Pregnant women with gestational diabetes had an improved glycemic profile that was comparable to pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance after following a Mediterranean diet-based medical nutrition therapy for three months, according to a study published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care. The Spanish researchers also found those with gestational diabetes were at an increased risk for insufficient weight gain, infants born small for gestational age and urinary tract infections, compared with women without the condition.

Babies with total serum bilirubin levels of 9 mg/dl to 17.9 mg/dl were significantly more likely to develop asthma, compared with those whose levels were 3 mg/dl to 5.9 mg/dl. The study in Pediatrics, based on data for 109,212 infants, found that levels of 18 mg/dl or higher weren't associated with increased asthma risk.

Nearly 16% of teens and young adults have used Juul e-cigarettes, compared with 30% who have used other e-cigarettes and 24% who have used traditional tobacco, according to a study in JAMA Network Open. Those using Juul e-cigarettes "were using them a significantly greater number of days, which gives us a concern whether they are addicted to those products," said senior researcher Bonnie Halpern-Felsher.

Individuals with the ApoE4 gene, which is associated with Alzheimer's disease, and chronic low-grade inflammation had increased odds of earlier dementia onset, compared with those with ApoE4 but not inflammation, researchers reported in the JAMA Network Open. The findings suggest similar Alzheimer's risk between ApoE4 and non-ApoE4 carriers without chronic low-grade inflammation, and anti-inflammatory therapies may be useful in curbing Alzheimer's, said researcher Wendy Qiu.

Researchers working with data from 3,650 postmenopausal women in the Netherlands found those with and without type 2 diabetes at baseline who experienced early menopause had higher mortality risk, compared with those who experienced normal and late menopause. The findings in Menopause showed that a "higher risk of diabetes in women with early age at natural menopause might reflect an earlier diagnosis of diabetes across the life span, and therefore a decreased life expectancy without [type 2 diabetes], although the difference in years lived overall and without [type 2 diabetes] did not differ significantly," researchers said.

CDC researchers found that 49.3% of US adults ages 20 and older reported having tried to lose weight over the past year in 2015 to 2016, up from 43% in 2007 to 2008. The findings, based on a 2015-2016 national health survey and published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, showed 56.3% of women tried to lose weight, compared with 42.2% of men.

Scientists say data show that whole-genome sequencing in the NICU to diagnosis genetic disorders early can save lives and reduce health costs. Only a few hospitals offer whole-genome sequencing for infants, but as technology costs go down more hospitals may add programs.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with longevity and being unfit is as big a health risk factor as hypertension, diabetes and smoking, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. "It should be treated almost as a disease that has a prescription, which is called exercise," said Cleveland Clinic cardiologist and study author Wael Jaber.

The CMS said it has detected a breach in a government computer system used by agents and brokers to assist consumers with health plan enrollment through the Affordable Care Act exchange, and it potentially exposed the personal information of roughly 75,000 individuals. The agency said the system has been disabled to implement new security measures and could be restored within seven days.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and four other health organizations issued a joint statement opposing the Trump administration's proposed public charge regulation that will deny permanent residency to immigrants who have applied for or received public benefits, which may prompt millions of Medicaid dropouts and thousands of needed health care refusals. The deferred care brought by the proposal may result in "more complex medical and public health challenges, [and] will also significantly increase costs to the health care system and US taxpayers," according to the statement.

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