HEALTH

SAN DIEGO — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new insulin-delivery system for Type 1 diabetes made by Tandem Diabetes Care, the company said Wednesday.

Tandem announced the approval of the T:slim, a pump that the company said is the first to have a color touch screen and is the smallest insulin pump system available, in addition to being one of the first to be approved under the FDA's new Infusion Pump Improvement initiative.

WASHINGTON — Rite Aid, UnitedHealth Group and the YMCA are partnering to offer community-based programs to combat Type 2 diabetes in the Washington, D.C., area through the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance, the three companies said.

BALTIMORE — Nearly one-fifth of all Americans ages 12 years and older have hearing loss so severe that it may make communication difficult, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Nov. 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The findings, thought to be the first nationally representative estimate of hearing loss, suggest that many more people than previously thought are affected by this condition.

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble's Prilosec OTC and comedian Larry the Cable Guy are teaming up this season on a Facebook-driven contest in search of "parking lot pros who know 'a better way to tailgate,'" beginning Tuesday.

BRUSSELS — In line with World Diabetes Day, which was held Nov. 14, the International Diabetes Foundation projected that the number of people in the world living with diabetes is expected to rise from 366 million in 2011 to 552 million by 2030.

IDF said the statistic equates to approximately three new cases every 10 seconds, or almost 10 million per year. The organization also estimated that as many as 183 million people are unaware that they have diabetes.

The figures were released in the fifth edition of IDF's Diabetes Atlas.

NEW YORK — In support of National Diabetes Month, Colgate Total is donating $100,000 to help support Stop Diabetes, a movement launched by the American Diabetes Association to help educate and increase awareness of the link between oral health and diabetes.

WARWICK, R.I. — Kenneth O’Leary, president and founder of Cara Inc., passed away Oct. 12 at home after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

A 50-year industry veteran, O'Leary, 83, started his career as a detail rep for Schieffelin & Co. in New York. He also spent time with Schering (White Labs), Miles (Dome Labs), CR Bard (Davol) and in 1983 founded Cara Inc.

SAN DIEGO — A free mobile service providing healthcare information via text message helped improve both engagement with healthcare providers and compliance with regimens, researchers revealed Tuesday.