일반 가정에서 주방도구로 많이 사용하는 멜라민수지 용품이 고온에 노출될 경우 발암물질인 멜라민과 포름알데히드가 용출될 수 있어 주의해야 한다는 경고가 나왔다.식품의약품안전처는 멜라민수지 주방용품을 안전하게 사용할 수 있도록 국민들에게 올바른 사용방법을 제공한다고 29일 밝혔다. 멜라민수지는 멜라민과 포름알데히드를 결합해 만드는데 매끈하고 단단한 표면의 질감과 촉감이 도자기와 비슷해 일반 가정에서 많이 사용되고 있다. 잘 깨지지 않고 가격도 저렴해 식판, 접시, 밥·국그릇, 컵, 조리기구 등 다양하게 사용되고 있다.국내 유통되는 멜라민수지 기구·용기는 유해물질 규격을 설정해 안전하게 관리되고 있으나 가정이나 음식점 등에서 사용하면서 고온에 직접 또는 반복적으로 노출되면 균열이 생겨 멜라민과 포름알데히드가 용

장애인 1인당 연평균 진료비가 전체 인구 1인당 연평균 진료 비용의 3배가 넘는 것으로 집계됐다.22일 보건복지부와 국립재활원은 건강보험공단의 요양급여 자료를 분석한 결과 장애인 1인당 연평균 진료비는 438만원으로 전체 인구 1인당 연평균 진료비 132만원보다 3.3배 많은 것으로 나타났다고 밝혔다.복지부에 따르면 장애인 총 진료비는 2002년 이후 꾸준히 매년 증가해 2015년 10조5000억원을 기록했다. 전년 10조6000억원보다 다소 감소했지만 증가규모는 13년간 8.1배나 증가했다. 특히 전체 인구에서 등록장애인이 차지하는 비중은 5%였지만 장애인 진료비는 총 진료비 64조8000억원의 16.2%를 차지했다.연령별로는 10세 미만이 454만1000원으로 가장 높았고 10대는 212만8000원으로

By Shereen Lehman(Reuters Health) - Men’s risk for a painful inflammation of colon walls may be drastically reduced if they follow an overall healthy lifestyle, a recent U.S. study suggests.Diverticulitis is an inflammation of small pouches in the walls of the colon and it has become one of the most common reasons for gastrointestinal hospital admission in the United States, costing an estimated $

By Will Boggs MD(Reuters Health) - Fatty liver disease that is not related to excess drinking is associated with greater brain shrinkage than normally happens with age, researchers say.The reduced brain volume linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is equivalent to an extra 4.2 years of aging for people in their 60s and early 70s, researchers report in JAMA Neurology, or an extra 7.3

By Carolyn Crist(Reuters Health) - Screening older surgery patients for cognitive impairment can catch undiagnosed problems that raise risk for complications, researchers say.Among 211 patients over age 65 having elective orthopedic surgeries such as hip or knee replacement, pre-operative screening found that about one quarter had likely cognitive impairment such as undiagnosed dementia. These pat

By Natalie Grover(Reuters Health) - Pregnant and breastfeeding women who travel to places with high risk of diseases like malaria and yellow fever are less likely than other women travelers to be protected by vaccines and drugs, recent U.S. research suggests.Lack of information about the safety of some preventive medications and vaccines during pregnancy and breastfeeding may be one reason some pa

By Aditya Kalra and Tommy WilkesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has approved a three-year budget for its flagship public health program almost 20 percent lower than what the health ministry said was needed, according to sources and previously unreported government documents reviewed by Reuters.The federal finance ministry in August renewed the National Health Mission with $20 billion of funding betwee

By Kate KellandLONDON (Reuters) - People who drink three to four cups of coffee a day are more likely to see health benefits than harm, experiencing lower risks of premature death and heart disease than those who abstain, scientists said on Wednesday.The research, which collated evidence from more than 200 previous studies, also found coffee consumption was linked to lower risks of diabetes, liver

By Jon HerskovitzAUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. district judge on Wednesday struck down parts of a Texas law that would ban the most common type of second-trimester abortions in the state, after plaintiffs argued the procedure was safe, legal and necessary for women's health.U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin issued a permanent injunction against the provisions that were in legislation

By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) - Even after warnings from doctors and drug regulators about the dangers of opioids for children, 1 in 20 kids still get codeine after two common childhood surgeries, a U.S. study suggests.Researchers examined records for almost 363,000 children who had tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies from 2010 to 2015. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a so-ca

By Tina BellonNEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal jury in Chicago said on Thursday that Endo International's Auxilium unit was not responsible for the heart attack a man suffered while using the company's testosterone replacement drug Testim. The verdict was a victory for the drugmaker in its first trial over allegations it defectively designed Testim, a skin gel, and negligently misrepresented

By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) - Older women with cataracts who get surgery to treat the eye problem may be less likely to die prematurely than those who don’t get the operations, a recent U.S. study suggests.Researchers examined data on 74,044 women with cataracts, including 41,735 who underwent cataract surgery. Compared to women who didn’t get operations, those who did were 60 percent less li

By Cheryl Platzman Weinstock(Reuters Health) - When the fees paid to healthcare providers by the Medicaid insurance program for the poor go up, appointments with primary care doctors suddenly become more available to Medicaid beneficiaries ? and the opposite happens when fees go down, according to a recent U.S. study.Researchers found that, overall, every $10 change up or down in the Medicaid fees

By Reuters StaffAUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was rushed to an Austin hospital on Thursday and in critical condition after undergoing a heart procedure, officials said. Ridge, 72, was attending a Republican Governors Association conference in the Texas capital when he called hotel staff seeking emergency medical help, his offi

(New throughout, adds further details from court hearing)By Nate RaymondBOSTON (Reuters) - The billionaire founder of drugmaker Insys Therapeutics Inc pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he participated in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe a fentanyl-based spray to treat pain in cancer patients. John Kapoor, who stepped down as Insys' chief executive officer and chairman in Jan

#&# Johnson hit with $247 mln verdict in hip implant trial By Tina BellonNEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal jury in Dallas on Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit to pay $247 million to six patients who said they were injured by defective Pinnacle hip implants.Delivering a third straight win to patients, the jury found that the metal-on-metal hip implants were defectively

#&#J wins Calif. lawsuit claiming asbestos in talc caused cancer By Nate Raymond(Reuters) - A California jury on Thursday ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who said she developed the cancer mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the company's talc-based products including J&J's Baby Powder. The Los Angeles Superior Court jury's verdict, watched by a R

By Nellie PeytonLONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Bisi Alimi came out as gay in Nigeria, his parents took him to a church where he underwent seven days of isolation, prayers and fasting to be "cured" of homosexuality, he said. The experience, which prompted him to attempt suicide at the age of 17, is common for gay people from Nigeria to China to the United States, LGBT activists said o

By Ben HirschlerLONDON (Reuters) - Battle lines are being drawn as the first gene therapy for an inherited condition nears the U.S. market, offering hope for people with a rare form of blindness and creating a cost dilemma for healthcare providers. Spark Therapeutics, whose Luxturna treatment has been recommended for U.S. approval, told investors last week there was a case for valuing it at more t

By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) - For people who already have cardiovascular problems, having high blood sugar below the cutoff for diabetes diagnosis doesn’t raise the risk of potentially fatal heart “events,” a recent study suggests. Diabetes has long been linked to an increased risk of coronary artery disease as well as higher odds of heart attacks, cardiac arrest and what’s known as unstable