Health News Roundup: Fitness affects stroke risk; Cryotherapy malfunction results in burn, blisters

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Handguns more lethal than rifles in mass shootings

In public mass shootings in the U.S., victims shot with a handgun were more likely to die than in the events associated with a rifle, according to a new study in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. "With public mass shootings rapidly on the rise, we wanted to know the reasons why people die and if any aspect is preventable," said lead study author Dr. Babak Sarani of the George Washington University Center for Trauma and Critical Care in Washington, D.C.

Cryotherapy malfunction results in burn, blisters

Whole-body cryotherapy - a trendy procedure that exposes the naked body to subzero temperatures - isn't backed by evidence and can be risky, doctors say. Spas and gyms advertise cryotherapy as a way to treat sore muscles, back pain, and skin problems. But a report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology highlights a danger.

One-floor living helps seniors 'age in place'

Older adults are less likely to need to change residences if their homes have certain features, including no stairs, a new study found. "Most older adults do not want to move to a nursing home, and supporting older adults to age in the community has potential to improve quality of life and costs for care," said lead study author Marianne Granbom of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and Lund University in Sweden.

After damaging Reuters report, J&J doubles down on talc safety message

Johnson & Johnson Inc's statement was unequivocal. "The FDA has tested Johnson's talc since the '70s. Every single time it did not contain asbestos," the company said in a Dec. 19 tweet. It followed by several days the publication of a Reuters investigation (https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/johnsonandjohnson-cancer/) that found the healthcare conglomerate knew for decades that the carcinogen lurked in its Baby Powder and other cosmetic talc products.

LGBT patients may prefer to report sexual orientation in writing

LGBT patients treated in the emergency room (ER) are more comfortable reporting their sexual orientation on a medical form rather than in a discussion with a health care provider, a new study shows. Patients in the study were two and a half times more likely to say they were comfortable reporting their orientation if it was done on a form rather than an interview with a nurse, researchers report in JAMA Network Open.

Fitness affects stroke risk

Low fitness levels have long been tied to higher risk for heart problems. Now researchers say men's cardiorespiratory fitness is tied to their risk for stroke as well. Researchers in Norway followed 2,014 middle-aged men for more than 20 years. Those who were unfit for the whole study period, or who started out fit but became less so, were twice as likely to have a stroke as those who stayed fit or became fit, they reported in the journal Stroke.

(With inputs from agencies.)