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Daily Cannabis Use Linked to Public Health Burden

The AHA! Team — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 05:24:00 +0000

George Washington University via Newswise – A new study analyzes the disease burden and the risk factors for severity among people who suffer from a condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (Washington Feb. 20, 2025) Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome Researchers at the George Washington University say the condition occurs in people who are long-term regular consumers of cannabis and causes nausea, uncontrollable vomiting and excruciating pain in a cyclical pattern that often leads to repeated trips to the hospital. “This is one of the first large studies to examine the burden of disease associated with this cannabis-linked syndrome,” says Andrew Meltzer, professor of emergency medicine at the GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences and lead author of the study. “Our findings suggest that cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome could represent a costly and largely hidden public health problem.” Many experts say that the condition is on the rise While the exact prevalence of the condition is unknown, many experts say that the condition is on the rise as the number of daily or near daily users of cannabis has increased in the US. To assess the burden of disease, Meltzer and his colleagues conducted a survey of 1,052 people who report suffering from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. The researchers asked questions about frequency of use, duration of the habit, the age they started using the drug, and need for emergency department or hospital care. Key findings of the study: 85% reported at least 1 emergency department visit and 44% reported at least 1 hospitalization associated with the hyperemesis symptoms. Early age of cannabis initiation was associated with higher odds of emergency department visits. Daily use of cannabis before the onset of the syndrome was nearly universal, with over 40% of respondents reporting they used marijuana more than 5 times a day. Prolonged use was common with 44% reporting using regularly for more than 5 years before onset of syndrome. The new research suggests that the condition may impose a heavy burden on individuals who suffer from it as it often results in pain, vomiting and costly trips to the hospital. Emergency room doctors can stabilize the patient and help alleviate the acute symptoms but the only known way to stop the episodes of excruciating abdominal pain and repeated vomiting is to stop using cannabis, Meltzer says. A substantial risk of this painful and costly condition Although this study had some limitations, including self-reported use of cannabis, Meltzer says it suggests a substantial risk of this painful and costly condition, especially for users who begin daily use of cannabis as adolescents. He says more research is needed to understand why some people suffer from the condition after prolonged cannabis exposure and others do not. In addition, it is unclear why cannabis changes from a drug that has been known to ease nausea and vomiting, especially among patients undergoing chemotherapy, to causing nausea and vomiting in a subset of people. Many patients don’t realize that the syndrome is connected with their use of cannabis Meltzer says it is important for clinicians to advise those with frequent cannabinoid use or hyperemesis about the risks and subsequent disease burden. He says many patients don’t realize that the syndrome is connected with their use of cannabis. Physicians should explain that and advise patients on resources to help them quit, he says. The study, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is Associated with High Disease Burden: An Internet-based Survey, was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine on Feb. 20, 2025. Andrew Meltzer explains more about the study in this GW video. -GW- To read the original article click here.

