Living through days of smoky air from Canadian wildfires in June was unpleasant for New York City residents, but new data shows it wasn’t as immediately concerning for their lungs as feared. The research finds breathing-related hospital visits weren’t much worse in the city on these days than when pollen is especially high, though longer-term…  read on >  read on >

Anyone who has quickly slurped up a milkshake or chomped on a snow cone knows the sharp, brief pain of “brain freeze.” Its cause is a mystery, but it’s not harmful, according to experts at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “It is very common and happens more frequently in children,” said Dr.…  read on >  read on >

The number of Americans undergoing gender-affirming surgery is on the rise, new research reveals, almost tripling between 2016 and 2019 alone. During that period, more than 48,000 patients — about half of them between 19 and 30 years of age — underwent some form of gender-affirming (GAS) surgery, researchers found. About 4,500 of those procedures…  read on >  read on >

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 23, 2023 (American Heart Association News) — Patricia Guevara enjoys doing things with her 5-year-old daughter, Miranda, especially painting and drawing and taking an occasional walk in the park. After a promotora, or community health worker, stopped by their Pittsburgh-area home, their lives became more active. Guevara signed up for a promotora-led program…  read on >  read on >

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 23, 2023 (American Heart Association News) — As a Japanese American girl growing up in Irvine, California, Marisa Hamamoto felt like an outsider in her predominantly white community. Her schoolmates picked on her because she looked different. She wasn’t one of them. But when she entered the dance studio, everything changed. “I discovered…  read on >  read on >

Millions of Americans who experience major depression will suffer a relapse, but a new study suggests that learning to focus on the positive, rather than the negatives in everyday life, might help reduce those odds. “What we started to realize is it’s not just about how people with depression process negative information but there’s something…  read on >  read on >