Overuse of antibiotics might increase kids’ risk of developing asthma and allergies, by disrupting their gut bacteria during a crucial stage of child development, a new study says. Exposure to antibiotics prior to age 2 is associated with a 24% increased risk of asthma and 33% increased risk of food allergies in later childhood, researchers… read on > read on >
Folks are less likely to recover successfully from a total hip replacement if they have poor muscle quality going into the procedure, a small-scale study says. Patients whose MRI scans revealed fatty hip muscle prior to surgery were more likely to perform poorly on movement tasks following hip replacement, researchers reported today in the Journal… read on > read on >
Early menopause could be a warning sign for future age-related brain decline, a new study says. Women who entered menopause before 40 had a greater cognitive decline than women who entered menopause after 50, according to a study published recently in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Early menopause also was associated with worse depression, researchers… read on > read on >
Microplastics could be contributing to clogged arteries, increasing people’s risk of heart attack or stroke, a new study says. Fatty plaques in neck arteries can contain more than 50 times as much microplastics as are found in arteries free of plaques, researchers reported Tuesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Baltimore. These… read on > read on >
Recreational use of “magic mushroom” psilocybin skyrocketed in the U.S. during the early 2020s, as states began toying with legalization of the psychedelic drug, a new study says. The number of adults 30 and older who had used psilocybin in the past year increased by 188% between 2019 and 2023, researchers reported April 21 in… read on > read on >
Depression and anxiety have been increasing steadily among children and teenagers in recent years, a new study says. More than 1 in 10 children (10.6%) suffered from anxiety in 2022, up from 7.1% in 2016, researchers reported April 21 in JAMA Pediatrics. During the same period, depression among children increased to 4.6% from 3.2%, results… read on > read on >
The prevalence of depression decreased with older age and with increasing family income read on >
The Trump administration is expected to take new steps to remove artificial food dyes from the U.S. food supply, officials say. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary are expected to share more details on Tuesday, CNN reported. This follows a major move by the U.S. Food… read on > read on >
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will provide private health data to researchers for U.S. health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new autism study. NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya told advisers the aim is to help researchers study autism by giving them access to “comprehensive” health records. These records will cover a wide range of… read on > read on >
Women are OK with having an AI program help doctors review mammograms performed for breast cancer screening, a new study says. About 7 out of 10 women (71%) said they’re fine with an AI program providing backup for a radiologist’s review of their breast X-ray, researchers report in the journal Radiology: Imaging Cancer. But women… read on > read on >
