Health News Roundup: Swine fever in China among risks to food markets; Weightlifting better at reducing heart fat

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Swine fever in China among risks to food markets - FAO/OECD

The spread of a deadly pig disease in China that has disrupted the world's biggest pork market is one of the major risks to a well-supplied global agricultural sector, the FAO and OECD said on Monday. African swine fever was highlighted in the FAO and OECD's annual agricultural outlook for 2019-2028, which forecast broadly stable agricultural markets in the coming decade as productivity gains help output to keep pace with rising demand for food, livestock feed and crop-based biofuels.

Legalizing pot tied to less teen marijuana use

Marijuana legalization laws don't appear to increase teen pot use and instead may have the opposite effect, a U.S. study suggests. To see how teen marijuana use compares in states with and without such laws, researchers examined survey data on substance use collected from 1.4 million adolescents between 1993 and 2017. During that period, 27 states and Washington, D.C. legalized medical marijuana and seven states legalized cannabis for recreational purposes.

Drinking less might be tied to higher quality of life

Moderate drinkers who quit may be able to achieve bigger improvements in well-being than the rest of us, a new study suggests. In moderation, alcohol consumption has been linked to improved quality of life and a lower risk of health problems like heart disease and certain cancers in some previous research, leading doctors to advise some patients to imbibe occasionally as part of a healthy diet, researchers note in CMAJ. But results have been mixed, and research to date hasn't offered a clear picture of whether moderate drinking - up to 17 drinks a week for men and 7 for women - is more harmful or helpful when it comes to physical and mental health.

U.S. judge strikes down Trump administration rule requiring drug prices in TV ads

A federal judge on Monday dealt a blow to the Trump administration by striking down a new rule that would have forced pharmaceutical companies to include the wholesale prices of their drugs in television advertising. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington sided with drugmakers Merck & Co Inc, Eli Lilly and Co and Amgen Inc by halting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule from taking effect on Tuesday as planned.

Intra-Cellular drug fails bipolar depression study; shares fall 14%

Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc said on Monday it's lead drug failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage study in patients with major depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder. The company's shares fell 14% before the opening bell.

Juror urges U.S. judge to uphold $80 million Roundup verdict against Bayer

A juror who was part of a panel that delivered an $80 million award against Bayer AG after finding that its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup caused a man's cancer has urged the presiding judge to uphold the decision. A letter from the juror written on July 4 was posted to the court docket on Monday as part of legal filings by Bayer. The company accused the juror of bias and called on the judge to disregard the letter in his decision making.

Weightlifting better at reducing heart fat than aerobic exercise

Obese people who engaged in resistance training were more likely to see reductions in a type of heart fat that has been linked to cardiovascular disease, a new study finds. In the small study, researchers determined that a certain type of heart fat, pericardial adipose tissue, was reduced in patients who did weight lifting, but not in those who worked on increasing their endurance with aerobic exercise, according to a report published in JAMA Cardiology. Both forms of exercise resulted in the reduction of the second type of heart fat, epicardial adipose tissue, which has also been linked with heart disease.

UK offers HPV vaccines to boys, aims to stop 100,000 cancer cases

Some 100,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in Britain in the next 40 years by a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cancers of the cervix, mouth, anus, and genitals, UK health officials said on Tuesday. Announcing the extension of a vaccination program to cover boys, as well as girls, experts at Public Health England (PHE), said the immunization plan would prevent around 64,000 cervical cancers and nearly 50,000 non-cervical cancers by 2058.

Parents talking to kids may blunt the negative impact of adversity on schoolwork

Children who suffer adverse experiences tend to do worse in school than kids who don't, but a U.S. study suggests parents may still help improve academic outcomes by simply talking to their kids. Adverse childhood experiences, commonly called ACEs, can include witnessing parents fight or go through a divorce, having a parent with a mental illness or substance abuse problem, or suffering from sexual, physical or emotional abuse. ACEs have been linked to what's known as toxic stress, or wear and tear on the body that leads to physical and mental health problems that often continue from one generation to the next.

12-month supply of birth control pills cuts unintended pregnancies, cost

When women are given a 12-month supply of oral contraceptives, they are less likely to have an unintended pregnancy than if they need to get refills every three months, a new study shows. Researchers also found that supplying 12 months of the pill to female veterans was more cost-effective than doling out just three months of contraceptives at a time, according to the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)