Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Vitamin D fails to prevent type 2 diabetes in a large study

If you're taking vitamin D and expecting it to lower your risk of getting type 2 diabetes when you get older, it's time to lower your expectations. A new study, the largest of its kind, has found that taking 4000 international units (IU) per day, which is on the upper limit of the recommended intake, may double the amount of vitamin D in the blood but it gives most people roughly the same chance of developing blood sugar problems as people who don't take the vitamin.

Fewer psychiatrists take Medicaid patients even as the program has expanded

Fewer and fewer psychiatrists are accepting Medicaid even as increasing numbers of patients have gained mental health coverage through the expansion of the program, a new study suggests. The percentage of psychiatrists taking Medicaid fell from nearly 48 per cent in 2010-2011 to 35 per cent in 2014-2015, researchers report in JAMA Psychiatry.

Three dead after food poisoning linked to UK hospital sandwiches

Three people have died in northern England and three more are seriously ill from food poisoning thought to have resulted from eating contaminated pre-packaged sandwiches served in hospitals, Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday. The deaths were caused by an outbreak of listeria at hospitals run by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the public health agency said in a statement.

Inflammatory bowel disease patients have higher health costs

People with inflammatory bowel disease - either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis - may incur health costs more than three times higher than individuals without these conditions, a U.S. study suggests. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involves chronic or recurring inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. People with Crohn's can have inflammation throughout the digestive tract, while in ulcerative colitis, only the large intestine and the rectum become inflamed.

Unit of drugmaker Insys pleads guilty to U.S. opioid bribe scheme

A unit of Insys Therapeutics Inc pleaded guilty on Friday to fraud charges as part of a $225 million deal with the U.S. Justice Department resolving claims that the drugmaker bribed doctors to prescribe an addictive opioid medication. The plea, in federal court in Boston by the Chandler, Arizona-based Insys' operating subsidiary, came in one of the few criminal prosecutions to date of a corporation accused of helping fuel the nation's deadly opioid epidemic.

Co-owner, ex-employee of pharmacy in U.S. meningitis outbreak acquitted

A federal judge on Friday tossed the convictions of a co-owner and former employee of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy accused of conspiring to help it evade regulatory oversight before its drugs caused a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston ruled that New England Compounding Center co-owner Gregory Conigliaro and former employee Sharon Carter did not have fair warning their actions could subject them to prosecution.

U.S. FDA warns flavoured e-cigarette makers over social media posts

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission on Friday issued warning letters to four flavoured e-liquid product makers, stepping up pressure on firms using social media influencers to promote their products. Social media marketing has come under increased scrutiny as part of attempts by health regulators to control the marketing of tobacco products, particularly the newest generation of products including the wildly popular Juul e-cigarettes.

Under pressure, Biden drifts leftward on abortion, climate change

The Joe Biden Express to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination went a bit off track this week. Since Biden joined the race in April, his campaign has worked to craft an aura of inevitability around the former vice president’s bid. Biden has engaged President Donald Trump more often than his Democratic rivals while speaking in broad, thematic outlines rather pinpointing policy.

USDA investigates unapproved GMO wheat found in Washington state

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the discovery of unapproved, genetically modified (GM) wheat plants growing in an un-planted agricultural field in Washington state. There was no evidence the wheat had entered the food supply, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a statement on Friday. The wheat is resistant to glyphosate, a widely used herbicide commonly referred to as Roundup. Holidays, vacations around the corner?

Step on the scale every day to keep in shape

People who step on the scale every day during holidays tend to avoid gaining extra pounds, a new U.S. study suggests. Nutrition researcher Jamie Cooper of the University of Georgia and her colleagues set out to examine whether the simple act of weighing oneself daily could prevent weight gain during the winter holiday season, spanning mid-November to early January.

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