Forty-four percent of Americans are problem sleepers, experiencing trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or wake up too early at least eight nights a month, according to a survey of 1,466 adults conducted by Consumer Reports magazine.

Many people turn to drugs to solve sleep problems, says the survey, published in the September issue of Consumer Reports.

One [...]

Emisphere Technologies Inc. said today new study results show an oral form of vitamin B12 that the company is developing reduced the amount of time it took for the body to absorb the nutrient, while increasing the amount of the nutrient that was absorbed.

Developing an effective oral form of the nutrient may save millions of [...]

Americans filled more than 18 million prescriptions for erectile dysfunction last year in the hopes of bringing some va va voom back to the bedroom.

Sales have been driven by smartly placed TV ads, which are run heavily during evening programming, according to AdWatch, a product of Yonkers-based Consumer Reports that monitors advertising campaigns.

Consumer Reports notes [...]

Business reporter Julie Moran Alterio has posted an item on the Business in the Burbs blog about Yonkers-based Consumer Reports’ warning about using debt to pay medical bills.

Click here to read the item.

Two groups that advocate for civil rights and better health care for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have compiled a report that rates the nation’s hospitals on standards of patient care for GLBT Americans.

The Healthcare Equality Index, or HEI, is a step in establishing a nationwide set of standards to reduce discrimination and ensure [...]

Recent tests of 18 iron supplements showed problems with two products, including one sold at Duane Reade stores that contained unhealthful levels of lead, according to ConsumerLab.com, a White Plains-based evaluator of health products.

Tests showed that Duane Reade Time Release Iron 50 milligrams contained 0.6 micrograms of lead, a level that exceeds safety standards set [...]

For consumers who pay for prescription drugs out their own pockets, a new price study by Yonkers-based Consumer Reports finds it pays to shop around.

The consumer publication’s research showed that not only that prices vary from store to store for the same, but the differences can be dramatic — even within the same chain, depending [...]

A new study shows that costs associated with long-term care for the elderly and patients with chronic illnesses have increased 18 percent during the last five years in areas surrounding Manhattan, including Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.

The annual cost of long-term care rose to $129,570 in the Lower Hudson Valley, the boroughs of New York [...]

Two consumer-advocacy organizations are criticizing a Food and Drug Administration investigation into a generic version of a popular, once-daily dose antidepressant, calling the regulatory agency’s review “inadequate.”

White Plains-based ConsumerLab.com and The People’s Pharmacy, of Durham, N.C., said a determination by FDA that a generic version of Wellbutrin XL 300, manufactured by Impax Laboratories and distributed [...]

Consumers Union is warning patients with chronic pain that the strongest of painkilling drugs, known as opiods, are only moderately effective and shouldn’t be the first choice for treatment.

Instead, the Yonkers-based consumer advocate advises doctors and patients to first try safer and less expensive pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB and generics), naproxen [...]