The rates of hospitalizations and deaths from heart disease and stroke in the U.S. have declined dramatically in the past two decades, a new study has found. Researchers looked at the medical records of nearly 34 million people ages 65 or older who had been hospitalized for various conditions between 1999 and 2011, and found that the rate of hospitalization for heart attack, heart failure and stroke declined by about 30 to 40 percent over this time. This decline was more rapid than what was seen in other conditions. (Fox News) Read more...

Depression, dental problems, difficulty buying groceries among most common reasons, study finds.

Yet certain types of lung malignancies are still on the rise.

Research in Southern California VA system points to lack of primary care doctor as one factor.

MONDAY, Aug. 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Colon cancer screening rates for black patients in a Veterans Affairs health care system in California are much lower compared to other races, even though all patients have similar access to care, according to a new study. Read more...   

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report on the cost-effectiveness and/or cost savings of preventive services and whether or not the service had been recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.  In doing so, GAO "conducted a literature review of articles about U.S. preventive services in meta-analyses or comparative studies in peer-reviewed journals published between January 2007 and April 2014 that addressed cost-effectiveness or cost savings."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its partners have released the 2014 National Preparedness Report (NPR) .  "The NPR is an annual status report on the nation's progress toward reaching the National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient nation.  Overall, the NPR found the nation continues to make progress building preparedness in key areas and identifies several areas of sustainment. The report also identified areas for national improvement in building resilience and reducing long-term vulnerability.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans can last for decades, according to a new study that looked at Americans who served in the Vietnam War.

Researchers found that most of the 11 percent of veterans who had PTSD a decade or more after that war showed little improvement since then, The New York Times reported.

More than 18 percent of Vietnam veterans with PTSD had died by retirement age, a rate about twice that of those without the disorder, according to the study to be presented Friday at an American Psychological Association meeting.

Vietnam veterans especially likely to develop PTSD included members of minorities who enlisted before completing high school, and those who had killed multiple times in combat, The Times reported.

The researchers said their findings from the Department of Veterans Affairs-funded study have implications for the United States as it deals with veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This study shows us what the road ahead is going to look like," Dr. Charles Marmar, one of the study authors and chairman of psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center and director of the NYU Cohen Veterans Center, told The Times.

"A significant number of veterans are going to have PTSD for a lifetime unless we do something radically different," he said. (Health Day News)

Taking aspirin every day appears to reduce the odds of developing and dying from colon, stomach or esophageal cancer, a new study suggests.

Based on a review of available studies, researchers determined that the benefits of aspirin therapy for preventing cancer outweigh the risks. Millions of people already take this inexpensive drug to prevent or treat heart disease. (Health Day News) Read more…

President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act, which outlines efforts to increase access to quality health care for U.S. veterans. The bill offers veterans the option to seek medical care outside of the VA health care system and will provide resources to hire more VA doctors and nurses.

The $16.3 billion bill was spurred largely by a recent inspector general report that indicated long waits for patients seeking care at a Phoenix  VA hospital this spring.

“As a country, we have a sacred obligation to serve you as well as you have served us, an obligation that doesn’t end with your tour of duty,” Obama said before signing the bill.  (CBS News) Read More…

(http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-signs-va-reform-bill/)

A new special online issue of APHA’s American Journal of Public Health compiles some of the latest research and commentary regarding the health of U.S. veterans as it relates to equity, quality of care and disparities.

“Any lapse in care quality, access or equity is antithetical to our duty to those who have served to protect our freedoms; it is simply not who we are as an organization,” wrote Robert Jesse, MD, PhD, former acting undersecretary for health for the Veterans Health Administration.

“Recognizing additional areas for improvement by identifying disparities in care has reinvigorated our commitment to these uniform principles,” he wrote.

The open-access issue, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of Health Equity, investigates tobacco use and smoking habits, mental health, homelessness, racial disparities and access to care for transgender people and for American Indian and Alaska Native populations, along with a host of other topics impacting veteran health care. (Journal of Public Health)