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

Study estimates economic impact of childhood food allergies

2013-09-17
(Press-News.org) The overall cost of childhood food allergies was estimated at nearly $25 billion annually in a study of caregivers that quantified medical, out-of-pocket, lost work productivity and other expenses, according to a report published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

Food allergy is a growing public health issue in the United States that affects about 8 percent of children. The condition results in significant medical costs to the health care system but also inflicts substantial costs on families, including special diets and allergen-free foods, according to the study.

Ruchi Gupta, M.D., M.P.H., of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and colleagues, surveyed 1,643 caregivers of a child with a food allergy. The most common food allergies were peanut (28.7 percent), milk (22.3 percent) and shellfish (18.6 percent).

Overall food allergy costs were $24.8 billion annually or $4,184 per child, according to the results. Total costs included $4.3 billion in direct medical costs and $20.5 billion in annual costs to families.

Caregivers estimated that hospitalizations accounted for the largest proportion of direct medical costs ($1.9 billion), followed by outpatient visits to allergists ($819 million), emergency department visits ($764 million) and pediatrician visits ($543 million). Special diets and allergen-free foods were estimated to cost $1.7 billion annually, while annual lost labor productivity so caregivers could accompany their children to medical visits was $773 million, according to the results.

"In summary, childhood food allergy in the United States places a considerable economic burden on families and society. … Given these findings, research to develop an effective food allergy treatment and cure is critically needed," the study concludes.

###

(JAMA Pediatr. Published online September 16, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.2376. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: This study was supported by Food Allergy Research Education. Please see the articles for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study examines sex differences in presentation of acute coronary syndrome

2013-09-17
CHICAGO – A higher proportion of women than men 55 years and younger did not have chest pain in acute coronary syndromes (ACS, such as heart attacks or unstable angina), although chest pain was the most common symptom for both sexes, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Chest pain is a classic symptom that often triggers diagnostic testing for ACS, however, as many as 35 percent of patients with ACS do not report chest pain at presentation. They are more likely to be misdiagnosed in the emergency department and have a higher ...

U of M researchers discover early-warning system to prevent fishery collapse

2013-09-17
Threats from overfishing can be detected early enough to save fisheries-- and livelihoods --with minimal adjustments in harvesting practices, a new study by researchers in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences shows. The work indicates that a healthy fishery can be maintained the way a skillful captain steers an oil tanker: by small course corrections that prevent disaster far ahead. The study, by Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (EEB) graduate student Matt Burgess and co-advisors Stephen Polasky (EEB and Applied Economics in the College of Food, ...

Applying swine manure to crop field associated with MRSA, soft-tissue infection

2013-09-17
CHICAGO – High exposure to swine manure spread in crop fields and proximity to high-density swine livestock operations appear to be associated with increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and skin and soft-tissue infection in humans, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Most of the antibiotics used in animal feed to promote livestock growth in high-production livestock facilities are not absorbed by the animals and end up in manure. In addition to the antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria ...

Fewer cases of antibiotic-resistant MRSA infection in the US in 2011

2013-09-17
An estimated 30,800 fewer invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections occurred in the United States in 2011 compared to 2005, according to a study by Raymund Dantes, M.D., M.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues. MRSA is one of the most common antimicrobial-resistant pathogens causing infections, especially in the skin and soft tissues. The researchers estimated that 80,461 invasive MRSA infections occurred nationally in 2011. Of those, 48,353 were health care-associated community-onset infections ...

Study examines Parkinsonism in 1 county in Minnesota

2013-09-17
Walter A. Rocca, M.D., M.P.H., of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and colleagues examined the incidence of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) in a study of residents in Olmsted County, Minn., over a 15-year period. Limited information is available about the incidence of DLB or PDD in the general population so researchers used a well-defined population to help better characterize the two disorders, according to the study background. Among 542 cases of parkinsonism, 64 patients had DLB and 46 had PDD. The overall incidence rate of ...

Lifestyle changes may lengthen telomeres, a measure of cell aging

2013-09-17
A small pilot study shows for the first time that changes in diet, exercise, stress management and social support may result in longer telomeres, the parts of chromosomes that affect aging. It is the first controlled trial to show that any intervention might lengthen telomeres over time. The study will be published online on Sept. 16, 2013 in The Lancet Oncology. The study was conducted by scientists at UC San Francisco and the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, a nonprofit public research institute in Sausalito, Calif. that investigates the effect of ...

Dartmouth researchers discover how and where imagination occurs in human brains

2013-09-17
Philosophers and scientists have long puzzled over where human imagination comes from. In other words, what makes humans able to create art, invent tools, think scientifically and perform other incredibly diverse behaviors? The answer, Dartmouth researchers conclude in a new study, lies in a widespread neural network -- the brain's "mental workspace" -- that consciously manipulates images, symbols, ideas and theories and gives humans the laser-like mental focus needed to solve complex problems and come up with new ideas. Their findings, titled "Network structure and ...

New insights solve 300-year-old problem: The dynamics of the Earth's core

2013-09-17
Scientists at the University of Leeds have solved a 300-year-old riddle about which direction the centre of the earth spins. The Earth's inner core, made up of solid iron, 'superrotates' in an eastward direction – meaning it spins faster than the rest of the planet – while the outer core, comprising mainly molten iron, spins westwards at a slower pace. Although Edmund Halley – who also discovered the famous comet – showed the westward-drifting motion of the Earth's geomagnetic field in 1692, it is the first time that scientists have been able to link the way the inner ...

Socio-economic status influences risk of violence against aboriginal women

2013-09-17
TORONTO, Sept. 13, 2013 – If aboriginal women had the same income and education levels as non-aboriginal women, their risk of being abused by a partner could drop by 40 per cent, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital. The new study indicates that socio-economic position is a major factor influencing risks of abuse for aboriginal women. "The unfortunate reality is that aboriginal women in Canada are almost four times more likely to experience gender violence, but we wanted to know why," said Dr. Janet Smylie, a scientist at the hospital's ...

Biologists develop new method for discovering antibiotics

2013-09-17
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a revolutionary new method for identifying and characterizing antibiotics, an advance that could lead to the discovery of new antibiotics to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, made their discovery by developing a way to perform the equivalent of an autopsy on bacterial cells. "This will provide a powerful new tool for identifying compounds that kill bacteria ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

Healthy nutrition and physical lifestyle choices lower cancer mortality risk for survivors, new ACS study finds

[Press-News.org] Study estimates economic impact of childhood food allergies