A growing number of people have become unpaid caregivers for loved ones, and a new report says many are overlooking the financial consequences of their selflessness. One in five adults now provide uncompensated care to family and loved ones with health problems, according to the report from the TIAA Institute and the University of Pennsylvania… read on > read on >
When states have restrictive abortion laws in place, more children end up in foster care, new research finds. This happened even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the investigators noted. The study, published Nov. 7 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found an 11% overall increase in children placed in foster… read on > read on >
Advisors to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have voted to recommend that health providers wear masks during routine care for patients who are thought to be contagious. Still, health care workers were frustrated that the draft recommendation does not specify what kind of mask should be worn — loose-fitting surgical masks or… read on > read on >
People who regularly smoke medical marijuana may be increasing their risk for a heart attack, heart failure or stroke, new research suggests. One study found that cannabis use among older patients increases the risk of heart attack or stroke by 20%. The second study found that using cannabis increased the risk of heart failure by… read on > read on >
Drones might prove a feasible way to deliver lifesaving defibrillators to cardiac arrests in remote areas, a new research simulation suggests. Delivering automated external defibrillators (AEDs) by drone could dramatically improve emergency response times in both urban and rural areas, according to findings to be presented Saturday and Sunday at an American Heart Association meeting,… read on > read on >
An adolescent starts thinking like an adult right around the age of 18, according to new research. That provides some of the first definitive evidence that executive function matures by that time. Executive function is a set of mental skills that include the ability to plan, switch between tasks, resist tempting distractions and focus. For… read on > read on >
The first new antibiotic for gonorrhea — the second most common sexually transmitted disease — has shown promise in a clinical trial. That news should come as a relief to public health experts, because gonorrhea has become resistant to all but one of the existing antibiotics used to treat it. This new antibiotic, called zoliflodacin,… read on > read on >
Put down the saltshaker — especially if you’re at risk of type 2 diabetes. While the condition brings to mind the need to avoid sugar, a new study links it to frequent salt consumption. “We already know that limiting salt can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, but this study shows for the… read on > read on >
The American Cancer Society has expanded its recommendations for who should get lung cancer screening. The updated guidance now says annual screening should start at a younger age and among those who smoke less, and it should continue regardless of how many years ago a former smoker may have quit. “If you are a person… read on > read on >
Poor people are less likely to get clot-busting drugs after a stroke than their more affluent peers, Canadian researchers report. Their new study found that people in the poorest neighborhoods were 24% less likely to be treated than their counterparts in neighborhoods with the highest economic status. “Disparities in the use of treatments that reduce… read on > read on >
