Tag: health rankings
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FDA reviews alternatives to colonoscopies to screen for colorectal cancer, including mail-in, stool-sampling kits
The Food and Drug Administration is examining the possibility of two alternatives to colonoscopies for identifying tumors and growths in the large intestine. Kentucky ranks high in deaths from colon cancer,...
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Smoking persists or even increases in poor, rural, working-class counties; New York Times cites Clay County as an example
Clay County has a dubious distinction. It has the highest rate of smoking for any U.S. county with a population under 15,000. Researchers at the University of Washington pointed that out,...
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Number of Kentucky babies born addicted keeps rising quickly as heroin replaces harder-to-get prescription painkillers
Despite the crackdown on prescription painkillers, more Kentucky babies are being born addicted, “fueled by a recent spike in heroin use,” much of it by people who have found prescription...
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Todd County weekly’s editor-publisher wonders why so many uninsured locals haven’t signed up for health insurance
With open enrollment in the new health-insurance exchanges ending March 31, at least one country editor is wondering why most people in his community who lack coverage haven’t take advantage...
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Wear blue on Friday, March 7 to mark Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and encourage screening and colonoscopies
Friday, March 7 will be “Dress in Blue Day” to mark National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and to help raise awareness about colon cancer in Kentucky, according to Madeline Abramson, wife...
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Study says overweight kids become overweight teens
If a child is overweight in kindergarten, she probably will be in eighth grade, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And if your baby was...
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As national smoking rate has declined, Kentucky’s has gone up
Randy Jackson, 50, of Louisville, said he’s smoked for 20 years. (Photo by Aaron Borton, special to The Courier-Journal) “Kentucky has failed to keep up with the nation’s gains in...
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U of L researchers develop simple cervical-cancer blood test that could be more accurate and cheaper than Pap smears
A simple blood test can tell whether a woman has cervical cancer and, if she does, “how far it’s spread,” writes Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal, reporting on research findings...
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Haynes says Obamacare may drive down Ky.’s health ranking initially because so many uninsured have gone undiagnosed
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentucky’s low health rankings may get lower before they go up, both because of the state’s expansion of Medicaid under federal health reform, the...
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Governor’s focus on health deserves another round of applause, Friedell Committee for Health officer writes in op-ed piece
Gov. Steve Beshear’s focus on health in his State of the Commonwealth speech should be applauded, given the poor state of Kentucky’s health, an officer of the Friedell Committee for...