Vitamin D deficiency among Black people may be a risk factor for heart disease, a new, small study suggests. Black adults are more prone to heart disease than whites, and lack of vitamin D — the so-called sunshine vitamin — might be one reason. People with darker skin make less vitamin D than those with… read on > read on >
Raising the legal age for buying tobacco is effective in cutting teen smoking rates, a new study shows. Researchers compared teen and young adult smoking patterns before and three years after a 2016 California law that increased the legal age for tobacco sales from 18 to 21. The University of California, Davis team found that… read on > read on >
So, you’re trying desperately to quit smoking, using e-cigarettes while still using traditional cigarettes. Sound like a good idea? Maybe not, according to a new study that shows that combining vaping with smoking raises the risk for respiratory wheeze and cough. “To help people quit smoking, FDA-approved medications, such as the nicotine patch or the… read on > read on >
Having preeclampsia during pregnancy significantly increases a woman’s future risk of stroke, researchers say. Preeclampsia happens when a woman with previously normal blood pressure suddenly develops high blood pressure, protein in her urine or other problems after 20 weeks into pregnancy. The condition occurs in about one in 25 pregnancies in the United States, according… read on > read on >
The more gun laws a state has, the lower its suicide and murder rates, a new U.S. study finds. Gun violence in the United States is a public health crisis. In 2017, nearly 67,000 Americans died by suicide and homicide. And guns were involved in about half of the suicides and 74% of the murders,… read on > read on >
If you live with a smoker, breathing in their smoke could increase your risk of oral cancer by more than 50%, a new analysis shows. The findings highlight the need for more effective programs to prevent people from being exposed to secondhand smoke, the British authors said. They analyzed five studies from Asia, Europe, North… read on > read on >
MONDAY, April 26, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — People who are salt-sensitive may have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, according to a study that points to the need for better genetic testing for sodium sensitivity. Scientists already knew high salt sensitivity is more common among people with high blood pressure, which… read on > read on >
An experimental COVID-19 vaccine could potentially provide universal protection against future COVID variants as well as other coronaviruses — maybe even the ones responsible for the common cold. And it’s dirt cheap — less than $1 a dose, researchers say. The vaccine targets a part of the COVID virus’ spike protein that appears to be… read on > read on >
More than 5 million Americans have missed the second dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, new government data shows. The trend seems to be growing. According to the latest data, the number of vaccine recipients who missed their second dose now stands at nearly 8%, more than double the rate seen among people who got inoculated… read on > read on >
A breakthrough psoriasis drug is better at treating the itchy and painful skin disease than medicines already on the market, according to results from two clinical trials. There was a “night and day difference” in the results from bimekizumab compared against two established psoriasis drugs, secukinumab (Cosentyx) and adalimumab (Humira), said Dr. Mark Lebwohl, a… read on > read on >
