As legal use of marijuana expands, experts say U.S. cancer patients are still far less likely to use it than the general population. That’s the key finding from a new study based on data on smoking habits — both tobacco and pot — collected from nearly 20,000 people between 2013 and 2018. Several U.S. states… read on > read on >
Here’s an unexpected benefit from wearing a mask during the pandemic: It may also reduce fall allergy symptoms, one expert says. “Masks that people use for protection from COVID-19, particularly those that filter out more particles like the N95 or KN95 masks, also tend to filter out pollen,” said Dr. Luz Fonacier, president of the… read on > read on >
Uncontrolled asthma increases the risk of severe COVID-19, researchers warn. “This study … focused on how COVID-19 outcomes might change for asthma patients depending on their level of asthma control,” said study author Anny Xiang, a senior research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “We also saw that even in patients with active asthma, if… read on > read on >
Black American liver transplant recipients have a lower survival rate than Hispanic or white patients, and a new study suggests that alcohol-related liver disease and insurance coverage are key reasons. “Our findings are a huge wake-up call that physicians and other health care professionals need to do better in delivering equitable care,” said study leader… read on > read on >
Young Americans from low-income homes are more likely than those whose families are better off to be unhappy with the way they look and to have an eating disorder, a new study finds. University of Minnesota researchers examined 2010-18 data from Project EAT, a long-running study tracking the general health and well-being of teens as… read on > read on >
Widowers have a higher risk for advanced prostate cancer than men who are part of a couple, Canadian researchers say. The new findings are from an analysis of 12 studies comparing 14,000 men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer and 12,000 healthy men. The study — recently published in the European Journal of Epidemiology — suggests… read on > read on >
COVID-19 vaccination will be required for all U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) employees who deal with patients, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced Thursday. The order will affect more than 25,000 clinicians, researchers, contractors, trainees and volunteers within the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Indian Health Service, and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned… read on > read on >
Older adults who take certain diabetes drugs may see a slower decline in their memory and thinking skills, a new study suggests. Researchers in South Korea found that among older people who’d been having memory issues, those using diabetes drugs called DDP-4 inhibitors typically showed a slower progression in those symptoms over the next few… read on > read on >
People fully vaccinated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine appear to have a lower risk of a “breakthrough” infection caused by the Delta variant than those who received the Pfizer vaccine, a new, preliminary report suggests. The researchers emphasized that both vaccines still “strongly protect” against severe illness, but the difference appears to be in the… read on > read on >
Since COVID-19 and three vaccines to help prevent it arrived in the United States, questions have swirled about their impact on pregnant women, new moms and infants. How would the virus affect them and their health risks? Should women get the vaccine while pregnant or breastfeeding? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered… read on > read on >
