African Americans appear to perceive people with extreme health problems as less productive or valuable according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. The study examined the differences in preferences for the EQ-5D health states among African Americans, Hispanics, and other races living in the United States.

In an advance toward understanding the contradictory health effects of bioflavonoids, scientists in Tennessee are reporting that these natural components of fruits and vegetables poison a key human enzyme critical for the normal function of DNA. The research is scheduled for publication in the May 22 issue of ACS' Biochemistry, a weekly journal.

New research published in the Journal of Public Health Policy, prepared by research staff at The George Institute for International Health, the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney and the Department of Palliative Medicine at Calvary Hospital, highlights that a potential 100 million people in these poorer nations could benefit from palliative care services, including family members and close companions.

Experts in cancer treatment from the United States, Europe and Australia are meeting colleagues from Asia to discuss how to prevent a huge increase in cancer cases in the region. They are gathering in Singapore for a conference organised by the British medical journal, The Lancet.

British researchers have discovered an obesity gene that may help explain why some people get fatter than others. But as we hear from VOA's David McAlary in Washington, they say it is not alone responsible for the epidemic of weight gain sweeping the globe.

A first-of-its-kind report looking at the prevalence and cost of type 2 diabetes complications shows that an estimated three out of five people (57.9 percent) with type 2 diabetes have at least one of the other serious health problems commonly associated with the disease, and that these health problems are taking a heavy financial toll on the United States.

Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women. This supports a possible pathophysiologic role of sleep disturbance in chronic pain, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

Soccer hero Diego Maradona was taken by ambulance to a Buenos Aires clinic because of health problems caused by excessive eating, drinking and cigars, but his life is not in danger, his doctor said Thursday.