As climate change threatens another long hot summer for Americans, new data shows last summer’s record-breaking temperatures sent a rising number of people to emergency departments. At special risk of heatstroke and other heat-related issues: Working-age Americans, who often found themselves far from air conditioning when triple-digit temperatures struck. “Heat-related illness will continue to be… read on > read on >
Nearly 20% of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables that Americans eat contain concerning levels of pesticides, a new report finds. Pesticides posed significant risks in popular choices such as strawberries, green beans, bell peppers, blueberries and potatoes, the review from Consumer Reports found. “One food in particular, green beans, had residues of a… read on > read on >
Teenagers are frequently bullied about their weight on social media, and the bullying increases with each hour they spend on these sites, a new study reveals. Nearly one in five teens (17%) said they’d experienced weight-related bullying online, according to results published April 17 in the journal PLOS One. “This experience can have adverse effects,… read on > read on >
Jobs that challenge your mind could help your brain age more gracefully, a new study suggests. The harder your brain works on the job, the less likely you are to have memory and thinking problems later in life, researchers reported April 17 in the journal Neurology. “We examined the demands of various jobs and found… read on > read on >
AI could help doctors cut back on the bewildering variety of medications that seniors frequently are prescribed, a new study suggests. More than 40% of seniors are prescribed five or more meds, and this increases a person’s risk of adverse drug interactions, researchers said. When asked to evaluate faux medication lists of seniors, the OpenAI… read on > read on >
Antipsychotics can substantially increase dementia patients’ risk of many serious health problems, a new study warns. Dementia patients prescribed antipsychotics have increased risk of stroke, blood clots, heart attack, heart failure, bone fractures, pneumonia and kidney damage, researchers reported April 17 in the BMJ. “A move away from the overprescription of antipsychotics is overdue,” concluded… read on > read on >
Two-thirds of homeless people are experiencing some form of mental health disorder, a large, new review of data on the subject. The analysis found that men who are homeless are more likely to be battling mental illness than women, although rates were high for both genders compared to the general population. There are signs that… read on > read on >
There’s no evidence that a COVID infection increases the risk of asthma in children, the first study to date on the subject finds. “We knew from a number of really nice studies over the last decade or more that respiratory viral infections are a risk factor for the development of asthma in children,” said senior… read on > read on >
Zepbound, one of the wildly popular weight-loss drugs that millions of Americans now take, eased sleep apnea in obese adults in two company trials, drug maker Eli Lilly announced Wednesday. First approved to treat obesity by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last November, Zepbound’s power was significant: It reduced sleep apnea severity by nearly… read on > read on >
Some people with tough-to-treat epilepsy might benefit if doctors target a brain region newly linked to the disorder, a new study suggests. Seizures declined by 83% after a patient underwent surgery that removed almost all of the fasciola cinereum, a previously overlooked region of the hippocampus, researchers report April 17 in the journal Nature Medicine.… read on > read on >
