Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Missouri Democrat Joins Fight Against Health Care Law
In a break with his political party, the Democratic attorney
general of Missouri has filed a court brief asking a federal judge
to overturn the new U.S. health law's requirement that most
Americans obtain health insurance.
Attorney General Chris Koster took the action Monday following
months of pressure from state Republicans. Koster is a onetime
Republican state legislator who became a member of the Democratic
Party in 2007,
The New York Times reported.
Instead of joining attorneys general from other states who have
taken legal action against the new health law, Koster filed a
"friend of the court" brief, or legal argument, in the Court of
Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta.
That appeals court is hearing a case filed by Republican
governors and attorneys general from 26 states. In his ruling on
the case, a federal district judge said that the entire health
reform law should be invalidated but stayed his ruling until the
matter was settled by the Supreme Court,
The Times reported.
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Older Parents Happier: Study
People over the age of 40 who have children are happier than
those over 40 without children, while those under 30 with children
are less happy than those under 30 who are child-free, according to
a new study.
American and German researchers analyzed self-reported levels of
happiness among more than 200,000 people in 86 countries who took
part in the World Values Surveys,
The New York Times reported.
The study, published in the March issue of the journal
Population and Development Review, doesn't reveal why parenting seems to be more enjoyable for people over 40.
The researchers also found that having more children makes older
parents even happier, but makes younger parents unhappier,
The Times reported.
For people under 30, those with two children are unhappier than
those with one child, who are unhappier than those with no
children. For parents over 50, each child brings more happiness.
For parents ages 40 to 50, the number of children has no
effect.
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No New Heart Warnings for ADHD Drugs: FDA
No changes in safety instructions or in the use of medicines to
treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are being
recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after
receiving preliminary findings from an analysis of a huge amount of
data,
National Public Radio reported.
Currently, labeling for the drugs warns that misuse "may cause
sudden death and serious cardiovascular adverse events."
The analysis, funded by the FDA and the federal Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality, included data from more than
500,000 people taking ADHD medicines and one million people who
weren't taking the stimulant drugs,
NPR reported.
There have been concerns about the safety of ADHD medicines
since the release of a 2009 federal study that suggested a link
between the drugs and sudden cardiac death in otherwise healthy
young people. The study was published in the
American Journal of Psychiatry.
At the time, the FDA pointed out a number of limitations with
the study and said parents should not stop their children's use of
the drugs. But the agency also promised further investigation into
the issue,
NPR reported.
The preliminary findings were originally due in late 2009 but
the analysis took far longer than expected.
"At this time, FDA is not recommending any changes to the drug labels and/or the use of these medications," the agency said in a statement. "FDA will update the public after the results of the final analyses are evaluated."
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