Ten risk factors may affect your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new Chinese study suggests. Focusing on these factors could help doctors develop guidelines for preventing Alzheimer’s, researchers say. The risk factors include mental activity, obesity in late life, depression, diabetes and high blood pressure. The need is urgent: Alzheimer’s is the most common… read on >
U.S. air quality improved after businesses closed to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus, researchers say. For their new study, they compared air pollution data for 122 U.S. counties between March 13 and April 21, to the same dates and locations going back to 2017. “It has been shown that high air pollution may… read on >
Want to boost colon cancer screening rates? Mail testing kits to patients’ homes, a new study says. Colon cancer is easily diagnosed by routine screening, such as colonoscopies and at-home stool testing. But despite recommendations that adults get screened from ages 50 to 75, more than 33% of Americans are not up to date with… read on >
When healthy kids have surgery, serious complications are uncommon. But even in that low-risk scenario, Black children fare worse, a new study finds. Looking at more than 172,000 U.S. children who had inpatient surgery, researchers found that Black kids faced higher post-operative risks. That included more than three times the risk of dying within 30… read on >
Nurse case manager Sharon Tapp recalls laying in a Bethesda, Md., hospital bed, feverishly ill from COVID-19, asking for a bedpan. Then, in what seemed to be the very next moment, she found herself in another bed in an unfamiliar room at what seemed to be a different hospital, surrounded by people she didn’t know.… read on >
As yet another record for the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in the United States was broken on Sunday, federal health officials prepared to start pooled testing for COVID-19. The strategy could speed results, stretch lab supplies further, reduce costs and expand testing, the Associated Press reported. On Sunday, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oregon and South… read on >
Parents can ease conflict with their teens by showing them warmth, researchers say. In their new study, they analyzed daily diary entries from parents and teens in 151 families. The teens were 13 to 16 years old, and 95% of the parents were women. “By using 21 consecutive days of daily diaries, we were able… read on >
Grilling. Campfires. Fireworks. All are part of summer’s pleasures — but they also pose burn risks. A new survey of 1,000 U.S. adults found that 53% mistakenly think their burn risk is lower than it actually is. Only 11% knew that injuries from the flames of a fire pit or grill are the most common… read on >
Some key molecules used by the new coronavirus to cause infection aren’t found in the placenta, which may explain why the virus is rarely detected in fetuses or newborns of women with COVID-19. U.S. government researchers found that placental membranes lack the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule required to make the ACE2 receptor. SARS-CoV-2 — the… read on >
Each COVID-19 death in the United States leaves an average of nine close family members to grieve, researchers say. With more than 137,000 deaths so far in the pandemic, that means about 1.2 million Americans have lost a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse, child or other close relative. “In just a few short months, over 1… read on >
