investment.


Online only: Quantity and frequency of drinking influence mortality risk

How much and how often people drink — not just the average amount of alcohol they consume over time — independently influence the risk of death from several causes, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.


Online only: Rodent study finds artificial butter chemical harms lungs

A new study shows that exposure to a chemical called diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can be harmful to the nose and airways of mice.

Online only: Somalia passes polio-free landmark

Somalia is again polio-free, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced March 25, calling it a “historic achievement” in public health. Somalia has not reported a case since March 25, 2007, a major landmark in the intensified eradication effort launched last year to wipe out the disease in the remaining few strongholds.


Online only: Stress hormone impacts memory, learning in diabetic rodents

Diabetes is known to impair the cognitive health of people, but now scientists have identified one potential mechanism underlying these learning and memory problems.


Online only: Study shows adults may not get enough rest or sleep

About 10 percent of adults report not getting enough rest or sleep every day in the past month, according to a new four-state study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  


Online only: Teens with a TV in bedroom less likely to engage in healthy habits

Older adolescents who have a television in their bedroom are less likely to engage in healthy activities such as exercising, eating fruits or vegetables and enjoying family meals, according to new research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.