Media Coverage
The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.
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Yahoo! News
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Here are 5 foods and drinks to avoid if you have high blood pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects an estimated 1.28 billion adults around the world, according to the World Health Organization. Roughly 46% of adults suffering from high blood pressure are unaware of their condition. Making simple lifestyle changes, like limiting certain foods, can lower blood pressure. High blood pressure occurs when the pressure of blood against your artery walls is too high — this forces the heart to work harder to pump blood. It is a condition that can increase risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney problems, aneurysm or heart failure, per the Mayo Clinic. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Vanderbilt Medical Center and Northwestern Medicine observed a group of more than 200 individuals between ages 50 to 75, with a variety of blood pressure statuses — participants’ blood pressure ranged from normotension (blood pressure in normal range) to untreated hypertension. “The results reinforce the importance of reduction in dietary sodium intake to help control blood pressure, even among individuals taking medications for hypertension,” said co-principal investigator Norrina Allen, PhD, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It can be challenging but reducing your sodium in any amount will be beneficial.”
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Yahoo! News
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Here are 5 foods and drinks to avoid if you have high blood pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects an estimated 1.28 billion adults around the world, according to the World Health Organization. Roughly 46% of adults suffering from high blood pressure are unaware of their condition. Making simple lifestyle changes, like limiting certain foods, can lower blood pressure. Limiting and removing certain foods from your diet can help manage and lower high blood pressure. Here are five foods that are bad for people with high blood pressure. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Vanderbilt Medical Center and Northwestern Medicine observed a group of more than 200 individuals between ages 50 to 75, with a variety of blood pressure statuses — participants’ blood pressure ranged from normotension (blood pressure in normal range) to untreated hypertension. “The results reinforce the importance of reduction in dietary sodium intake to help control blood pressure, even among individuals taking medications for hypertension,” said co-principal investigator Norrina Allen, PhD, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It can be challenging but reducing your sodium in any amount will be beneficial.”
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ABC 7 Chicago
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Our Chicago: How To Cope with Stress In America
It’s not a secret – Americans are stressed. A nationwide survey called “Stress in America” for the American Psychological Association provides a picture of just how serious the problem is. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 means a great deal of stress – nearly a quarter of adults in the U.S. rated their average stress levels between 8 and 10. Inger Burnett-Zeigler, a clinical psychologist and associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, spoke about the impact of stress on people’s health. “Stress is the physical and emotional tension that a person feels when the demands of a situation outweigh the resources,” Dr. Burnett-Zeigler said. “So, it’s what a person feels if they have too many things to do and not enough time. Too many bills to pay and not enough money. Or a problem that’s in front of them that they don’t feel like they have the knowledge or the wherewithal in order to solve.” “Anxiety, on the other hand, is when stress has been mismanaged and internalized. And leads to this global, excessive fear and worry that is out of control,” she said. If you are looking for advice to manage stress, Dr. Burnett-Zeigler says “pay attention, pause, slow down and breathe.”
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CNN
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How to choose a therapist who will be the best fit for you
A survey by the American Psychological Association showed more than half of practitioners (56%) have no openings for new patients. That’s despite nine out of 10 adults saying they believe there’s a mental health crisis in the country, according to a 2022 CNN/KFF poll. Your medical doctors may have good recommendations. Friends and family who have already had therapy may also have names. Sheehan D. Fisher, psychologist and assistant professor at Northwestern University, advised going into these conversations with a list of questions to help you identify who you feel most comfortable with. Examples of questions include if you will be working on concrete and specific goals, the theoretical orientation they may practice – such as mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy – and whether their religious beliefs (or the absence of them) make you feel uncomfortable. Other questions to ask include how flexible the sessions will be and if they take insurance. “Chemistry also matters,” Fisher said, as well as being on the same page about the goals you want to accomplish, feeling safe and feeling a connection.
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Yahoo! News
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What to know about prostate cancer following O.J. Simpson’s death
O.J. Simpson, the football legend who became infamous after he was accused (and later acquitted) of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in 1994, died of cancer at age 76 on Wednesday, his family announced. Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in the U.S., accounting for 15% of new cancers diagnosed each year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). After encouraging declines, annual diagnoses of prostate cancer in the U.S. recently began to tick back up, rising 3% per year between 2014 and 2019, the ACS’s latest research found. Alarmingly, there’s been a particular rise in late-stage diagnoses, according to the report. Although 1 in 44 men will die of prostate cancer, the disease isn’t what kills most men diagnosed with it, according to the ACS. This is especially true in older men, who have a very high chance of developing the cancer but will most likely die of some other cause. Still, treatments and testing have improved, Adam Murphy, MD, MBA, MSCI, professor of health equity research in urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life, and survival rates remain high compared to other cancers.
