Trending News Today: Poorer, Minority Patients More Likely to be Diagnosed with Cancer from ED Visit

Medicare-insured patients from lower socioeconomic groups and several ethnic minority groups are more likely than their wealthier, white peers to be diagnosed with cancer following an emergency department (ED) visit, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) reported. The study, which was presented at the 12^th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and Medically Underserved, examined 415,395 Medicare beneficiaries who had been diagnosed with breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancers between 2004 and 2013. Overall, the study found that 11% of cancer diagnoses were ED-mediated; and those who went to the ED were more likely to be unmarried, Hispanic, black, or in the lowest income quartile, the article reported.

Congress will begin public hearings this week regarding the mystery vaping-related lung disease that has recently affected 530 individuals in 38 states, Reuters reported. According to the article, Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, will be asked by a House Oversight subcommittee today about the possible causes of the outbreak and what can be done about it. Additionally, the acting commissioner of the FDA will appear before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Wednesday to answer questions about the public health threats of e-cigarettes, the article reported.

A new analysis shows disparities in insulin use between older adults in poor and good health with type 2 diabetes, MD Magazine reported. According to the article, the researchers designed the study to include data from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Diabetes Registry on a total of 21,531 patients. The analysis found that prevalence and adjusted risk ratios of insulin use at 75 years old were higher in patients with poor health and intermediate health compared with patients in the good health group, the article reported.