Health News Roundup: FDA approval may not be as rigorous; women of color have more childbirth complications and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

FDA approval may not be as rigorous as it once was

Changes in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) procedures meant to speed approvals for medications may have resulted in less exacting standards, a new analysis suggests. Congressional acts that changed the way the FDA evaluates drugs have led to less rigorous evaluations, with drug approvals being based on fewer and/or earlier-stage clinical trials that may not be randomized, controlled, blinded or based on traditional measures of efficacy, experts noted in the article published in JAMA.

In New York City, women of color have more childbirth complications

Black and Latina mothers in New York City are more likely than white women to experience severe delivery complications even when they have similar types of health insurance and give birth at the same hospital, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on 591,455 deliveries at 40 hospitals in New York City from 2010 to 2014. They calculated the risk of serious complications such as heart attacks, cardiac arrest, kidney failure, respiratory distress, heart failure, hysterectomy or the need for blood transfusions, breathing tubes or ventilators.

Juul Labs to stop selling fruit-flavored pods in Canada

Juul Labs Inc confirmed on Tuesday it will stop selling its fruit-flavored vaping pods in Canada, a move that could help the e-cigarette maker stave off mounting scrutiny over the surging popularity of its products with teenagers. Juul has adopted a similar strategy in the United States where it has also withdrawn fruit, dessert and mint nicotine flavors from retail stores and websites.

Smoking tied to worse outcomes after a stroke

People who smoke or have recently quit have higher odds of being severely impaired after a stroke than their counterparts who never smoked, a new study suggests. Smoking has long been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and serious events like heart attacks and strokes. But the new study sheds light on how smoking in the period before a stroke impacts how easily people will be able to navigate daily life afterward.

WHO says new China coronavirus could spread, warns hospitals worldwide

There may have been a limited human-to-human transmission of a new coronavirus in China within families, and it is possible there could be a wider outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to SARS. A Chinese woman has been quarantined in Thailand with a mystery strain of coronavirus, Thai authorities said on Monday, the first time the virus has been detected outside China.

The second case of H5N8 bird flu found in Hungary in a week, spreading around eastern Europe

A second outbreak of bird flu has been found at a large duck farm in eastern Hungary, the National Food Chain Safety Authority (NEBIH) said on Wednesday, two days after the first such case in the country in years. The flu has spread in recent days in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary. It is a highly pathogenic strain of the virus that reappeared in Poland in early January.

The U.S. warns citizens in China against the pneumonia outbreak

The U.S. State Department warned Americans in China about an outbreak of pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan believed to be caused by a new strain of coronavirus, and which has killed one person. The outbreak comes ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in late January when many of China's 1.4 billion people will be traveling to their home towns or abroad. The World Health Organization and Chinese authorities are taking steps to ensure the disease does not spread further.

Women who have more sex have a lower risk of early menopause: scientists

Women who have sex at least once a month have a lower risk of entering menopause early than women with less active sex lives, scientists have found in research which they say points to a form of biological energy trade-off. A study of data from almost 3,000 women in the United States showed that those who said they had sexual activity weekly or more frequently - including intercourse, oral sex, sexual touching or self-stimulation - were 28% less likely to have experienced menopause at any given age than women who said they had sex less than once a month.

Romania reports outbreak of H5N8 bird flu on a farm: OIE

Romania has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus on a farm in the northern part of the country, the first such outbreak in nearly three years, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday. The virus killed 11,190 birds out of a flock of 18,699 in the Maramures region near the borders with Ukraine and Hungary, the Paris-based OIE said, citing a report from Romania's veterinary services.

Pharmacy unit boosts UnitedHealth as costs rise

UnitedHealth Group Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, as the largest U.S. health insurer managed to control medical costs and made gains with the unit that houses its pharmacy benefits management business. Shares of the industry bellwether, however, fell 1% in trading before the bell after the company affirmed its full-year forecast for 2020 adjusted earnings of $16.25 to $16.55 per share, compared to analysts' average estimates of $16.46.

(With inputs from agencies.)