The number of American women who have diabetes when they become pregnant has increased dramatically over five years, health officials reported Wednesday. Between 2016 and 2021, the rate of pregnancy among diabetic women has risen 27%, from about 9 per 1,000 births to 11 per 1,000 births, according to the report from the U.S. Centers…  read on >  read on >

Older adults may have a second vaccine option for RSV following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday. The other shot for adults 60 and up is made by GSK. It was approved May 3. Both should be available by fall, before the seasonal spread of respiratory syncytial virus…  read on >  read on >

Large, uncontrolled wildfires in Nova Scotia are creating unhealthy air in the Northeast region of the United States, including parts of Connecticut. This significant smoke plume is likely to cause elevated levels of fine particulate matter, the American Lung Association warned in its alert. Particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so…  read on >  read on >

Having a heart attack is bad news for your brain, raising your odds for mental decline in the years to come, new research finds. Looking at studies conducted over five decades, researchers found that a heart attack wasn’t linked to immediate cognitive (“thinking”) issues, but they saw a faster-than-normal decline of brain health in the…  read on >  read on >