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Health Highlights: March 21, 2012
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay: More Young Adults OK Living With Parents: Study The stigma of having to move back in with their parents appears to be fading for young adults in the United States, a new study suggests. Pew Research Center investigators found that more than 75 percent of young adults who moved back home during and after the recent recession say they're fine with living at home and feel good about their future financial prospects, according to U.S. News & World Report. The fact that living with friends and relatives has become so common in a challenging economy may be one reason why so many of the so-called boomerang generation are less likely to be ashamed to be living with their parents. The study found that 61 percent of young adults say they have family or friends who have been forced to return to their parents' home in recent years due to money problems, U.S. News & World Report said. ----- Unnecessary Sedation for Colonoscopy Is Common: Study Many colonoscopy patients in the United States receive extra and unnecessary anesthesiologist-monitored sedation, resulting in nearly $1 billion in health care costs a year, according to a new study. The researchers said many of these cases involve low-risk patients who don't require the service, CBS News and the Associated Press reported. An analysis of insurance claims data from more than 6 million adults showed that the number of colonoscopies that included anesthesiologist-monitored sedation grew from 14 percent in 2003 to more than 30 percent in 2009. On average, this extra treatment added about $500 to an insured patient's bill in 2009, and $150 to a Medicare patient's bill, CBS/AP reported. The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. ----- Tobacco Killed Nearly 6 Million People in 2011: Report Nearly 6 million people worldwide died last year due to tobacco use, according to an American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation report. It said that tobacco-related deaths nearly tripled in the past decade along with a 17 percent increase in cigarette production and increased affordability of tobacco products in low-income countries, Bloomberg News reported. In 2011, four of every five tobacco-related deaths were in low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco use was the leading cause of death in China, the world's largest cigarette market. The document said that if current trends continue, tobacco use and exposure may kill 1 billion people this century, Bloomberg reported. ----- Bill Proposes New Warning Labels for Most Video Games A new bill being considered by U.S. lawmakers would require most video games to carry a warning label about a possible link between violent video games and aggressive behavior. The bill submitted to the House of Representatives would require all games rated "E" (Everyone), "Everyone 10+" (Everyone 10 and older), ''T'' (Teen), ''M'' (Mature) or ''A'' (Adult) to carry the warning label. Only games rated "EC" (Early Childhood) would not be affected by the bill, CBS News reported. If the bill becomes law, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission would have 180 days to ensure that the new labels were on the video games. The bill was introduced by Rep. Joe Baca and Rep. Frank Wolf. "The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers - to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products," Baca told The Hill, CBS News reported. "They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility." ----- Copyright © 2012
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