Current Health and Medical News Articles for San Francisco and the Nation

Medical know-how raises suicide risk for doctors
There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own. An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year - a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact figures are hard to come by.

More than half of US diabetics have arthritis
More than half of U.S. adults with diabetes also have arthritis, raising a serious obstacle for diabetic patients urged to exercise, according to a government study.

Chantix recommended to quit smoking despite safety concerns
The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior.

Too much, too little sleep tied to ill health in CDC study
People who sleep fewer than six hours a night - or more than nine - are more likely to be obese, according to a new government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies.

New rule would limit insurers contact with elderly, disabled
Agents selling private health insurance plans to the elderly and disabled would be barred from cold-calling, door-to-door solicitations and pitching their products outside hospital waiting rooms or pharmacies, under a federal rule proposed Thursday.

Death toll from child viral disease up to 30 in China
The death toll from a viral illness that is striking children across China has risen by two to 30, health officials said Thursday, as the number of reported cases jumped to nearly 20,000.

Calling all carbs: Dietitian hired to arrest officer obesity
Rana Parker tells pudgy police they have the right to remain chubby, but it can and will be used against them on the streets of Los Angeles. The dietitian lays down the law for recruits, veterans and top brass, letting them know that eating right can help them do a better job and could even save their lives.

Pandemic flu threat remains substantial, health experts say
The world still faces a substantial threat of a flu pandemic and countries need to speed up preparations for a global outbreak, health experts said Tuesday.

Study: Restaurant tobacco bans influence teen smoking
A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones, the researchers reported in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Calling all carbs: Dietitian hired to arrest officer obesity

Los Angeles Police Department dietician Rana Parker is seen in an April 18, 2008 photo. While overweight officers aren't unique to Los Angeles, the police department believes it's the first to hire a full-time diet coach. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Health Care Examiner

Doctor Lissa

A Trip to the Doctor or Why Do I Hate Doing This?

Today, I thought we’d take a trip to the doctor. You know what that’s like. You wait and wait and when you get in there it seems like you get the bums rush. Most people leave with a prescription or samples, but have no idea what ...