Urgent care clinics are handing out fistfuls of antibiotics, steroids and opioids for conditions these drugs won’t help, a new study says. “Previous studies had shown that patients continue to receive antibiotics for diagnoses where they may not be indicated, such as for a viral respiratory infection, especially in urgent care settings,” said co-lead researcher…  read on >  read on >

Just about all transgender Americans believe they’ll lose their access to gender-affirming health care during President Donald Trump’s current term in office. As a result, despair is driving many to consider suicide or risky black-market hormones, researchers report in JAMA Network Open. Every single participant in a 489-person poll of gender-diverse Americans aged 18 and…  read on >  read on >

Fewer than one-third of American public schools are screening students for psychological problems, years after the U.S. Surgeon General declared a mental health crisis among the nation’s youth. In 2021, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that social media, the COVID-19 pandemic, bullying, lack of safety and a number of other factors were driving an…  read on >  read on >

Care about your kid’s well being? Then best not give them a smartphone until they’re a full-fledged teenager, a major new study says. Kids given a smartphone when they were younger than 13 tend to have poorer mental health and well-being, researchers report in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. Specifically, people between 18…  read on >  read on >

A new egg study has produced sunny-side-up results for the oft-maligned breakfast staple. Eggs are commonly thought to increase risk of heart disease by raising people’s cholesterol levels. But people who ate two eggs a day experienced reductions in their “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, as long as the rest of their diet remained low in…  read on >  read on >

Some women have a greater risk of depression as they go through premature menopause, according to a new study. Premature menopause occurs when the ovaries stop functioning normally before age 40, researchers said in background notes. The condition has been linked with a more than tripled risk for depression and nearly quintupled risk for anxiety,…  read on >  read on >

Poor dental health could be a harbinger of chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, a new study warns. People with missing teeth, coated tongues and other signs of poor oral health also were more likely to have elevated blood sugar, high cholesterol and diminished kidney function, researchers reported recently in the Journal…  read on >  read on >