Back Pain :: New clinical guideline for low back pain

A summary of evidence on the diagnosis and treatment of low-back pain has prompted the American Pain Society (ASP) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) to issue a new treatment guideline. The guideline is based on a thorough analysis of published research conducted by investigators at the Oregon Evidence-Based Practice Center at Oregon Health & Science University.

Meditation :: Meditation therapy for rheumatoid arthritis patients

A revered contemplative practice for centuries, meditation has recently inspired research into its therapeutic value for everything from anxiety disorders to heart attack prevention. A painful, progressive autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a high risk of depression—double the risk of the healthy population, by conservative estimates—and various forms of psychological distress.

Depression :: Depression intervention in workplace increases employee productivity

A study conducted by Harvard Medical School, Group Health Cooperative’s Center for Health Studies and OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions (formerly United Behavioral Health) found that a systematic approach to identifying and treating depression not only improves clinical outcomes but also results in higher job retention, decreased sickness, lower work-absence and increased work productivity.

Health :: University and state agencies to forecast local health effects of climate change

Climate changes have jeopardized human health in the past, and are bound to do so again. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s, for example, led to many illnesses and deaths from breathing difficulties and malnutrition, and prompted westward migrations of people vying for scarce food, shelter, and work.

Diabetes :: Older blacks and Latinos still lag whites in controlling diabetes

Despite decades of advances in diabetes care, African Americans and Latinos are still far less likely than whites to have their blood sugar under control, even with the help of medications, a new nationally representative study finds. That puts them at a much higher risk of blindness, heart attack, kidney failure, foot amputation and other long-term diabetes complications.