There’s a hint of good news for parents concerned about teen mental health: After 57% of U.S. teen girls surveyed in 2021 said they felt “persistent sadness,” that number declined somewhat by 2023, to 53%, new government data show. In the latest biennial poll of over 20,000 high school students nationwide, called the Youth Risk… read on > read on >
Fireworks displays can cause worse air quality than wildfire smoke, a new study reveals. About 60,000 firework shells exploded over Manhattan’s East River as part of Macy’s Fourth of July show in 2023, researchers said. The colorful bursts caused air pollution in New York City to spike dramatically, with levels many times higher in the… read on > read on >
Wildfire smoke could interfere with the safety of surgeries, a new study warns. Inhaling the smoke could complicate the effects of anesthesia on surgical patients, and it also might hamper their recovery, researchers reported Aug. 6 in the journal Anesthesiology. “Wildfire smoke poses significant health risks, particularly in people with preexisting heart and lung disease,… read on > read on >
Following several years of record low rates of uninsured Americans, a new survey finds more folks are once again without health insurance. More than 8% of Americans did not have health coverage during the first few months of 2024, according to findings published Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated… read on > read on >
Screening for cancer saves lives, but a new report shows it comes with a hefty price tag: The United States spends at least $43 billion annually on tests that check for five major cancers. Published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the new analysis focused on screenings for breast, cervical, colon, lung and prostate cancers.… read on > read on >
Eating more fruits and veggies can lower blood pressure and improve heart health by reducing acid levels in the body, a new clinical trial finds. People who added two to four cups of fruits and vegetables to their daily diet wound up with lower blood pressure and reduced heart disease risk, as well as improved… read on > read on >
Hospitals could be frequently misdiagnosing pneumonia, causing patients to receive the wrong treatments and potentially become deathly ill, a new study finds. More than half the time, a pneumonia diagnosis will change following a patient’s admission to the hospital, researchers report. Either someone initially diagnosed with pneumonia will end up actually sick from something else,… read on > read on >
A person’s lifespan appears to be linked to four specific social factors – marriage, gender, education and race. The interplay between those four factors helps explain differences in lifespan between Americans, researchers report. “There is a complex interaction between social and individual determinants of health, with no one determinant explaining the full observed variation in… read on > read on >
Women who develop subclinical thyroid issues during pregnancy, meaning symptoms haven’t surfaced, could face real thyroid trouble within five years, a new study finds. Pregnant women who were diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism, pointing to an under-active gland, before 21 weeks of gestation had four times the odds of developing symptomatic hypothyroidism later, a team at… read on > read on >
A newly developed biomaterial might be able to treat crippling arthritis by prompting the growth of new cartilage, a new animal study suggests. The bioactive material looks like rubbery goo, but it’s actually a complex biological stew designed to mimic natural cartilage in the body, researchers said. The biomaterial successfully regenerated high-quality cartilage in the… read on > read on >