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Junk Food in Hospitals

The AHA! Team — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 06:35:18 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Why is hospital food so unhealthy? “Put in stark terms, CVD [cardiovascular disease] claims 1 American life every 39 seconds and is responsible for more deaths annually than cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, and accidents combined.” For most heart attack deaths, you just keel over. Sudden cardiac death “is the first manifestation of CHD [coronary heart disease] for the majority of individuals, particularly among women.” So, “for many of these sudden death victims, their demise was the ﬁrst indication of the presence of coronary heart disease.” They didn’t even know they had heart disease. That’s why an ounce of prevention is worth way more than a pound of cure—because there is no cure for death. That’s also why the prevention of sudden cardiac death “remains a major public health challenge” because most people don’t even know they’re at risk. However, we’ve known for more than half a century, when we first started autopsying young servicemen who died during the Korean War, that coronary artery disease begins in our youth, even among young children. So, “business as usual…simply is not going to yield the improvements necessary to radically improve the CV [cardiovascular] health of the United States” and around the world. There is good news, though. A “low-risk lifestyle (not smoking, exercising regularly, having a prudent diet, and maintaining a healthy weight)” may be able to eliminate the vast majority of the risk for sudden cardiac death. “The time is now long overdue to start aggressive preventive cardiovascular disease programs in our schools, our homes, and our worksites.” How about starting in our hospitals? As I discuss in my video Hospitals Profit on Junk Food, a significant percentage of hospitals surveyed had fast-food restaurants inside them, with Krispy Kreme topping the list. Brilliant marketing, given that “families surveyed at the hospital with McDonald’s were…twice as likely to think McDonald’s was healthy, as compared to families at the hospitals without McDonald’s.” After all, McDonald’s was in the hospital. What about food served in hospital cafeterias? Any better? Researchers analyzed 384 entrees from 14 children’s hospitals in California, and only 7 percent “were classified as healthy.” And, just in case someone chose the rare healthy option, 81 percent of eating venues in children’s hospitals had junky “high-calorie impulse items, such as ice cream freezers, cookies, and candy, at or near the checkout register” and 38 percent “had signs encouraging unhealthy eating.” Why would they do that? If you ask hospital cafeteria managers, “less than a quarter (4 of 17) of respondents reported that the hospital followed nutrition standards for food offered in the cafeteria.” “Nutrition is not a top priority.” It’s the same reason unhealthy food is sold anywhere else: “pressure on food service departments for cafeterias to generate proﬁt.” “Increased emphasis…[is] placed on running a hospital foodservice department as a profit center”—a bigger and “bigger profit center,” that is. It’s such a metaphor for our sickness-care system in general, where healthy, treat-the-cause approaches are eclipsed by the pills and procedures that bring in the most money. What do you expect from the private sector? Public hospitals don’t seem to be much better. A 2019 analysis of veterans’ hospitals found that “all VA Hospitals contain vending machines providing a majority of soda, candy, and junk foods that directly conﬂict with healthy food choice recommendations from US governing health bodies,” such that, ironically, “hospital visits could theoretically promote worse health….An important question that should be posed is why are any soda or candy machines available at our VA hospitals? Are we trading the health of our veterans for proﬁts?” Maybe it’s time to ban junk food on hospital premises. “On daily rounds, it is appalling to see patients…gorging on crisps [potato chips], confectionery [candy], sports drinks, and cola—the very food items that may have contributed to their admission in the first place…It is obscene that many hospitals continue to have…fast food franchises on site, as well as corridors littered with vending machines selling junk food. Such practice legitimizes the acceptability and consumption of such foods in the daily diet…The obesity epidemic represents a public health crisis, but it is a public health scandal that by legitimizing junk food hospitals have themselves become a risk factor for diet-related disease by perpetuating the revolving door of healthcare…It’s time to stop selling sickness on the hospital grounds.” What message do residents receive when they are fed pizza and soda at grand rounds? We need a healthcare system with “more Hippocrates, less hypocrisy.” For more on how the profit motive is degrading our health, see related posts below. Key Takeaways Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death, surpassing the combined deaths from cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, and accidents. Sudden cardiac death often occurs without prior symptoms, particularly in women. Many victims are unaware they have coronary heart disease until it’s too late, highlighting the importance of prevention. Studies dating back to the Korean War show that coronary artery disease can begin in youth, including among young children, indicating that early prevention is crucial. A low-risk lifestyle, including not smoking, regular exercise, a prudent diet, and maintaining a healthy weight, can significantly reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death. Hospitals often fail to prioritize nutrition, with many offering unhealthy food options, including fast food and junk food, which contradicts health advice and potentially worsens patients’ conditions. There’s a call for hospitals to stop promoting unhealthy foods and focus on better nutritional practices. To read the original article click here.

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Top Israeli Doctor Says Ivermectin Could Help Treat COVID, Urges More Research

AHA Publisher — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 07:00:32 +0000

