Do you know your heart disease risk level? Take the quiz below to find out.

1. What’s your blood pressure?
2. Below 120/80 (0)
3. Between 120/80 and 140/90 (+1)
4. Above 140/90 (+3)
5. Don’t know (+1)
6. What’s your cholesterol?
7. HDL (“good cholesterol) above 50, LDL (“bad” cholesterol) below 130, triglycerides (fat levels in the blood) less that 150 (0)
8. Any of the following: HDL below 50, LDL above 130, triglycerides above 150 (+2)
9. Don’t know (+1)
10. How often do you eat fried foods?
11. Once a month (+1)
12. Several times a month (+2)
13. Never (0)
14. Does anyone in your family have heart disease?
15. Yes, my mother had problems before age 65, or my father before age 55 (+2)
16. No (0)
17. Don’t know (+1)
18. On a typical weekend night, you:

• Have one glass of wine or beer (+1)

1. Have more than one glass of alcohol (+2)
2. Skip the alcohol (0) Read More

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed revised enforcement guidance on unlawful workplace retaliation. The proposed guidance will make it easier for employees to assert claims of retaliation, as an employee will only have to establish a “convincing mosaic” of circumstantial evidence to prove retaliation.

All of the laws that the EEOC enforces make it illegal to fire, demote, harass or otherwise “retaliate” against applicants or employees because they complained to their employers about discrimination on the job, filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, participated in an employment discrimination proceeding (such as an investigation or lawsuit) or engaged in any other “protected activity” under employment discrimination laws.

When an employee makes a claim of retaliation, there are three essential elements that the employee must be able to demonstrate: READ MORE

A New York district court will hear the first case on whether employers may reduce their employees’ work hours in order to avoid providing health benefits required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The case is Marin v. Dave & Busters—a class action lawsuit claiming that the restaurant chain, Dave & Busters, violated federal law by intentionally interfering with its employees’ eligibility for health benefits.

The ACA requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer affordable, minimum value health insurance coverage to their full-time employees, or to pay a penalty. Read More

Scientists have identified significant links between illness and loneliness, making it a serious public health problem. The damage inflicted on the body by loneliness may be comparable to the effects of smoking, diabetes and obesity.

Researchers have known for years that lonely people are at a greater risk for metastatic cancer, heart attacks, Alzheimer’s and other illnesses. But they haven’t understood why until recently, when they discovered how the immune system responds in lonely people. What they found was that social isolation increased the activity of genes responsible for inflammation while it decreased the activity of genes that produce antibodies that fight infection.

These abnormalities were discovered in white blood cells called monocytes—one of the body’s first lines of defense against infection. When monocytes are immature, they cause inflammation and reduce antibody protection. Coincidentally, these immature monocytes are abundant in lonely people.

Evolution may be partially to blame. Scientists suggest that this link may be the result of the brain’s attempt to encourage socialization and cooperation as activities necessary for survival—causing us pain when we’re lonely the same way we experience pain when we’re hungry. The constant fear of this pain can make lonely people feel threatened, so they sometimes act negatively toward others. This makes it difficult for lonely people to make and maintain relationships and increases their chances of becoming ill. Read More