Misti Crane

Study: no link between “extreme” personal grooming, STDs

Women who choose to shave or wax their pubic hair might not be raising their risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) after all, according to a new study that found no connection between “extreme” grooming and chlamydia or gonorrhea.

Previous research and many media reports have warned women about a connection between pubic hair removal and STDs – but researchers at The Ohio State University wondered how strong that connection was, if it existed at all.

Study: More behavioral health care linked to small drop in gun-related suicides

An increase in behavioral health providers is associated with a slight decrease in gun-related suicides, but the difference is small and points to a need to tackle gun violence in other ways, according to the authors of a new study.

Researchers from The Ohio State University compared national suicide data with national behavioral health employment data to determine what – if any – relationship existed between the two.

New program boosts use of HIV medications in injection-drug users

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A relatively simple effort to provide counseling and connect injection-drug users with resources could prove powerful against the spread of HIV in a notoriously hard-to-reach population, new research suggests.

The study increased by almost 30 percent the use of antiretroviral medications to suppress HIV infection, according to the study, which appears in The Lancet.

Algal blooms a threat to small lakes and ponds, too

Harmful algae isn’t just a problem for high-profile bodies of water – it poses serious, toxic threats in small ponds and lakes as well, new research has found.

A team of researchers from The Ohio State University examined water samples from two dozen ponds and small lakes in rural Ohio and found plenty of cause for concern, with particularly high levels of toxins at one lake.

Loved one’s death could spur aggressive measures against breast cancer

Women whose family members or friends died of cancer were far more likely to approach prevention aggressively than were those whose loved ones survived the disease, found a team of researchers at The Ohio State University.

“The cancer of someone you care about is a lens through which you interpret your own risk,” says Tasleem Padamsee, PhD, an assistant professor of health services management and policy at the College of Public Health and lead author of the study, which appears in the Journal of Health Psychology.

Subscribe to Misti Crane