Young teens who vape and smoke cigarettes may be setting themselves up to be heavy smokers by the time they are older teens, a new study suggests. The researchers chalked it up to what they called the “entrenchment hypothesis.” “There has been a lot of attention on restricting e-cigarettes, so that they do not serve…  read on >  read on >

Some women with multiple breast tumors can safely be spared breast removal surgery, choosing less invasive treatment instead, new research suggests. Under certain conditions, women with two or three breast tumors in one breast can avoid mastectomy without increasing the chances that their breast cancer will come back. “For these patients, breast-conserving therapy is a…  read on >  read on >

WEDNESDAY, April 19, 2023 (American Heart Association News) — Growing up in Chicago, Melissa Rodríguez Mendoza initially had designs on working in the fashion industry. Trips to the doctor’s office with her parents changed her mind. Immigrants from Mexico, her parents mainly spoke Spanish and had trouble finding Spanish-speaking doctors. Melissa would accompany her mother…  read on >  read on >

Health care facilities remain one of the last places left in the United States with COVID-era mask requirements still in effect. It’s time for that to end, experts say. A prestigious collection of infection disease experts and epidemiologists say universal masking requirements in health care settings should be lifted, according to a commentary they published…  read on >  read on >

Nearly one-third of Americans live in counties with unhealthy air, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. One in three, or 120 million, people lives with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, the “State of the Air” report says. While air quality has improved overall, there are major differences between Eastern…  read on >  read on >

When you mention arthritis, most people think of osteoarthritis, where aging and wear-and-tear on the joints take their toll, but there is another type of arthritis that causes devastating damage after your immune system starts attacking your joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Here’s…  read on >  read on >