PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Socioeconomic status plays major role in opioid pain control

2013-06-26
(Press-News.org) Patients in moderate to severe pain in emergency rooms across the U.S. are less likely to receive opioid pain medications if they are black, Hispanic, poor, or have less education, compared to more affluent patients, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The study took place against the backdrop of a national epidemic of narcotics abuse, combined with a need to satisfy patients' legitimate complaints of pain. Racial and ethnic disparities are already well-documented in the scientific literature, but the URMC team believes they are the first to investigate whether aspects of socioeconomic status -- poverty, income and education levels -- also influence the prescription of opioid pain medications. The results point to a need for a national discussion to increase awareness and to provide consistent and unbiased treatments, said corresponding author Robert J. Fortuna, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and member of the Center for Primary Care, with a special research interest in improving health care delivery. Investigators analyzed a cross-section of data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey of people 18 and older from 2006 to 2009, which showed that more than 50,000 visits took place at approximately 1,400 emergency departments at which opioids were prescribed. They used zip codes to identify socioeconomic status. (Medications that fall within the opioid class include hydrocodone, e.g., Vicodin; oxycodone, e.g., OxyContin, Percocet; morphine, e.g., Kadian, Avinza; codeine, and related drugs.) Results confirmed that people of black race or Hispanic ethnicity were less likely to get opioids for equivalent levels of pain. Similarly, people who resided in poorer neighborhoods were less likely to be treated with opioids than those from more affluent areas. For example, patients in the highest income neighborhoods received prescriptions 49 percent of the time for moderate to severe pain, versus 39 percent of the time for patients from lower income areas. Discrepancies also existed among various levels of poverty, with the poorest least likely to get opioids for pain. (Prior studies have documented similar outcomes based on race, even in cases where a patient has a bone fracture.) Regional differences also were observed, with opioids prescribed more often at emergency departments in the South and West, compared to the Northeast. Although the study was not designed to answer why the disparities occur, the authors said the reasons are complex and should be investigated further. Co-authors Michael Joynt, M.D., and Meghan Train, D.O., a resident in the Department of Medicine at URMC, said that uniform standards and more medical education would help to promote unbiased prescribing. ### No external funding was used to conduct this research. END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Drug-induced liver injury is on the rise

2013-06-26
Bethesda, MD (June 26, 2013) — More people are being affected by drug-induced liver injury (DILI) than ever before, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. This type of liver injury results from the use of certain prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as dietary supplements, and is among the more challenging forms of liver disease due to its difficulty to predict, diagnose and manage. Investigators conducted a population-based study in Iceland uncovering 19.1 cases of drug-induced ...

Crabgrass' secret: The despised weed makes herbicide to kill neighboring plants

2013-06-26
Contrary to popular belief, crabgrass does not thrive in lawns, gardens and farm fields by simply crowding out other plants. A new study in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has found that the much-despised weed actually produces its own herbicides that kill nearby plants. Chui-Hua Kong and colleagues point out that crabgrass is not only a headache for lawns and home gardens, but also a major cause of crop loss on farms. Scientists long suspected, but had a hard time proving, that the weed thrived by allelopathy. From the Greek "allelo-," meaning "other," ...

ISFR-IOF experts propose standardized measurements of clinical outcomes in wrist fractures

2013-06-26
Distal radius fractures (often simply termed wrist or Colles' fractures) are the second most common fractures in the elderly. Beyond the immediate impact on the patient, wrist fractures in older adults often indicate underlying osteoporosis and high risk of subsequent fragility fractures. Despite their clinical significance, evidence-based practice and clinical research on wrist fractures are hampered by the lack of standardized methods of outcome measurement. A new publication* by the Distal Radius Working Group of the International Society for Fracture Repair (ISFR) ...

Toward broad-spectrum antiviral drugs for common cold and other infections

2013-06-26
Scientists are reporting progress in the search for the first broad-spectrum drugs to combat human rhinoviruses (HRVs), which cause humanity's most common infectious diseases. Their study on these potential drugs for infections that include the common cold appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. Angus MacLeod and colleagues note that although many HRV infections cause mild disease, they can lead to dangerous complications for millions of people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Previous potential drugs for HRV either didn't work or ...

21 percent of homes account for 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions

2013-06-26
Energy conservation in a small number of households could go a long way to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, scientists are reporting. Their study, which measured differences in energy demands at the household level, appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Dominik Saner and colleagues point out that the energy people use to power their homes and to satisfy their mobility needs accounts for more than 70 percent of emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas involved in global climate change. To cope with that problem, policymakers and environmentalists ...

