adults | Common News Update

Mar312021 by adminNo Comments

Gallup: 1 in 5 U.S. adults can’t afford needed healthcare

Health

March 31 (UPI) -- Roughly one in five adults in the United States reports not being able to afford needed healthcare, a survey released Wednesday by Gallup and West Health found. This includes nearly 30% of Black adults and more than 20% of Hispanic adults, compared with 16% of White adults, the data showed. Advertisement In addition, non-White adults age 65 and older were twice as likely to indicate they were unable to afford quality healthcare than White adults in that age group, the survey found. Approximately one in eight adults said they cut back spending on food and over-the-counter drugs to pay for healthcare or medicine, according to Gallup. More than one-third of respondents reported that they reduced spending on recreational or leisure activities in the previous 12 months to af...

Mar162021 by adminNo Comments

Instagram to allow teens to block messages from adults

Technology

Instagram is introducing new anti-grooming safety measures that will prevent adult users from sending direct messages to teenagers unless they follow them.It follows criticism of Facebook over its actions on child grooming, with multiple international statements calling for the company to ensure that young people using its platforms were kept safe. Of particular concern has been the company's plans to move all of its platforms to using end-to-end encryption, similar to WhatsApp. Critics allege this would disable Facebook's own internal monitoring of messages for potential grooming. Image: Facebook also owns Instagram and WhatsApp Instagram's policies require that all of its users are over 13. People who identify themselves as teenager...

Mar152021 by adminNo Comments

Study: Black adults in rural areas more likely to die from heart-linked causes

Health

March 15 (UPI) -- Black adults who live in rural areas of the United States are nearly three times as likely to die from high blood pressure than White adults in the same areas, an analysis published Monday by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found. Black adults also are more than twice as likely to die from diabetes and have an up to 40% higher risk for death from heart disease or stroke, the data showed. Advertisement Although racial disparities in health have improved generally across the country over the past two decades, much of these gains have been seen among adults living in urban areas, with "minimal" changes among residents of rural communities. "Our findings demonstrate that Black adults experience worse cardiovascular outcomes than White adults in the United S...

Mar122021 by adminNo Comments

Study: Older adults with history of head injuries show decreased cognitive function

Health

March 11 (UPI) -- Adults who suffer head injuries in their 50s or younger produce lower-than-expected scores on cognitive tests at age 70, a study published Thursday by the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology found. Although head injuries do not appear to contribute to Alzheimer's disease-related brain damage, they may make people more vulnerable to dementia symptoms, the researchers said. Advertisement Seventy-year-olds who had experienced a serious head injury 15 or more years earlier on average scored 46 on 93-point cognitive tests for attention and quick thinking, lower than the 48 for those without a history of head injuries, the data showed. They also had 1% smaller brain volumes and differences in brain structure, which may explain the subtle cognitive differences compar...

Mar12021 by adminNo Comments

CDC: Israel’s COVID-19 vaccine program lowers cases of severe disease among older adults

Health

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Widespread acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among older adults in Israel has led to a decline in those requiring mechanical ventilation during treatment for the disease, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Israel launched a robust vaccination program in December and, by Feb. 9, 84% of those age 70 and older had received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, the agency said. Advertisement From October through December of last year, prior to the start of the vaccination campaign, adults age 70 and older were nearly six times as likely to require mechanical ventilation to treat COVID-19 compared to adults under age 50 years. By February, after widespread vaccination, older adults were just under twice as likely to req...