Health News Roundup: U.S. veterans' chief concern after discharge; Poland hit by bird fly and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. veterans' chief concern after military discharge? Their health

Survey responses from nearly 10,000 U.S. veterans show their chief concern in the first year after leaving the service - beyond work or social relationships - is their health. While the veterans were largely satisfied with their work and social lives, most said they had chronic physical problems, and a third said they had chronic mental health problems, researchers report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Poland hit by bird flu outbreak on turkey farms

Bird flu has been detected in turkeys in eastern Poland, authorities said on Wednesday, and local media reported that the outbreak could require up to 40,000 birds to be slaughtered. Poland, Europe's largest poultry producer according to data from Eurostat, has not had an outbreak of bird flu since 2017.

Trump administration clamps down on e-cigarette flavors, except menthol

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a ban on some popular e-cigarette flavors, including fruit and mint, to curb rising teenage use of vaping products, allowing only menthol and tobacco flavors to remain on the market. The flavor ban applies to e-cigarettes, which use disposable cartridges filled with liquid nicotine and are often sold in convenience stores. (https://bit.ly/37Fcwwj)

Britain's Greggs follows vegan sausage roll success with meatless steak bake

Britain's Greggs launched a vegan version of its popular steak bake on Thursday, aiming to capitalize on the success of the meatless sausage roll that has boosted the baker's profits and helped fuel an 80% rise in its share price last year. Greggs said the new product mirrored the original but used meat substitute Quorn instead of steak in its filling.

More January U.S. price hikes take 2020 tally to over 330 drugs with higher cost

AbbVie Inc on Thursday raised the cost of rheumatoid arthritis treatment Humira, the world's top-selling medicine, joining other drugmakers that have now hiked U.S. prices of more than 330 prescription drugs for 2020, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. That is currently below the average of 371 drug price increases in the first two days over the past five years. However, more price hikes could still be announced, including some that would be effective as of Jan. 1, 3 Axis said.

Novo Nordisk to offer free insulin to U.S. patients in immediate need

Novo Nordisk said on Thursday it would offer free, one-time supply of insulin to people in immediate need and at risk of rationing the medication, the rising price of which has attracted fierce criticism from lawmakers and regulators. Novo said https://prn.to/36kkhaq patients with prescription can get a free, one-time supply of up to three vials or two packs of pens of its insulin, after which they should find a longer-term solution from its other affordability offerings.

Patient satisfaction may decline after hospital acquisition

Medicare quality-of-care data reveal that when a hospital is acquired by another hospital or hospital system, readmission and mortality rates are not affected but patient satisfaction deteriorates modestly. "These findings challenge arguments that hospital consolidation, which is known to increase prices, also improves quality," according to a research team led by Nancy Beaulieu of the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Cutting out alcohol may reduce atrial fibrillation episodes

(Reuters Health) - For people with atrial fibrillation, abstinence from alcohol may make the heartbeat better. Eliminating most alcohol consumption dramatically cuts the number of episodes of the potentially-deadly heart rhythm disturbance among moderate and heavy drinkers, according to results of a six-month Australian study of 140 volunteers published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Study finds Google system could improve breast cancer detection

A Google artificial intelligence system proved as good as expert radiologists at detecting which women had breast cancer based on screening mammograms and showed promise at reducing errors, researchers in the United States and Britain reported. The study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, is the latest to show that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve the accuracy of screening for breast cancer, which affects one in eight women globally.

Binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption may damage the heart

Binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption may directly damage the heart muscle, a new study suggests. In an analysis of data from nearly 3,000 adults from northwest Russia, researchers found that heavy drinking and bingeing were associated with increased levels of blood biomarkers that indicate damage to heart tissue, according to the report in the Journal of the American Heart Association.