Chris Mitchell via CBN News – JERUSALEM, Israel – In the battle against COVID-19, most of the world has turned to vaccines as the main line of defense. Still, a number of doctors and hospitals are looking for other options that could potentially play a role in defeating this global pandemic. Several treatments have seen success in treating the disease, such as Regeneron and Remdesevir. The drug Ivermectin also continues to generate interest. While the FDA and other organizations advise against it, one Israeli doctor is reporting positive results in clinical trials. Professor Eli Schwartz is with the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, considered one of the world’s top hospitals. For decades, Prof. Schwartz has traveled the world fighting outbreaks like Dengue Fever and Ebola. He also began the Travel Medicine and Tropical Disease Institute at Sheba. At the beginning of the pandemic and months before any vaccine, Israel’s Defense Ministry assigned Schwartz to find a medical solution for COVID-19. Professor Eli Schwartz. Photo: CBN News “Since Ivermectin is one of the drugs that we are using in daily life in the Tropical Institute, I knew it. I know the safety profile of it. And since there was some hints of in-vitro studies, which show the efficacy against specifically, even against COVID-19, we decided to go for it.” That meant putting the drug through a clinical trial that lasted ten months. “Our study, which was done here, it’s a randomized controlled trial, double-blind. It’s really, I would say, this is the best method that you are doing studies. And our conclusion is that it really has antiviral activities,” Shwartz told CBN News. From his international experience in the field, Schwartz knew Ivermectin targeted parasites. Since its development in 1987, nearly 4 billion doses with few side effects and at low cost have protected millions of people from insidious parasitical diseases like River Blindness and Elephantiasis. That success won its developers the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2015. Schwartz’s study made headlines in Israel when his trial showed Ivermectin to also be anti-viral. “This is the first drug to show antiviral activity. And then, I think, there’s a good reason to continue with a much more thorough investigation to see, for example, whether people who are at high risk, may not deteriorate to be hospitalized, to be mechanically ventilated, or to death.” Schwartz’s clinical study found that by day four, 86% of his patients who took ivermectin recovered. By day six, 94% recovered. “The bottom line is that … Ivermectin decreased faster the viral load, and also sterilized the culture much better compared to the placebo,” he said. Schwartz explained to CBN News this means Ivermectin killed the virus and his patients were non-infectious. Schwartz says this could save lives and reduce quarantines by days. “It’s a huge change in life. It’s a huge change for the patient. It’s a huge change for his family. And from the economical point of view, it’s a dramatic change. You know, it’s how much money you can save for the economy of the country, if you can shorten the isolation time,” he said. But ivermectin is not accepted by the global health establishment. A major FDA concern is that a number of people have tried to self-medicate using a form of the drug intended for livestock. “Don’t do it. There’s no evidence whatsoever that it works and it could potentially have toxicity, as you just mentioned, with people who have gone to poison control centers because they’ve taken the drug at a ridiculous dose and wind up getting sick,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci. The World Health Organization advises “that Ivermectin only be used be used to treat COVID-19 within clinical trials.” The National Institutes of Health says, “Ivermectin is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of any viral infection” and that “well-conducted clinical trials are needed to provide more specific, evidence-based guidance on the role of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19.” For studies to be accepted by the broader medical community, it must be peer-reviewed and published in a medical journal. That’s where Prof. Schwartz hit a roadblock. Several journals turned him down, but one is currently reviewing his study. “It’s something really very odd. I mean, in my career, I published, I think at least 300 papers and chapters, and I never heard the story that they have with Ivermectin. I think that this kind of international campaign, anti-Ivermectin; same that we have anti-vax, anti-vaccine, we have anti-Ivermectin. I don’t understand,” said Schwartz. Schwartz added that while many health agencies want better studies, no large-scale trials on ivermectin happened until Oxford University began one in June of this year. “I mean, it took them 18 months from the beginning of the pandemic to try to do it. I mean, people dying all over the world. And you have drug under your hand and you have to wait so long until you get any conduction of a good study,” he said. Now, the pharmaceutical company Merck, which developed Ivermectin, and Pfizer are in a race to produce an oral anti-viral drug for COVID that some believe is what Ivermectin could do already. “In my view, the whole story of Ivermectin is much beyond Ivermectin. It’s even beyond the corona. The problem is that we are in the arms of the pharma and the pharma is looking for new drugs. And, therefore, all old drugs which might be with a good potential to use it for whatever you’re looking for, there’s not any parents to push for it,” Schwartz claimed. Prof. Schwartz advocates the use of Ivermectin but also believes in the vaccine. “Most of the world, still vaccine is not available. So, if we have a medication that can try to reduce the magnitude of the pandemic in the meantime, that’s absolutely needed, but when, if I have to compare the vaccine and Ivermectin for prevention, no doubt the vaccine. This is the solution, the international solution,” he said. Schwartz hopes more research will prove the drug can help fight this pandemic and that it will eventually be allowed to treat patients on a widespread basis and not just within clinical trials. To read the original article click here.