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US News & World Report
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More Fruits, Veggies, Grains Will Get to Kids Under New WIC Rule
Changes to the federal program that helps pay for groceries for low-income moms and their young children means that soon these families will have access to more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. The final rule changes for the program known as WIC make an increase in monthly cash vouchers for fruits and vegetables permanent — a change first enacted during the pandemic. The plan did not include a change requested by top allergists that would have added peanut products to foods allowed for babies ages 6 months to 11 months, to help prevent peanut allergies. Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, a pediatrics professor and child allergy expert at Northwestern University, called the omission “disappointing.” She noted that WIC enrollees often include minority children who are at higher risk of developing dangerous peanut allergies.
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US News & World Report
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Today’s Young Adults Are Aging Faster, and That Might Help Spur Cancers
Younger generations are aging more rapidly, and this could be leading to an increased risk of cancer, a new study says. Northwestern Medicine has more on biological versus chronological age. People born in or after 1965 are 17% more likely to be experiencing accelerated aging compared to seniors born between 1950 and 1954, researchers found. Accelerated aging also was associated with a 16% increased risk of late-onset GI cancer and a 23% increased risk of late-onset uterine cancer among older adults. Researchers presented their findings Sunday at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in San Diego. Studies presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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New York Times
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How an Earthquake Can Throw the Body and Brain Off-Balance
Earthquakes are always unnerving. But for some, the aftershocks can go on beyond the actual tremors: People can experience anxiety, sleep problems and other health issues in the hours and days after a quake. One such effect is a sense of dizziness after an especially large or frightening earthquake. “We see it with patients who get off cruises too, or get off a boat. They’ll be lightheaded or have a sensation of movement for days or even months,” said Landon Duyka, MD, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at Northwestern Medicine. If you are dizzy or feel like the ground is still moving after an earthquake ends, experts recommend treating it as you would other forms of motion sickness. Try looking at a spot far away and focusing on it, Dr. Duyka said, which “can often help what we call the vestibular system — or your balance system — settle down.” If your dizzy spell doesn’t go away on its own within a few hours, or if it is particularly intense, you may want to look into over-the-counter antihistamines, like Dramamine, Dr. Duyka said.
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TIME
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Why Heart Disease Research Still Favors Men
There is a dangerous gap in medical care between men and women. While they are equally likely to suffer heart attacks, women are more likely to die from theirs. It’s one of the many symptoms of the medical system’s neglect of women. Life-saving statins, like so many other medications, have been developed based on clinical trials that primarily recruited men. As a result, many women don’t receive prescriptions for drugs that could help them the most. Perhaps the most recent instance of women being left out of heart disease research can be seen in the trials of highly popular diabetes drugs such as semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy. The drugs cause dramatic weight loss, which made researchers wonder if they might lower heart disease rates, too. They do, according to several studies, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration now approves their use to prevent heart disease. Robert Kushner, MD, a professor of medicine at Northwestern University who led some of the weight-loss studies, says he was surprised at the discrepancy between the enrollment of women in the obesity trials of semaglutide—in which about three-quarters of volunteers were women—and in the heart disease trials, in which women represented fewer than 28% of participants. He says researchers recruited people already being treated for heart disease. “Predominantly, the ones who are getting care and being seen around the world were men,” Kushner says.
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WebMD
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Pick the Right Vitamins and Supplements for You
Dietary supplements include vitamins, fish oil, herbs, minerals like calcium, and more. And if you take one, you’re not alone. About half of U.S. adults do. But should you? That’s a question for your doctor or dietitian, says Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University. “I get some concern when I see people take one of these and one of those, just because they’ve read somewhere that a supplement is helpful,” Van Horn says. “Imbalances can easily occur, and you may not be aware of it.” Food is the best way to get your vitamins and minerals. But it sometimes can be hard to eat enough fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains, and other healthy options. A multivitamin can be a safe way to boost your nutrients. But multivitamins aren’t likely to help you live longer or lower your chances of long-term health problems. That includes heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. And there’s no evidence that vitamins can help you think or remember better.
