Health and Wellness « Weekly Sauce

Millions of people spend hours looking at screens every day, straining their eyes. An ophthalmologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston offers some tips for easing both eye strain and headaches. “We focus on one object, especially an object that’s up close, like a computer screen or phone, for prolonged periods of time, and… read on > read on >

Having diabetes and colon cancer together can raise the risk of dying early, particularly for patients with diabetic complications, a new study shows. To arrive at that conclusion, researchers from National Taiwan University examined data for more than 59,000 people from the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database from 2007 to 2015. The database is linked to… read on > read on >

You might be talking to a real person while on Zoom, but it’s just not the same to your brain as a face-to-face conversation. New research using sophisticated imaging tools found that the brain activity of people engaged in conversation looks different from that of two people conversing on Zoom. “In this study we find… read on > read on >

Millions of older Americans may be unaware they have memory and thinking impairments — mostly because their doctors aren’t diagnosing them, new research suggests. After analyzing Medicare data covering 40 million older Americans, researchers found that only a small percentage of expected cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were actually diagnosed. The upshot was that more… read on > read on >

THURSDAY, Oct. 26, 2023 Millions of people with diabetes take the drug metformin to control their blood sugar levels. Meant to be taken for the long term, new research now suggests that stopping it early may up the risk of developing thinking and memory problems as patients age. “We found that staying on metformin prevents… read on > read on >

Abortion numbers increased — not decreased — slightly in the year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized the procedure. Some states immediately banned access and numbers of abortions fell to nearly zero in those with the strictest bans. But they increased elsewhere, especially in states adjacent to… read on > read on >

High triglycerides, widely known as an enemy of the aging heart, may not be as threatening to older adults’ brains, new research suggests. The study, of over 80,000 older adults, found those with triglycerides in the “high-normal” or moderately high range were less likely to develop dementia, versus their peers with lower triglyceride levels. Over… read on > read on >

A variety of risks can make it more likely that someone develops Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Now you can add neighborhood environment to that list. A new study finds low income levels and a lack of green spaces are among the factors that can harm brain health. “Social determinants of health have a major… read on > read on >

Children who live through trauma may be prone to having headaches as an adult. New research found an association between headache disorders and traumatic events in childhood, such as abuse, neglect or household dysfunction. “Traumatic events in childhood can have serious health implications later in life,” said study author Catherine Kreatsoulas, of Harvard T.H. Chan… read on > read on >