Dec. 5, 2017─Children between the ages of 7 and 9 may be at greater risk for developing asthma if they consumed high amounts of fructose in early childhood or their mothers drank a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages while pregnant, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Educating the public about the dangers of tobacco addiction has long been a priority for the American Thoracic Society, which provides scientifically-supported arguments to counter Big Tobacco’s marketing and lobbying efforts. Now, the ATS is debuting a new video in which children help to highlight the dangers associated with candy-flavored tobacco, which experts fear will induce kids to use tobacco, leading to a lifetime of addiction.
The American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS) have published additional clinical practice guidelines regarding four specific questions related to the diagnosis of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and management of pneumothoraces in patients with LAM.
The court-ordered publication of “corrective statements” by major U.S. tobacco companies later this month should serve as a reminder that tobacco addiction remains a major health problem in the country and that Big Tobacco has a long history of marketing practices aimed at hooking a new generation on a lethal product, according to an editorial published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may put elderly people at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The ATS Foundation continues to support researchers committed to improving the lives of patients with respiratory disease. Today, the Foundation announces its new ATS Foundation/Boehringer Ingelheim Research Fellowship in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The fellowship will award $100,000 over two years.
Today the EPA announced a new policy regarding who can serve on the agency’s scientific advisory boards. In earlier comments, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had questioned the “independence, and the veracity and the transparency of those recommendations that are coming our way” from scientists who have received EPA research funding.
E-cigarettes appear to trigger unique immune responses as well as the same ones that cigarettes trigger that can lead to lung disease, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
“The decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan flies in the face of scientific evidence of the dangers air pollution poses to public health, and we cannot keep silent on this,” said George Thurston, ScD, chair of the ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee.
The American Thoracic Society applauds the efforts of New York Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and New Jersey Senators Booker and Menendez for their legislation to improve transportation safety by addressing sleep apnea. We believe screening for sleep disorders like sleep apnea and ensuring appropriate treatment for sleep related illness will improve the health of transportation workers and improve the safety of the U.S. transportation system for all travelers.
Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more likely to use CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, when their use is telemonitored and they receive individualized, automated messages that reinforce therapy adherence, according to a randomized, controlled trial published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
People with severe emphysema may breathe better after a minimally invasive procedure that places valves in the airways leading to diseased portions of their lungs, according to a randomized, controlled trial published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
We have all seen and felt the destruction caused by hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm that made landfall on August 25th. Harvey is the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States and it has created devastating flooding in and around southeastern Texas. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have been flooded and upwards of 50,000 people have been displaced. To date, 47 people have lost their lives as a result of this hurricane which is estimated to become the worst natural disaster in US history. Now that Harvey has moved away from the area, thousands are looking to return to their homes where serious environmental health problems may arise. Each year more than 150 people die from the result of flooding. Importantly, many of the deaths occur during the re-entry process from electrocution, carbon monoxide poisoning, or other accidents occurring during remediation.
The opioid crisis in the United States is resulting in increased admissions to hospital intensive care units and in increased numbers of ICU deaths from opioid overdoses, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
The American Thoracic Society is extremely disappointed with the Department of Transportation’s decision to withdraw an advance notice of a proposed rule regarding screening commercial truck drivers and train engineers for sleep apnea. Abundant evidence indicates that undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea is the root cause of many preventable fatal and non-fatal driving-related accidents.
On World Lung Cancer Day, August 1, the American Thoracic Society and fellow members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) commemorates, celebrates and supports those impacted by lung cancer. FIRS continues to support the grassroots efforts of the lung cancer community to raise awareness about lung cancer and its global impact, creating an educational movement of understanding lung cancer risks as well as early treatment around the world.
People who carry a genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease appear to be at greater risk of diminished cognition from sleep-disordered breathing than those without the susceptibility, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Premature babies treated with caffeine have better lung function in mid-childhood than preemies not treated with caffeine, according to a randomized controlled trial published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) warns today that government agencies must not become complacent in the effort to provide clean air to all citizens.
People with COPD are more likely to be active and to participate in pulmonary rehabilitation if they live with others and have a caregiver, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
The new ATS Foundation/Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Research Fellowship in Sarcoidosis will award $40,000 per year for two years to one investigator conducting research in the area of sarcoidosis.
The American Thoracic Society is extremely disappointed that President Trump has announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement to address climate change. This agreement was signed by nearly every nation on Earth in recognition of our shared responsibility to solve this global environmental and public health crisis.
In an ATS 2017 International Conference first, respiratory health professionals and patients joined other conference attendees at a rally near the Capitol on Tuesday, May 23 to voice their concerns about recent policies that threaten to undermine many of the ATS’s advocacy priorities including: research funding, tobacco regulation, affordable health care, and clean air. Also participating in the rally was U.S. senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Tom Carper (D-DE).WASHINGTON, DC – May 24, 2017 – In an ATS 2017 International Conference first, respiratory health professionals and patients joined other conference attendees at a rally near the Capitol on Tuesday, May 23 to voice their concerns about recent policies that threaten to undermine many of the ATS’s advocacy priorities including: research funding, tobacco regulation, affordable health care, and clean air. Also participating in the rally was U.S. senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Tom Carper (D-DE).
