By Sydney Murphy HealthDay Reporter

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Do the vast majority of Americans need authorities to ensure the merchandise they purchase are freed from dangerous chemical substances?

Yes, a brand new survey reveals, and they’re even prepared to pay extra to get that assurance of security.

“At a time when most issues are politically polarized, the issue of keeping people safe from harmful chemicals finds widespread agreement among Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters,” mentioned Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, which carried out the ballot. The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) on the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), commissioned the survey.

More than 90% of these polled needed the U.S. authorities to require merchandise to be screened for dangerous chemical substances and confirmed protected earlier than market approval. The survey, carried out between May 25 and June 5, gathered 1,200 responses from registered American voters.

The survey discovered:

• 92% of voters agreed, and 63% of voters strongly agreed, that the U.S. authorities ought to make firms show that their merchandise are protected earlier than promoting them.
• 93% of voters agreed, and 62% strongly agreed, that firms ought to do a greater job of eliminating dangerous chemical substances from shopper merchandise.
• 88% of voters agreed that firms ought to do a greater job of taking plastics out of shopper merchandise and decreasing their use of plastic packaging.
• 76% of the Americans who took the survey mentioned they have been nervous about how chemical substances and plastics contribute to local weather change.
• 54% of these polled mentioned that chemical laws are usually not sturdy sufficient, whereas 21% mentioned they’re about proper and 10% mentioned they’re too sturdy.
• The Toxic Substances Control Act makes it simpler to restrict or ban dangerous chemical substances to higher defend susceptible individuals like pregnant girls, kids and individuals who dwell close to factories which can be polluting the encircling space: 89% of voters supported the act, and 56% of them strongly supported it.
• 93% of voters agreed, and 57% strongly agreed, that you will need to do away with dangerous chemical substances the place individuals dwell, work and go to highschool, even when it makes some merchandise costlier. An identical quantity agreed that it is vital for firms to maintain dangerous chemical substances out of on a regular basis merchandise, even when it will increase the price of the merchandise.
• Voters have been nervous about the entire chemical substances requested about within the survey, however they have been most involved about chemical substances that they ate, drank or breathed in. Still, they didn’t know the way the system for regulating chemical substances works.
• About half of individuals (49%) mentioned that the chemical substances in meals and shopper items have been examined to ensure they’re protected, which isn’t true.

“People assume that what they buy is safe, and that almost always isn’t the case,” mentioned Tracey Woodruff, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences who directs the PRHE at UCSF. “The good news is this survey reveals overwhelming support for the government to do a better job of protecting people from harmful chemicals.”

More data

The Environmental Working Group has extra about chemical substances in shopper merchandise.

SOURCE: University of California, San Francisco, information launch, Oct. 11, 2022

The post Most U.S. Voters Want Products Free of Harmful Chemicals: Poll appeared first on Healthy and Slim Life.

TUESDAY, Sept. 13, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Aching joints are frequent for folks over 50, nevertheless it’s nonetheless necessary to speak to a physician about it reasonably than endlessly self-medicating, consultants say.

Now, a brand new ballot from the University of Michigan breaks down joint ache, its impression on those that responded to the survey and the way they’ve chosen to react to this painful situation.

Findings from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging embrace that 70% of individuals over 50 expertise joint ache not less than sometimes. About 60% have been informed they’ve some type of arthritis.

Among those that have arthritis signs, about 45% stated they’ve ache day by day and 49% stated it considerably limits their common actions.

“If you are feeling joint pain frequently, or it interferes with your normal activities, you don’t have to go it alone,” stated Indira Venkat, senior vice chairman of AARP Research. The group was one of many supporters for the ballot. “Talk with your health provider about how you are treating your joint pain and additional strategies that may help.”

About 80% of these with joint ache stated that they had not less than some confidence they might handle it on their very own.

About 66% achieve this with over-the-counter ache relievers resembling aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or naproxen (Aleve). About 26% reported taking dietary supplements, resembling glucosamine or chondroitin. About 11% use cannabidiol (CBD), derived from marijuana, whereas 9% use marijuana.

About 18% use prescription-only non-opioid ache relievers, 19% get steroid injections, 14% take oral steroids, 14% use opioids and 4% use disease-modifying antirheumatic medicine.

“There are sizable risks associated with many of these treatment options, especially when taken long-term or in combination with other drugs. Yet 60% of those taking two or more substances for their joint pain said their health care provider hadn’t talked with them about risks, or they couldn’t recall if they had. And 26% of those taking oral steroids hadn’t talked with a provider about the special risks these drugs bring,” stated Dr. Beth Wallace. She is a rheumatologist and researcher on the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare system, the VA Center for Clinical Management Research and Michigan Medicine.

