Suicide rates for U.S. soldiers on active duty rose in America’s “endless” wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, research indicates

The NBC News (12/13, Liautaud, Martin) website reported, “Suicide rates for U.S. soldiers on active duty rose in America’s ‘endless’ wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, reversing historical trends that go as far back as the Civil War,” researchers concluded in a study that “also suggested there is no clear link between combat operations and military suicide.” In arriving at these conclusions, investigators “analyzed military records as far back as the 1840s to develop what they say is the most extensive historical examinations of suicide among active-duty soldiers to date.” The findings were published online Dec. 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Hormone therapy combining estrogen and progestin for women entering menopause tied to higher breast cancer risk up to 19 years after treatment discontinuation, federal data indicate

The AP (12/13, Marchione) reported results from the Women’s Health Initiative, a large federal study, indicate “women who use certain types of hormones after menopause still have an increased risk of developing breast cancer nearly two decades after they stop taking the pills.” Moreover, physicians “say a new generation of women entering menopause now may not be aware of landmark findings from 2002 that tied higher breast cancer rates to” hormone replacement therapy (HRT) “combining estrogen and progestin.” The findings presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium also showed “women on estrogen alone for seven years had a 23% lower risk of developing breast cancer up to 19 years later.”

Frail, older adults may struggle after even minor operations, study suggests

In “The New Old Age,” the New York Times (12/13, Span) reported research published online in JAMA Surgery “has found that frail, older adults are more likely than other patients to die after even supposedly minor procedures – and even when the surgery goes well, without complications.” The study authors recommended that physicians screen all older adult patients prior to any operation, as “our data indicate that there are no low-risk procedures among patients who are frail.”

Resistance exercise may preserve BMD while dieting in adults with obesity

Reuters (12/12, Rapaport) reports, “Obese adults who diet to lose weight may be able to protect against bone thinning with resistance exercise,” research indicated.

Endocrinology Advisor (12/12, Akirov) reports, “Resistance exercise alone or in combination with aerobic exercise was found to be better than aerobic exercise alone in reducing weight loss-induced decreases in hip bone mineral density (BMD) in adults with obesity,” researchers concluded after examining “data from 160 participants aged ≥65 years in the Lifestyle Intervention Trial.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Few childcare centers require children, childcare workers to get flu shot, research indicates

Reuters (12/12, Steenhuysen) reports research indicates “only a quarter of childcare centers in the United States require children in their care to get a flu shot, and even fewer require childcare workers to be vaccinated.” Investigators arrived at this conclusion “based...on a 2016 telephone survey of 518 childcare center directors in 48 states that were randomly chosen from a national database of licensed U.S. childcare centers.” The findings were published online in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.