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Older widowers who recently lost their wives are more likely to have a sexually transmitted disease than their counterparts who are still married, a new study has found.

The researchers behind the study add that drugs like Viagra could boost the risk, noting the widowers might be seduced by advertisements for sexual enhancement.

The risk that seniors have a sexually transmitted disease remains extremely low, at less than 1 percent, study co-author and Harvard researcher Kirsten Smith explained in a news release about the study.

“Nonetheless,” Smith said, “older adults need to be aware that they are at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection if they take on a new sexual partner following a spouse’s death.”

The researchers examined data from more than 400,000 U.S. couples, who were aged 67 to 99 years in 1993.

Within six months to a year after their wives died, men were 16 percent more likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease. And for recently widowed men, the risk of having a sexually transmitted disease rose by 83 percent after 1998. That’s the year that Viagra went on the market as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.

“For men ages 67 and older, the age group that we studied, the use of medications for erectile dysfunction may contribute to that risk by making sex possible,” Smith said.

Gonorrhea was the most common STD in the men, the study authors noted.

Although many parents already know that changes in the weather can cause their children’s asthma symptoms to flare up, a new study backs up their intuition.

If the humidity levels in the air rose by more than 10 percent or if the temperature increased by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit in a single day, more children ended up in the emergency department of a Detroit hospital reporting asthma symptoms, the new research found.

“Parents need to be mindful of days when there are dramatic changes in temperature or humidity. A child’s asthma may flare more on those days,” said study senior author Dr. Alan Baptist, director of the University of Michigan asthma program, in Ann Arbor.

The findings were published in the September issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

As many as 9 million children in the United States have asthma, according to the background information in the study. There are numerous known triggers that can exacerbate the inflammatory airway disease, including viral infections, air pollution, exposure to tobacco smoke and airborne allergens, such as pollen, the study authors noted.

Baptist said that another asthma trigger reported by many parents is weather changes. While some past studies have looked at this phenomenon, Baptist and his colleagues pointed out that none of the previous studies controlled for air pollution and airborne allergens.

For the current study, the researchers reviewed data from two years of emergency department admissions for asthma at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. During the study time period — Jan. 1, 2004 through Dec. 31, 2005 — more than 25,000 youngsters between the ages of 1 and 18 were admitted for an asthma exacerbation, according to the study. That works out to about 35 children a day, according to Baptist.

The researchers then reviewed weather data for that time period, along with data on airborne allergens and air pollution. And, their statistical model was designed to control for these factors, Baptist added.

“A 10 percent increase in humidity two days before the admission day was associated with one additional visit to the emergency department,” said Baptist. “For temperature, an interday change of 10 degrees one day before the admission resulted in two additional visits.”

Although previous studies have found an association between barometric pressure and asthma symptoms, the current study found no link.

Asked why weather changes might affect asthma symptoms, Baptist said, “Asthma, at its core, is inflammation of the airways, and maybe these changes could be triggering more inflammation. But, it’s really unknown why temperature and humidity changes exacerbate asthma, and it should be looked at further.”

“This study brings up good discussion points, but I don’t think this is going to be strong enough evidence to change practice,” said Dr. Shean Aujla, a pediatric pulmonologist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Aujla said that cold air is a known trigger for asthma, and confirmed that many parents say a change in weather triggers their children’s asthma symptoms.

Until more research is done, she recommended focusing on each child’s individual symptoms. “If your child is going outside to play and having persistent symptoms, they should use their albuterol inhaler whether or not it’s humid,” said Aujla.

And, she added, very few children need to stay inside because of their asthma and weather changes. “Unless a child has very severe asthma, I wouldn’t say stay indoors,” she said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cautioned users of personal emergency response buttons worn around the neck of a potential choking hazard associated with this product.

The FDA is aware of at least six reports between 1998 and 2009 of serious injury or death, including three deaths in the United States and one in Canada, from choking after the cord on the Philips Lifeline Personal Help Button became entangled on other objects worn around the neck.

There are more than 750,000 users of these devices in the United States and Canada. By pushing the “help” button on the device when in distress, users can call for emergency assistance to their home. According to Philips Lifeline, the device is used primarily by seniors living independently, who feel they are at risk for falls or other medical emergencies.

The Lifeline pendant button is intentionally designed to not break away when tugged, which prevents the button from accidentally falling off. However, because it does not break away, there is a risk of choking, including the possibility of serious injury or death. Risks are greater for those with mobility limitations or for those who use wheelchairs, walkers, beds with guard rails, or other objects that could entangle with a neck cord.

Philips Lifeline is currently sending letters to its 750,000 customers and has changed the labeling of this product to include a warning against the potential choking hazard.

The FDA recommends that users consult their health care providers to determine which style of emergency button, including those that are worn on the wrist, is most beneficial for them.

These widely used devices provide critical and immediate access to emergency care for those at risk of falls or who may be more likely to need outside assistance. While the number of adverse events reported is small compared to the number of people who use this device, the severity of these events is of concern. It remains important that users, along with their health care providers, assess the options provided by each style of button, and choose the option that best fits their condition.

Health care professionals and users may report serious adverse events or product quality problems with the use of this product to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail, fax or phone.

Many U.S. medical schools have had cases of medical students posting unprofessional content online, including incidents where patient confidentiality was violated, according to a new study. It also found that few schools have policies to deal with such transgressions.

Researchers sent an anonymous survey to 130 medical schools in the Association of American Medical Colleges and received 78 responses. Of the schools that responded, 47 (60 percent) reported incidents involving students posting unprofessional content.

In the past year, six of those schools had no incidents, 36 had fewer than five incidents, three had five to 15 incidents, and one was aware of incidents but did not know how many, according to Dr. Katherine C. Chretien, of the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center, and colleagues.

“Incidents involving violation of patient confidentiality in the past year were reported by 13 percent (6/46). Student use of profanity, frankly discriminatory language, depiction of intoxication, and sexually suggestive material were more commonly reported,” Chretien wrote in a news release.

“Of 45 schools that reported an incident and responded to the question about disciplinary actions, 30 gave informal warning (67 percent) and 3 reported student dismissal (7 percent). Policies that cover student-posted online content were reported by 38 percent (28/73) of deans. Of schools without such policies, 11 percent (5/46) were actively developing new policies to cover online content. Deans reporting incidents were significantly more likely to report having such a policy (51 percent vs. 18 percent), believing these issues could be effectively addressed (91 percent vs. 63 percent;), and having higher levels of concern,” she added.

The researchers recommended a number of ways to address the concerns identified in the study.

“The formal professional curriculum should include a digital media component, which could include instruction on managing the ‘digital footprint,’ such as electing privacy settings on social networking sites and performing periodic Web searches of oneself. This is important given that residency program directors, future employers, and patients may access this information,” they said.

Also, “discussions among students, residents, and faculty should occur to help define medical professionalism in the era of Web 2.0,” the researchers concluded.

The study appears in the Sept. 23-30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on medical education.