“This suggests a pressing need for providers to talk with their patients about how to manage their joint pain, and what interactions and long-term risks might arise if they use medications to do so,” Wallace stated.

Guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology for osteoarthritis and the extra uncommon rheumatoid arthritis search to cut back the chance that may occur with long-term use or for these taking a number of medicines that may have an effect on sufferers’ abdomen, liver, blood stress, blood sugar, temper or sleep.

The pointers for osteoarthritis, which may be attributable to put on and tear, emphasize weight reduction, train, self-management applications with arthritis educators, tai chi, yoga, braces, splints and kinesiotaping, acupuncture or acupressure, cognitive behavioral remedy and making use of warmth, chilly or topical ache relievers on aching joints.

For remedy, the rules concentrate on short-term use of over-the-counter medicines in low doses, together with steroid joint injections in acceptable sufferers. They suggest in opposition to most dietary supplements, opioids and different prescribed drugs.

About 64% of survey respondents who’ve joint ache do use train and 24% have had bodily remedy. Far fewer used non-drug choices resembling braces.

Certain teams of older adults look like extra prone to expertise worse joint ache, stated ballot director Dr. Preeti Malani, a Michigan Medicine doctor with coaching in infectious illnesses and geriatrics.

“Those who say their overall health is fair or poor were twice as likely to say they have moderate or severe joint pain as those in better health. The difference was nearly as great between those who say their mental health is fair or poor than those who reported better mental health,” she stated in a Michigan Medicine information launch.

“And older adults with fair or poor physical or mental health were much more likely to agree with the statement that there’s nothing that someone with joint pain can do to ease their symptoms, which we now know to be untrue,” Malani said. “Health providers need to raise the topic of joint pain with their older patients, and help them make a plan for care that might work for them.”

The telephone ballot was administered in January and February 2022 amongst 2,277 adults aged 50 to 80.

More info

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extra on osteoarthritis.

SOURCE: Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan, information launch, Sept. 12, 2022

The post Most Americans Over 50 Suffer Some Type of Joint Pain (Poll) appeared first on Healthy and Slim Life.

Nov. 22, 2021 — More U.S. adults who don’t have already got youngsters are saying they don’t plan to have any sooner or later, based on a brand new survey by the Pew Research Center.

Birthrates dropped within the U.S. in the course of the pandemic, marking a decline for the sixth yr in a row. Fertility charges within the U.S. had been already at a document low earlier than the pandemic, the middle reported.

As a part of the ballot, non-parents ages 18-49 answered the query, “Thinking about the future, how likely is it that you will have children someday?”

About 44% stated it’s “not too likely” or “not at all likely” that they may have youngsters sometime, which is up 7 share factors from the 37% who stated the identical in a 2018 Pew survey. What’s extra, 74% of adults beneath 50 who’re mother and father stated they aren’t prone to have extra youngsters.

By distinction, 26% of childless adults stated it’s “very likely” they may have youngsters, which is down from 32% in 2018. About 29% stated “somewhat likely” each this yr and in 2018.

Among mother and father and non-parents, women and men had been equally prone to say they in all probability gained’t have youngsters sooner or later. Adults of their 40s had been extra prone to say they wouldn’t have youngsters.

When requested for a purpose, 56% of non-parents stated they merely don’t wish to have youngsters. Childless adults beneath age 40 had been extra prone to say this than these ages 40-49. There had been no variations between women and men.

Beyond that, 43% cited causes comparable to medical points, financial or monetary considerations, and never having a associate. A smaller variety of individuals cited their age or their associate’s age, the “state of the world,” environmental considerations, and local weather change.

Parents additionally cited medical points and monetary considerations as the highest the explanation why they in all probability wouldn’t have extra youngsters. Mothers had been extra prone to point out medical points, and fathers had been extra prone to cite already having youngsters. About 26% of oldsters beneath age 40 cited monetary considerations.

The ballot factors to long-term traits in parenthood within the U.S., based on The Washington Post. In April, the Census Bureau reported that within the final decade, the U.S. inhabitants grew on the second-slowest fee for any 10-year interval for the reason that nation was based.

Other latest surveys have pointed to the prices of childcare, well being care, and training as causes to postpone or not have youngsters, the newspaper reported. Global instability, the COVID-19 pandemic, and local weather change have additionally led to altering attitudes about marriage, youngsters, and life priorities.

The post More Americans Not Planning to Have Kids, Poll Finds appeared first on Healthy and Slim Life.