News
MPH’s Grijalva: Postpartum Opioid Rx May Lead to Persistent Use
Jan. 4, 2019—Researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville examined data from more than 102,000 new mothers in Tennessee. None had used opioids in the 180 days before delivery. After delivery, 89 percent who had a cesarean delivery and 53 percent who had a vaginal delivery filled opioid prescriptions. “This study is one of the first to indicate...
Buntin suggests two-pronged approach to help decrease the number of cancer deaths in TN
Dec. 26, 2018—Cancer deaths are dropping nationwide. But not in Tennessee. Cancer deaths have increased 7 percent in Tennessee over the past three decades, showing how the state is falling behind most of the nation, where fewer people are dying of cancer, according to a recent state health ranking study. “We really need a two-pronged approach,” said Melinda Butin, who...
MPH’s Schaffner says the vaccine court has played a crucial role in safeguarding public health
Dec. 23, 2018—Medical experts say the federal vaccine court has played a crucial role in safeguarding public health by compensating litigants for their injuries and keeping these cases out of the civil courts, where they could potentially undermine the public’s faith in vaccines. “The creation of the [VICP] saved the vaccine industry in the U.S.,” said Dr....
Dusetzina comments on bypassing drug shortages solutions
Dec. 21, 2018—The emergence of Civica Rx is encouraging. The nonprofit generic drugmaker, which launched in 2018, will soon begin producing 14 hospital-administered generics. Most of them are too scarce to meet demand. The venture has not disclosed its business model. But “should it choose to do so, Civica Rx could theoretically set the price at or...
Not enough people are getting the flu vaccine says MPH’s Schaffner
Dec. 19, 2018—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that 45 percent of adults and 46 percent of children have received the flu vaccine up from 39 percent for both children and adults at the same time last year. “I would say, very clearly, to the person who hasn’t gotten their flu shot yet:...
MPH’s Penson comments on radical prostate cancer surgery study
Dec. 17, 2018—In men with localized prostate cancer discovered because they had symptoms or noticed during a work-up for another medical problem, radical prostate surgery leads to an average of three extra years of life compared to a “watchful waiting” approach, researchers say. The results, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, don’t apply to prostate...
Ray finds increased risk of unexpected death for children on high-dose antipsychotics
Dec. 14, 2018—Children and young adults without psychosis who are prescribed high-dose antipsychotic medications are at increased risk of unexpected death, despite the availability of other medications to treat their conditions, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published today in JAMA Psychiatry. The findings reinforce guidelines for cautious use of antipsychotics in younger populations, according...
Buntin: Policies for Action Research Hub at Vanderbilt created
Dec. 14, 2018—Experts from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Health Policy and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development are joining efforts to establish a Policies for Action (P4A) Research Hub at Vanderbilt to better understand and develop recommendations to address the needs of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable children, including those in...
MPH’s Grijalva: Early postpartum opioids linked with persistent usage
Dec. 14, 2018—Vanderbilt researchers have published findings indicating that regardless of whether a woman delivers a child by cesarean section or by vaginal birth, if they fill prescriptions for opioid pain medications early in the postpartum period, they are at increased risk of developing persistent opioid use. “This study is one of the firsts to indicate that...
Schaffner honored by Infectious Diseases Society of America
Dec. 7, 2018—William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy and professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, is the recipient of the 2018 D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health.
MPH Alumnae discover hundreds of new new blood pressure gene variations
Dec. 7, 2018—In one of the largest studies of its kind, an international research team led by 20 Vanderbilt University scientists has discovered more than 200 new genetic variations associated with high blood pressure. The study, published in the current issue of the journal Nature Genetics, also identified specific tissues where blood pressure genes exert their effects...
New state officials weigh in on future of health policy in TN
Nov. 29, 2018—Health care, particularly protection of pre-existing conditions, rallied voters across the country, yet Tennessee campaigns focused on other issues, so Vanderbilt’s Department of Health Policy reached out to the gubernatorial campaigns in the final weeks before election day. They posed both candidates questions about five issues pegged as priorities for Tennessee. “Voters didn’t hear very...
MPH’s Clayton weighs in on gene editing on human embryos
Nov. 29, 2018—A researcher’s claim that two CRISPR-edited baby girls have been born has been met with widespread condemnation from scientists and ethicists alike. “On one level, this isn’t a surprise at all,” says Ellen Clayton, a professor of law and health policy at Vanderbilt University. “On another, this is …” at which point she was at...
MPH’s Schaffner dispels deadly myths about the flu vaccine
Nov. 28, 2018—Every year as flu season emerges, so too do myths and misconceptions about the flu shot. Despite years of consistent messages from health-care providers about the dangers of the flu and the protective power (and safety) of the flu shot, many people still hold false beliefs about both. One reason is that the flu, technically...
MPH Alumna reflects on Multiple Modes of Transmission During a Thanksgiving Day Norovirus Outbreak
Nov. 21, 2018—On November 28, 2017, the manager of restaurant A in Tennessee reported receiving 18 complaints from patrons with gastrointestinal illness who had dined there on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2017. Tennessee Department of Health officials conducted an investigation to confirm the outbreak, assess exposures, and recommend measures to prevent continued spread.