It’s smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol — and not taking illegal drugs — that pose the greatest risks to people’s health, a new international study contends. Researchers found that alcohol and tobacco use combined cost more than a quarter of a billion disability-adjusted life-years worldwide, while illegal drugs only accounted for tens of millions in… read on >
There’s a danger lurking in rice and you won’t find it by reading labels. It’s the chemical arsenic. And the threat isn’t about immediate poisoning but rather that long-term exposure to small amounts can increase the risk of bladder, lung and skin cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Arsenic naturally finds its way into our soil… read on >
Teacher hostility can dampen students’ desire to learn and harm their grades. That’s the suggestion of a new study that included nearly 500 undergraduate students who watched either a lecture presented in a normal fashion or one in which the teacher was antagonistic, such as belittling students, showing favoritism or criticizing their input. Both groups… read on >
A normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, but this rate will be affected by a person’s stress, caffeine consumption, anxiety, hormones, medication and fitness level, the American Heart Association says. Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a minute while you are at… read on >
After-school activities might be just what the doctor ordered for kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), researchers suggest. After analyzing records on more than 4,000 children with ADHD, the investigators found that nearly 72 percent of them took part in one or more after-school activities. And if they did, they missed fewer days of school and… read on >
A “well” visit to her ob-gyn can benefit a woman’s heart, two leading U.S. medical groups say. “As the leading health care providers for women, ob-gyns provide care that goes far beyond reproductive health and are in a unique position to screen, counsel and educate patients on heart health,” said Dr. Haywood Brown, immediate past… read on >
Exercise can help prevent many chronic illnesses as well as make it easier to manage health conditions, from diabetes to joint pain. In terms of prevention, aim for the recommended 150 minutes of exercise, like brisk walking or cycling, each week. Along with eating a healthy diet, this can cut your risk of diabetes by… read on >
For reasons that aren’t yet clear, people who battle PTSD may also be at heightened risk for the common heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation, researchers report. It’s the first time a connection has been made between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and “A-fib,” which typically arises with age and is the most common type of heart… read on >
A diagnosis of dementia often triggers discussions about how to keep that person safe as the disease advances, but one serious safety concern that may be overlooked is gun ownership. Somewhere between 40 percent and 60 percent of people with dementia have access to firearms in their homes, according to an editorial in the May… read on >
If you use Airbnbs or other vacation rentals, it might be a good idea to check first on their fire safety. A new study found that while many Airbnbs in the United States had smoke alarms, less than half had fire extinguishers or first-aid kits. The research was led by Vanya Jones, of the Johns… read on >
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