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COVID-19 Mortality Rate Declines Significantly in Sweden

AHA Publisher — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 08:00:43 +0000

Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD via News-Medical Net – A new observational study by Swedish researchers shows a significant decline in death rates among hospitalized patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Their study titled, “Decline in mortality among hospitalized covid-19 patients in Sweden: a nationwide observational study,” was released online as a preprint on the medRxiv* server. Background The novel coronavirus SARS CoV-2 that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has infected over 44 million individuals worldwide and claimed the lives of over 1.17 million. Most COVID cases are hospitalized for complications caused by the infection. The virus’s immense capacity to infect populations and spread rapidly has put enormous pressure on the healthcare system in general and on hospitals in particular, wrote the researchers. Those admitted to hospitals with COVID have a mortality of over 20 percent. Thirty-four percent of patients require intensive care. The proportion of patients requiring ICU admission is between 17 and 32 percent wrote the team. These numbers are derived from studies conducted between February and April 2020. With time, the understanding of the infection and its management has improved, and thus survival has also improved with time. This new study was undertaken among Swedish patients to see if there has been a change in mortality rates among hospitalized COVID-19 patients across the nation. The researchers attempted to see 60-day mortality (defined as death from any cause within 60 days of index hospital admission), mortality rate of the COVID-19 patients for both non-ICU treated, and ICU treated patients during the first 4 months of the pandemic. The data came from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW). Flow chart of study inclusion: Patients hospitalized for covid-19 in Sweden 1 March – 30 June, 2020 Study design This was a nationwide observational cohort study of patients hospitalized in Sweden between 1st March and 30th June 2020. The patients had all tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA between 14 days before to 5 days after admission. The code on their discharge was COVID-19. All hospitals in Sweden were included in the study. A total of 15,761 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were included in the study. The data came from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. 60-day all-cause mortality for the patients was recorded and analyzed. The patient population was classified according to the month of their admission. Relative risks of deaths in the patients by month of admission were calculated. Factors such as pre-existing comorbidities, age, gender and care dependency, and severe illness were considered. To assess the severity of illness, Simplified Acute Physiology, version 3 (SAPS3), and oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2) were used among ICU admitted patients. Treatments and procedures they underwent in the ICU were also recorded. Timeline of patients admitted to, and in care, in hospitals for covid-19 in Sweden during the study period. Shown are number of patients admitted per day into hospital (by index admission date), and into ICU specifically (by ICU admission date) on left Y-axis; number of patients in care per day in hospital, and in ICU specifically on right Y-axis What was found? Overall results of the study can be summarized as: A total of 15,761 patients were admitted. The patients’ median age was 64 years (between 51 and 78 years), and of these, 57.5 percent were men. The highest number of admissions was during April 2020 The proportion of patients admitted to ICU was 14.4 percent overall. Age distribution of admitted patients changed over time, with the number of patients less than 40 years old and over 90 years of age rising between March and June. The overall all-cause 60-day mortality was 17.8 percent (between 17.2 and 18.4 percent) among Swedish patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The rates of deaths were 24.7 in March 2020 that fell to 13.3 percent in June 2020 Adjusted relative risk (RR) of death was 0.56 (95 percent CI, 0.51 to 0.63) for June, with rates inMarch used as a baseline. Compared to ICU admitted patients, relative risks of death for non-ICU patients were 0.60 (95 percent CI, 0.53 to 0.67) and 0.61 (95 percent CI, 0.48 to 0.79), respectively. Admission rates to the ICU fell from 19.5 percent (95 percent CI, 17.9 percent to 21.0 percent) in March to 11.0 percent (95 percent CI, 9.9 percent to 12.2 percent) in June 2020. In June, the proportion of ICU admitted patients receiving mechanical ventilation fell from 86.5 percent in March to 58.6 percent. In June, the proportion of ICU admitted patients receiving dialysis fell from 22.8 percent in March to 13.8 percent. SAPS3 and PaO2/FiO2 on ICU admission remained similar throughout the study period among the patients roportion of patients treated in ICU and receiving invasive mechanical ventilation during the hospital stay, according to month of hospital admission. Shown are proportions with 95% confidence intervals Conclusions and implications This study reveals that there has been a decline in the mortality rates among hospitalized Swedish COVID-19 patients with time over the pandemic. This decline is independent of the pre-existing comorbidities among the patients. Authors call for further research to understand the reasons behind this decline. Authors write, “The changing covid-19 mortality should be taken into account when management and results of studies from the first pandemic wave are evaluated.” *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Journal reference: Decline in mortality among hospitalised covid-19 patients in Sweden: a nationwide observational study Kristoffer Stralin, Erik Wahlstrom, Sten Walther, Mona Heurgren, Anna M Bennet-Bark, Thomas Linden, Johanna Holm, Hakan Hanberger medRxiv 2020.10.27.20220061; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.27.20220061, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.27.20220061v1 To read the original article click here.

