Although a systematic review of testosterone treatment studies did not show a significant increase in myocardial infarction or mortality risk, the very low quality of the evidence precludes any definitive conclusion.

The NFL PLAY 60 campaign promotes physical activity and healthy eating in youths. This study evaluated the impact of NFL PLAY 60 programming on longitudinal trajectories of youth aerobic capacity and BMI in 497 schools. Annual improvements in aerobic capacity and BMI Healthy Fitness Zone achievement were greater in schools that participated in the programs for both girls and boys compared with nonprogramming schools. Schools with 4-year program enrollment tended to have better improvements in aerobic capacity than schools enrolled for 2 or 3 years.

Adolescent males newly diagnosed with cancer have increased odds of banking sperm if their providers refer them to a fertility specialist and/or are comfortable/skilled in negotiating perceived barriers to fertility preservation. Provider training to promote these features of care is important to maximize fertility preservation potential.

Offspring born to mothers with gestational hypertension have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in adult life.

The purposes of this study were to determine the association between CRS symptomatology and sinusitis-related antibiotic usage and to determine the impact of antibiotic usage on quality of life (QOL). In 85 participants with CRS, the 22-item Sinonasal Outcomes Test (SNOT-22) score was significantly associated with the number of antibiotics taken in the past year and a general health-related QOL instrument (EQ5D-VAS). Having taken greater than two antibiotics for sinusitis in the past year mediated 31% of the effect of SNOT-22 on EQ5D-VAS (p=0.008). Sinusitis-related antibiotic usage, likely reflecting the frequency of acute CRS exacerbations, mediates the association between CRS symptomatology and QOL. Reducing the frequency of acute exacerbations may significantly enhance QOL of CRS sufferers independent of baseline symptomatology.

Is diagnosis and treatment for skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in nursing homes being done correctly? Researchers from the University of North Carolina studied random samples of 161 antibiotic prescriptions for SSTIs by looking at chart data from 31 nursing homes. Examining the McGeer surveillance criteria, the Loeb minimum criteria for initiating antibiotics, and recommendations from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, there could be improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of SSTIs.

Due to the economic crisis in European countries, governmental expenditures on health, including preventive health care, decreased in recent years. Health care providers are worried about future health issues, even mortality, in their population. This study from the Netherlands found money may be better spent on promoting a healthy lifestyle, as in social protection expenditures. A caveat is that longitudinal studies, even as long as 40 years, should be done to indicate true life expectancy.

A study in the journal Hypertension found just 20% of patients who sought care for resistant hypertension were taking all of the medications they were prescribed, and another 20% were not taking any of their prescribed drugs. Study results suggest many people may have been able to address their hypertension concerns simply by taking the medications already prescribed.

CDC data showed increases in colorectal cancer screening from 2000 to 2015 but not in testing for breast or cervical cancers. The report said screening test usage overall was below targets set by the Healthy People 2020 initiative.

Outpatients with diabetes and chronic heart failure had higher cumulative rates of one-year all-cause mortality, death from cardiovascular disease and hospitalization for heart failure, compared with those without diabetes, according to a study in Diabetes Care. Italian researchers used a cohort of 9,428 outpatients and found that increasing HbA1C levels were independently and significantly associated with the risk of one-year survival outcomes among those whose HbA1C measurements were available at baseline.

Health care providers must ensure they are in compliance with HIPAA regulations because it is likely that the ongoing second round of audits may shift from education to enforcement, said health care attorney Alisa Chestler. Increasing health care IT complexities could create compliance vulnerabilities, leading to enforcement action by the HHS Office for Civil Rights, she said.

Incentives offered under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act have encouraged more health care providers to enter into value-based contracts with more financial risk, says Collaborative Health Systems President Jeff Spight. But most accountable care organizations remain in upside-only models, and some of the ACOs that are transitioning to advanced payment models are not ready and will end up owing money, says David Muhlestein, vice president of research at Leavitt Partners.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found obesity prevalence in the US increased from 53% from 1988 to 1994 to 66% from 2009 to 2014, while the number of overweight or obese people who said they had tried to lose weight in the past year dropped from 56% to 49%. Researchers said decreased interest in losing weight was seen in all racial and ethnic groups and both genders, although women were more likely to say they had given up on dieting.