Overuse of antibiotics might increase kids’ risk of developing asthma and allergies, by disrupting their gut bacteria during a crucial stage of child development, a new study says. Exposure to antibiotics prior to age 2 is associated with a 24% increased risk of asthma and 33% increased risk of food allergies in later childhood, researchers…  read on >  read on >

Folks are less likely to recover successfully from a total hip replacement if they have poor muscle quality going into the procedure, a small-scale study says. Patients whose MRI scans revealed fatty hip muscle prior to surgery were more likely to perform poorly on movement tasks following hip replacement, researchers reported today in the Journal…  read on >  read on >

Microplastics could be contributing to clogged arteries, increasing people’s risk of heart attack or stroke, a new study says. Fatty plaques in neck arteries can contain more than 50 times as much microplastics as are found in arteries free of plaques, researchers reported Tuesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Baltimore. These…  read on >  read on >

Recreational use of “magic mushroom” psilocybin skyrocketed in the U.S. during the early 2020s, as states began toying with legalization of the psychedelic drug, a new study says. The number of adults 30 and older who had used psilocybin in the past year increased by 188% between 2019 and 2023, researchers reported April 21 in…  read on >  read on >

Depression and anxiety have been increasing steadily among children and teenagers in recent years, a new study says. More than 1 in 10 children (10.6%) suffered from anxiety in 2022, up from 7.1% in 2016, researchers reported April 21 in JAMA Pediatrics. During the same period, depression among children increased to 4.6% from 3.2%, results…  read on >  read on >

Loneliness among seniors has been a huge concern among experts on aging as social isolation increases risk of dementia, health problems, psychological disorders and deaths. But a new study suggests that, at least in the U.S., that concern has been somewhat misplaced. Middle-aged people in the United States experience more loneliness than seniors, researchers reported…  read on >  read on >