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Vitamin D Helps Us Fight Covid-19, Major Study Finds

AHA Publisher — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 07:00:43 +0000

ISRAEL21c Staff via Israel21c – A low level of vitamin D in blood plasma appears to be an independent risk factor for Covid-19 infection and hospitalization, say scientists from Israeli HMO Leumit Health Services and the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University. The researchers came to their conclusion using real-world data and an Israeli cohort of 782 Covid-19 positive patients and 7,025 Covid-19 negative patients. “The main finding of our study was the significant association of low plasma vitamin D level with the likelihood of Covid-19 infection among patients who were tested for Covid-19, even after adjustment for age, gender, socio-economic status and chronic, mental and physical disorders,” said Dr. Eugene Merzon, head of Leumit’s Department of Managed Care. “Furthermore, low vitamin D level was associated with the risk of hospitalization due to Covid-19 infection, although this association wasn’t significant after adjustment for other factors,” he added. The scientists’ research follows a few worldwide studies that have shown the pronounced impact of vitamin D metabolites on the immune system response and on the development of Covid-19 infection by the novel SARS CoV-2 coronavirus. “Our finding is in agreement with the results of previous studies in the field. Reduced risk of acute respiratory tract infection following vitamin D supplementation has been reported,” said Dr. Ilan Green, head of Leumit’s Research Institute. As for the amount of vitamin D required, Merzon says it should be “personalized and take into account patients’ age, gender, race and ethnicity, nutritional status and health condition.” Their report on the study was published in The FEBS Journal and is expected to make a wide impact because of the study’s size and population-based structure. Fascinating Findings Dr. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern, leader of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine research group, added that the analysis showed people who were Covid-19 positive were older than non-infected people. “Interestingly, the two-peak distributions for age groups were demonstrated to confer increased risk for Covid-19: around ages 25 and 50 years old,” she said. “The first peak may be explained by high social gathering habits at the young age. The peak at age 50 years may be explained by continued social habits, in conjunction with various chronic diseases.” Leumit Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shlomo Vinker said he was surprised to discover that “chronic medical conditions, like dementia, cardiovascular disease and chronic lung disease that were considered to be very risky in previous studies, were not found as increasing the rate of infection in our study.” However, he added, “this finding is highly biased by the severe social contacts restrictions that were imposed on all the population during the Covid-19 outbreak. Therefore, we assume that following the Israeli Ministry of Health instructions, patients with chronic medical conditions significantly reduced their social contacts. This might indeed minimize the risk of Covid-19 infection in that group of patients.” Now this joint Israeli research team is planning to evaluate factors associated with Covid-19 mortality in Israel. “We are willing to find associations to the Covid-19 clinical outcomes — for example, pre-infection glycemic control of Covid-19 patients — to make the assessment of mortality risk due to Covid-19 infection in Israel,” said Merzon. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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New Hydroxychloroquine Study Proves Trump Right, Says It ‘Significantly’ Cuts Death Rate

AHA Publisher — Sun, 05 Jul 2020 07:00:40 +0000

Benjamin Gill via CBN News – A substantial new study has found that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine helped patients survive COVID-19. In fact, the study from the Henry Ford Health System in Michigan said the drug “significantly” cut the death rate of patients. “Treatment with hydroxychloroquine cut the death rate significantly in sick patients hospitalized with COVID-19 – and without heart-related side-effects,” the health organization reports. Their analysis of 2,500 COVID-19 patients found the drug can be effective if patients received it early in their treatment. “Our analysis shows that using hydroxychloroquine helped save lives,” said neurosurgeon Dr. Steven Kalkanis, CEO, Henry Ford Medical Group and Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of Henry Ford Health System. “As doctors and scientists, we look to the data for insight. And the data here is clear that there was benefit to using the drug as a treatment for sick, hospitalized patients.” President Trump had touted the drug early on as a possible experimental treatment for virus patients, but then studies found conflicting results about its effectiveness and the news media hammered him on it. One of the earlier negative studies was later retracted. Scientists from the Henry Ford Health System explained why their study was successful. “The findings have been highly analyzed and peer-reviewed,” said Dr. Marcus Zervos, division head of Infectious Disease for Henry Ford Health System, who co-authored the study with Henry Ford epidemiologist Dr. Samia Arshad. “We attribute our findings that differ from other studies to early treatment, and part of a combination of interventions that were done in supportive care of patients, including careful cardiac monitoring. Our dosing also differed from other studies not showing a benefit of the drug. And other studies are either not peer-reviewed, have limited numbers of patients, different patient populations or other differences from our patients.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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