The health of your lungs may have a lot to do with the size of your bank account, a new, large study indicates. The finding follows a six-decade look at lung disease risk among more than 215,000 American children and adults. In general, poorer Americans continue to have worse lung health than their wealthier peers.…  read on >  read on >

COVID-19 does not pose a threat to the safety of the United States’ blood supply under existing donor screening guidelines, researchers report. For the study, the investigators reviewed the results of tests for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in nearly 18,000 pools of donated blood, representative of over 257,800 single blood donations that were collected between…  read on >  read on >

Breathing in tiny particles of air pollution over a long period of time may put your sense of smell at risk, a new study suggests. Researchers found the risk for loss of smell — a condition called anosmia — was nearly doubled among people with lengthy exposure to this type of air pollution, known as…  read on >  read on >

Expectant mothers’ high blood pressure heightens kids’ risk of stroke later in life, a Swedish study finds. “Our findings indicate that hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are associated with increased risks of stroke and potentially heart disease in offspring up to the age of 41 years,” said study author Fen Yang, a doctoral student at Karolinska…  read on >  read on >

The United States has more than two dozen regional hotspots for opioid overdose deaths, according to researchers who also found a link between fatal overdoses and mental distress. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Tennessee have the highest percentage of opioid overdose deaths, but researchers identified 25 regional overdose clusters nationwide. The findings highlight…  read on >  read on >

An aggressive weight-loss program not only achieves remission of type 2 diabetes, but may also end the need for blood pressure medications, new research shows. “Our study shows that, in addition to possible remission from type 2 diabetes, there are other very important health benefits, as weight loss is a very effective treatment for hypertension…  read on >  read on >

You suddenly develop the sniffles. Is it allergies or COVID-19? One expert says whether you have a history of allergies might provide your biggest clue. “Symptoms such as congestion, sore throat and loss of smell are all common with both seasonal allergies and COVID-19,” said Dr. Jonathan Matz, an allergist and immunologist with LifeBridge Health,…  read on >  read on >