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 >
Doctors should ask diabetic women at every visit about their intention to have a child, to make sure they get the appropriate care prior to conception, new guidelines say. This will help avoid miscarriages and birth defects among women who have diabetes before pregnancy, the authors write in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.… read on > read on >
Two-thirds of nieces and nephews caring for an aging relative with dementia never expected to wind up with that responsibility, a recent small-scale study says. These caregivers say they either gradually fell into the role, or had it forced upon them by family circumstances, according to findings published recently in the journal The Gerontologist. “That… 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 >
Florida virologist John Lednicky couldn’t have a more devoted research partner than his sleek black house cat Pepper. Pepper, an avid hunter who often leaves “gifts” for his people, made news last year for his role in helping detect the arrival in the U.S. of an exotic germ called jeilongvirus. Now, he’s at it again.… read on > read on >
Insomniacs have a much higher risk for depression if they have chronic inflammation, a new sleep lab experiment says. Seniors with insomnia were three times as likely to report symptoms of depression if they’d been dosed with a substance that promotes inflammation, according to results published July 16 in JAMA Psychiatry. “Insomnia not only robs… read on > read on >
Some newer antiseizure medications appear to be safer for pregnant women to take without risk of birth defects, a new study says. Second-generation antiseizure drugs like levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, gabapentin and zonisamide did not show an increased risk for birth defects, researchers reported July 16 in the journal Neurology. On the other hand, the study confirmed… read on > read on >