Since its inception in 1905,
In a new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference, adult asthma patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty (BT) had fewer severe exacerbations and were able to reduce their ER visits and hospitalizations in the two years following treatment. Approved by the FDA in 2010, BT is a new device-based therapy that uses a series of three radio-frequency treatments to open the airways of adults with severe, persistent asthma whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by inhaled corticosteroids or long-acting beta-agonists.
A machine-learning algorithm has the capability to identify hospitalized patients at risk for severe sepsis and septic shock using data from electronic health records (EHRs), according to a study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference. Sepsis is an extreme systemic response to infection, which can be life-threatening in its advanced stages of severe sepsis and septic shock, if left untreated.
While the number of hospitalizations for COPD in the United States fluctuated within a narrow range between 2005 and 2014, in-hospital deaths decreased substantially during that same time, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
A lung cancer diagnosis appears to put patients at the greatest risk of suicide when compared to the most common types of non-skin cancers, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
In a new study, CT-measured vascular pruning – the diminution of distal pulmonary blood vessels (vessels on the outer edges of the lungs) – was associated with increased risk of death in smokers without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study was presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
Online pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was found to be as effective as face-to-face rehabilitation programs at improving patients’ exercise capacity and symptom control, according to new research presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
Pediatric severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the Washington, DC metropolitan area is most common among inner city African-American children from low income families, according to a new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference. The researchers also found that these children were most likely to have a delayed diagnosis.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23, 2017, the American Thoracic Society will lead ATS members, pulmonary clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates in the ATS Rally on Capitol Hill: Lab Coats for Lungs.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF), according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
An investigational biologic may reduce the need for adults with severe asthma to take an oral corticosteroid to control their asthma, according to a randomized controlled trial presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference. Study findings are being reported simultaneously online, ahead of print in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A new study has found that children, especially boys, whose mothers were exposed to higher levels of outdoor particulate air pollution at the same time that they were very stressed were most likely to develop asthma by age six. The study was presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
According to a new survey, patients with lung disease report that they are unable to obtain home oxygen equipment that meets their needs thereby forcing them to become isolated. The study was presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
Women with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) appear to be at greater risk for serious pregnancy complications, longer hospital stays and even admission to the ICU than mothers without the condition, according to a new study of more than 1.5 million pregnancies presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
Viral acute respiratory infections (ARIs) may lead to oxidative stress in some infants, and play a major role in the development of recurrent wheezing in early childhood, according to a new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production of free radicals (atoms that can cause cellular damage in the body) and the ability of the body to counteract their harmful effects through neutralization by antioxidants.
African Americans with sleep apnea and insomnia are rarely diagnosed with either problem, even when the severity of the two sleep disorders are likely to affect their health, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
High levels of air pollution over time may get in the way of a good night’s sleep, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
“Prior studies have shown that air pollution impacts heart health and affects breathing and lung function, but less is known about whether air pollution affects sleep,” said lead author Martha E. Billings, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington. “We thought an effect was likely given that air pollution causes upper airway irritation, swelling and congestion, and may also affect the central nervous system and brain areas that control breathing patterns and sleep.”
Supervising the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in elementary school children with asthma may not improve asthma symptoms, prevent school absences or reduce health care use, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
Approximately one in four (22.1 percent) adults prescribed an antibiotic in an outpatient setting (such as a doctor’s office) for community-acquired pneumonia does not respond to treatment, according to a new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
Two T cell biomarkers appear to predict the survival trajectory of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a lung disease that has a varied, but ultimately devastating, impact on patients, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
Directly observed therapy (DOT) for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) was associated with a 77 percent decrease in mortality in the United States, compared to self-administered therapy from 1993 to 2013, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
In a new study that analyzed data from the large French CUB-REA database, high volume intensive care units (ICUs) were found to have lower death rates from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) than low and moderate volume ICUs. The researchers also found that, overall, among the 35 ICUs in the CUB-REA registry, ICU mortality decreased despite an increase in ARDS severity. The study was presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
After an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, people with a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or people at risk for CVD appear more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
According to a new study, patients with sepsis, a life-threatening complication of an infection, had delays approaching one hour in being given antibiotics when seen in emergency rooms that were overcrowded. The study was presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
Smokers with diminished chest muscle may face a greater risk of death than those smokers with more chest muscle, whether they have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or not, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.
On Tuesday, May 23, 2017, the American Thoracic Society will lead ATS members, pulmonary clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates in the ATS Rally on Capitol Hill: Lab Coats for Lungs. The rally will bring attention to recent policies that threaten to undermine many of the ATS’s advocacy priorities including: research funding, tobacco regulation, affordable health care, and clean air.