Research Roundup: Respiratory Illness; Cancer Therapy; Life Expectancy; Depression
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
CIDRAP:
Substantial Decrease Noted In Severe Respiratory Illness During First 2 Years Of Pandemic
Compared to the 3 years prior to the pandemic, children with medically complex conditions and otherwise healthy children saw decreases in severe non-COVID respiratory illnesses in 2020 and 2021, the authors of a study yesterday note in JAMA Network Open. (Soucheray, 11/15)
ScienceDaily:
Nanoparticles For Optimized Cancer Therapy
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancers in humans. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the western world. The early stages of the disease often progress without symptoms, so diagnosis is usually very late. (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), 11/15)
CIDRAP:
COVID Increased Gender Life Expectancy Gap In US
For more than 100 years, American women have outlived American men, largely due to differences in rates of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. Now COVID-19 has widened the gendered life expectancy gap, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Soucheray, 11/14)
ScienceDaily:
Genetic Testing Could Greatly Benefit Patients With Depression, Save Health System Millions
A special kind of genetic test that helps determine the best antidepressant for patients with moderate-to-severe depression could generate substantive health system savings and greatly improve patient outcomes, according to new research. The study shows that in B.C. alone, implementing pharmacogenomic testing could save the provincial public health system an estimated $956 million over 20 years. (University of British Columbia, 11/14)