Impact of iPad® on radiology residents' daily clinical duties is limited, study suggests

2013-06-26
While the iPad® is being used for intraoperative procedure guidance, percutaneous procedure planning, and mobile interpretation of some imaging examinations, the majority of radiology residents are using it primarily as an educational tool, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. "Some sectors of the medical community consider the iPad to be a revolutionary tool in health care delivery, with many use scenarios focused on medical imaging. The purpose of our study was to assess residents' use patterns and opinions of the ...

How chewing gum or a shed hair can let strangers read your 'Book of Life'

2013-06-26
Someone finds that piece of chewing gum you pitched today, uses the saliva to sequence your DNA and surreptitiously reads your book of life — including genetic secrets like your susceptibility to diseases. If that scenario, posed in an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, causes a little discomfort, consider this: That stranger also uses the DNA to reconstruct a copy of y-o-u. Linda Wang, a senior editor of C&EN, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, focuses on an unusual art exhibition ...

New data support community-wide approach to addressing child obesity

2013-06-26
BOSTON (June 26, 2013)-- Community wide interventions hold promise as an effective approach to reducing childhood obesity rates according to new research from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Tufts University School of Medicine. An analysis of data from the first two school years (20 calendar months) of the Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart Play Hard™ intervention showed that schoolchildren in Somerville, Massachusetts gained less weight and were less likely to be obese or overweight than schoolchildren in two similar control communities. ...

Tired and edgy? Sleep deprivation boosts anticipatory anxiety

2013-06-26
UC Berkeley researchers have found that a lack of sleep, which is common in anxiety disorders, may play a key role in ramping up the brain regions that contribute to excessive worrying. Neuroscientists have found that sleep deprivation amplifies anticipatory anxiety by firing up the brain's amygdala and insular cortex, regions associated with emotional processing. The resulting pattern mimics the abnormal neural activity seen in anxiety disorders. Furthermore, their research suggests that innate worriers – those who are naturally more anxious and therefore more likely ...

How does pedestrian head-loading affect the health of women and children in sub-Saharan Africa?

2013-06-26
Across sub-Saharan Africa, women and children play major roles as pedestrian load-transporters, in the widespread absence of basic sanitation services, electricity and affordable/reliable motorised transport. Professor Kim Buton of the University of Huddersfield, has coauthored an international study to look at the health impacts that this practice can have. The majority of loads, including water and firewood for domestic purposes, are carried on the head. Load-carrying has implications not only for school attendance and performance, women's time budgets and gender ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

When devices can read human emotions without a camera

Warming temperatures impact immune performance of wild monkeys, U-M study shows

Fine particulate air pollution may play a role in adverse birth outcomes

Sea anemone study shows how animals stay ‘in shape’

KIER unveils catalyst innovations for sustainable turquoise hydrogen solutions

Bacteria ditch tags to dodge antibiotics

New insights in plant response to high temperatures and drought

Strategies for safe and equitable access to water: a catalyst for global peace and security

CNIO opens up new research pathways against paediatric cancer Ewing sarcoma by discovering mechanisms that make it more aggressive

Disease severity staging system for NOTCH3-associated small vessel disease, including CADASIL

Satellite evidence bolsters case that climate change caused mass elephant die-off

Unique killer whale pod may have acquired special skills to hunt the world’s largest fish

Emory-led Lancet review highlights racial disparities in sudden cardiac arrest and death among athletes

A new approach to predicting malaria drug resistance

Coral adaptation unlikely to keep pace with global warming

Bioinspired droplet-based systems herald a new era in biocompatible devices

A fossil first: Scientists find 1.5-million-year-old footprints of two different species of human ancestors at same spot

The key to “climate smart” agriculture might be through its value chain

These hibernating squirrels could use a drink—but don’t feel the thirst

New footprints offer evidence of co-existing hominid species 1.5 million years ago

Moral outrage helps misinformation spread through social media

U-M, multinational team of scientists reveal structural link for initiation of protein synthesis in bacteria

New paper calls for harnessing agrifood value chains to help farmers be climate-smart

Preschool education: A key to supporting allophone children

CNIC scientists discover a key mechanism in fat cells that protects the body against energetic excess

Chemical replacement of TNT explosive more harmful to plants, study shows

Scientists reveal possible role of iron sulfides in creating life in terrestrial hot springs

Hormone therapy affects the metabolic health of transgender individuals

Survey of 12 European countries reveals the best and worst for smoke-free homes

First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years

[Press-News.org] Socioeconomic status plays major role in opioid pain control