Health Headlines - June 4

Jack Kevorkian, Proponent of Assisted Suicide, Dead at 83

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, dubbed "Dr. Death" because of his support for assisted suicide, died Friday in a hospital outside of Detroit, the Associated Press reported.

Suffering from pneumonia and kidney problems, Kevorkian, 83, had been hospitalized since May. A close friend of his told the AP that Kevorkian was listening to his favorite music by Johann Sebastian Bach shortly before his death. The friend said he was conscious Thursday night and was looking ahead to discharge and rehabilitation.

Kevorkian, who claimed he assisted in more than 130 suicides, was an outspoken advocate for critically ill patients' right-to-die. He was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder and served eight years in a Michigan prison.

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People With Mental Illness Risk Problem Drinking

A new U.S. government report finds that adults who suffer with mental illness are four times more prone to alcohol dependence compared to those without such conditions.

The report, released Thursday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), was based on a 2009 nationwide survey. It found that nearly 10 percent of adults diagnosed with a mental illness were also alcohol-dependent, compared to just 2.2 percent of those without such issues.

The rate of alcohol dependence also rose alongside the severity of mental illness, the report said.

"Mental and substance use disorders often go hand in hand. This SAMHSA study adds to the evidence of that connection," SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in an agency news release.

"Co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders are to be expected, not considered the exception," she added. "Unfortunately, signs and symptoms of these behavioral health conditions are often missed by individuals, their friends and family members and unnoticed by health professionals. The results can be devastating and costly to our society."

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Clot Risk Spurs FDA Review of Birth Control Pills

U.S. regulators will assess the safety of Bayer birth control pills as a result of two new studies suggesting they pose a higher-than-expected risk of serious blood clots.

Expressing concerns about the hormone drospirenone -- found in Bayer's Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz and Safyral products -- the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement Tuesday it has commissioned an 800,000-person study to review the risks . Drospirenone is a type of progestin used in combination with another female hormone, estrogen.

Women taking the drospirenone-containing birth control pills had a two to three times greater risk of blood clots compared with women taking pills containing a different type of progestin, according to the studies published in BMJ, the FDA said. Because other studies have had conflicting results, the agency said it wants to conduct its own review. It expects to have the results this summer.

All birth control pills carry some clotting risk. Symptoms include leg or chest pain or sudden shortness of breath. Women with concerns should talk to their doctor, the FDA said.

In Europe last week, regulators announced they would update the contraceptives' prescribing information to include the new findings.

Bayer's analysis of the overall body of available scientific evidence continues to support its current assessment about the safety of its oral contraceptives, Bayer said in a statement, according to Bloomberg News.