Over the past few years the escalating opioid crisis has touched off a complex debate about how best to reign in suicide risk among patients who are prescribed the addictive painkillers. The question: Could rapidly cutting back on legal opioid prescriptions help, or might patients’ desperation over lack of access inadvertently drive up suicide risk?… read on > read on >
All Health and Wellness:
Menthol Vapes Could Be Even More Toxic to Lungs
Adding menthol flavoring to electronic cigarettes may damage your lungs more than regular e-cigarettes do, a new study reveals. The common mint flavoring helps deliver lots more toxic microparticles, compared with e-cigarette pods that don’t contain menthol. It’s those microparticles that damage lung function, researchers say. “Beware of additives in the e-cigarettes,” said senior researcher… read on > read on >
Survival Improves for Babies of America’s Youngest Moms
The death rate among babies born to teen moms has dropped over the past 25 years — but racial disparities stubbornly persist, a new U.S. government study finds. Compared with the late 1990s, fewer babies born to teenage mothers are dying in their first year of life, according to the study by the U.S. Centers… read on > read on >
AHA News: She Boarded a Cruise Ship. Then She Had a Stroke.
TUESDAY, April 11, 2023 (American Heart Association News) — Shelley Davis packed shorts, bathing suits and sunscreen for a weeklong cruise with her husband, Greg, and their 13- and 15-year-old daughters. The morning before boarding the ship in Port Canaveral, Florida, the family from Mesa, Arizona, soaked up the sunshine and played in an arcade.… read on > read on >
AHA News: People Who Follow These 8 Heart Health Metrics May Live Years Longer
TUESDAY, April 11, 2023 (American Heart Association News) — People who strongly adhere to a set of cardiovascular health metrics may live close to a decade longer than those who don’t, new research suggests. The study, published Monday in Circulation, found people with higher scores for cardiovascular health lived up to nine years longer on… read on > read on >
Move to ‘Green’ School Buses Could Boost Kids’ Class Attendance
Jouncing along to school in a fume-spewing, rattletrap yellow bus is practically a rite of passage for most American students. But outdated buses actually wind up costing kids many days of education, thanks to the clouds of diesel exhaust left in their wake, a new study argues. School districts that upgrade to a “greener” bus… read on > read on >
Justice Department Appeals Texas Judge’s Ruling on Abortion Pill
(HealthDay News) – The U.S. Justice Department on Monday appealed a Texas court ruling that invalidates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval in 2020 of mifepristone, the first of two drugs taken during a medical abortion. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas is “extraordinary and unprecedented,” the Justice Department said… read on > read on >
1 in 5 American Adults Say They Have Relative Killed by a Gun
Long Used in Adults, Wireless Pacemakers Might Soon Be an Option for Kids
Wireless pacemakers could be a safe and effective short-term option for children with slow heartbeats, a new study suggests. Children with a heartbeat that’s too slow — a condition called bradycardia — need a pacemaker to keep their hearts beating normally. Researchers successfully implanted wireless pacemakers into 62 kids to see if the cutting-edge devices… read on > read on >
Pushing Homeless Out of Encampments Can Bring Deadly Toll: Study
Forcibly moving homeless people away from their encampments is a widespread practice in the United States. And it may be killing them. A new study found significant spikes in deaths, overdoses and hospitalizations with involuntary displacement of the homeless. These forced movements contribute to 15% to 25% of deaths in this population over 10 years,… read on > read on >