Health Headlines: Walgreens Starts Diagnosing and Treating Patients

Walgreens will start diagnosing and treating patients for chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and high cholesterol today. What makes this different than the walk-in clinics at CVS and Walmart is that those clinics manage conditions but don’t usually diagnose. With the new massive Walgreens set to open in Downtown Crossing this fall, this is good news. Shampoo, paper towels, and a diabetes test, please. [Kaiser Health News]

Dementia care costs will double by 2040, according to a new study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The costs and the number of people with dementia will more than double within 30 years. The study says that nearly 15 percent of people aged 71 or older, which is about 3.8 million people, have dementia. By 2040, that number will almost triple to 9.1 million people. [New York Times]

Male pattern baldness is linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, but only if it’s on the top/crown of the head, rather than at the front, according to a new study in the online journal, BMJ Open. Men with both frontal and crown-top baldness were 69 percent more likely to have coronary artery disease than those with a full head of hair. Men that just had crown-top baldness were 52 percent more likely to do so. [WBUR]

U.S. adults on Medicaid are twice more likely to be depressed and have asthma, according to new research from Gallup. More than three in 10 adults on Medicaid are obese, and 36 percent smoke. Medicaid recipients also struggle disproportionately with diabetes. [Gallup]

Six Northeastern students will run the marathon dressed as hamburgers. Why? For a charity sponsored by the B.Good restaurant chain. You can’t make this stuff up. H/T to Universal Hub.  [The Huntington News]

New England-based Hood, is entering the frozen Greek yogurt market. Yum. [Release]