Health News Roundup: Healthcare costs go to bureaucracy; dangers of cannabis edibles and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

More than a third of U.S. healthcare costs go to bureaucracy

U.S. insurers and providers spent more than $800 billion in 2017 on administration, or nearly $2,500 per person - more than four times the per-capita administrative costs in Canada's single-payer system, a new study finds. Over one-third of all healthcare costs in the U.S. were due to insurance company overhead and provider time spent on billing, versus about 17% spent on administration in Canada, researchers reported in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Cannabis edibles may present unanticipated dangers

With cannabis edibles becoming legal and available in more and more places, experts warn there could be unexpected health risks. In a commentary in the medical journal CMAJ, researchers explored the possible dangers associated with foods containing cannabis.

Analysis of commercial DNA tests finds inconsistent coverage

Once strictly the domain of research labs, tests that sequence large swaths of the human genome called the exome have become increasingly popular among medical specialists as a way to understand the genetic causes of rare disease. But a sampling of a dozen tests from each of three commercial laboratories has found they often fail to adequately analyze large segments of DNA that could be contributing to disease, researchers report this week in the journal Clinical Chemistry.

Bird flu hits swans in China's Xinjiang region: ministry

China's agriculture ministry said an H5N6 avian flu virus outbreak has been detected in swans in the western region of Xinjiang. Fifteen out of a group of 150 swans had died from the virus and another 15 were ill in the waterfront of a park and pond in Yining county in Xinjiang, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Teen drinking, drug use tied to other risky behaviors

Teens who binge drink or abuse prescription opioids may be more likely to engage in other risky behaviors, too, two new studies suggest. Adolescents who binge drink are more likely to drive drunk or ride with drivers who are under the influence in early adulthood, and they're also more apt to become extreme binge drinkers who experience blackouts, one of the studies suggests.

Apellis' drug better than Soliris in improving hemoglobin levels in trial

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday its experimental drug for a blood disorder showed greater improvement in patients' hemoglobin levels than market leader Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc's Soliris. Apellis tested its drug, pegcetacoplan, in 80 paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients who remained anemic despite taking Soliris. About half of them were even dependant on blood transfusions to maintain optimal hemoglobin levels.

Largest study yet offers no clear talc link to ovarian cancer

U.S. researchers who conducted the largest study yet into whether applying powder to the genitals increases a woman's risk of ovarian cancer were unable to definitively put to rest the issue that has prompted thousands of lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and other companies. Overall, the study did not find a significantly increased risk of ovarian cancer, but there appeared to be a heightened risk among certain women who used the products.