Obese adults experience increased influenza risk despite being vaccinated, study finds
June 6, 2017 Melinda A. Beck, PhD, of the UNC Gillings Department of Nutrition, is the corresponding author of a new study in the International Journal of Obesity. The study found that, compared to adults of healthy weight, obese adults are twice as likely to contract the flu or a flu-like illness despite being vaccinated.
Initiatives to reduce salt in packaged foods have worked, but more can be done
June 5, 2017 Gillings School researchers have found that Americans are getting significantly less sodium from packaged foods than they did 15 years ago – but they still take in too much salt from these products.
Drug rebates: Who pays, who profits, how can we make drug prices more equitable?
June 5, 2017 A new study led by Dr. Stacie Dusetzina examines how drug rebates result in disparities in medication costs. She and colleagues show that rebates may increase costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries and the federal Medicare program, while decreasing costs for drug manufacturers and Part D (drug) insurance plans.
Mayer-Davis featured in The Lancet as leader in diabetes research
June 2, 2017 Nutrition chair and distinguished professor Elizabeth Mayer-Davis is profiled in the June 1 issue of The Lancet as a leader in diabetes research.
New study investigates perceptions, ethics of treatment interruptions in HIV cure research
June 2, 2017 Two faculty members from the Gillings School investigated how stakeholders respond to the concept of using analytical treatment interruptions to test the efficacy of potential HIV cure research strategies in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.
Drug company payments associated with physicians’ prescribing choices for cancer drugs
June 2, 2017 Gillings School investigators found an association between physicians receiving payments from pharmaceutical companies for meals, talks and travel and those physicians prescribing the companies' drugs for two types of cancer. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Researchers call for transnational perspective to improve migrants’ health
May 23, 2017 In a systematic review of the literature, Gillings School researchers consider whether and how studies of migrants’ health practices and behaviors to date have considered the migrants’ transnationalism as a factor in those practices and behaviors.
Systematic review reveals reasons for mistrust linked to colorectal cancer screenings in African-Americans
May 17, 2017 A new article in the Journal of Community Health explores the current evidence linking medical mistrust to lower colorectal cancer screening rates in the African-American community.
New findings on genes, hypertension highlight importance of studying populations with African ancestry
May 17, 2017 A recent study identified three novel genomic regions related to hypertension susceptibility in individuals with African ancestry.
Study evaluates the CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers campaign, finds it an effective smoking cessation program
May 12, 2017 A new study assesses the impact of Tips From Former Smokers (Tips), the first federally funded tobacco education campaign in the U.S., which has been aired annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2012. Doctoral student Paul Shafer, also a research economist at RTI International, is co-author of the study, published May 12 in Health Education and Behavior.
