Polio Spreads in Asia

Polio Spreading: Joe Neel at NPR's Shots blog reports on the World Health Organization's confirmation that polio has been spotted in western China for the first time since 1999. The virus is related to a strain currently in found in Pakistan. PTI reports (via Indian daily The Hindu) that India is on high alert. (Photo by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative)

Retirement: Americans are not very optimistic about retiring, according to a new NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health poll. The poll has data about retirees' and pre-retirees' outlook for their health in slides worth perusing (PDF).

Medical Devices: The Affordable Care Act includes a new tax on certain medical devices, which medical device makers say will adversely affect their ability to create jobs in America, reports Tony Pugh for McClatchy. Republican lawmakers are pushing for legislation to repeal the tax.

Over-Caffeinated: Melissa Healy at the Los Angeles Times writes this lead about a new study:

"Compared with uncaffeinated women, those who drank the equivalent of four or more cups of coffee a day are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes and less likely to volunteer their time in church or community groups. But a new study finds that well-caffeinated women have a key health advantage over their more abstemious sisters: they're less likely to become depressed."

Watch: The 14-part documentary 24 Hours in the ER starts tonight on BBC America.

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