Fewer children end up in ERs for asthma attacks if nearby coal-fired power plants are shut down, a new study finds. “When these power plants close, we see a reduction of somewhere between 12% and 18% in emergency department visits for asthma,” said senior researcher Emily Pakhtigian, an assistant professor of public policy at Pennsylvania… read on > read on >
A new study shows just how devastating a diagnosis of mental decline can be: Researchers found that rates of suicide rise sharply in the months after such news is delivered. The study of almost 148,000 older U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs patients, mostly men, looked at diagnoses for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is often… read on > read on >
Kids born to moms who took a drug widely used to prevent miscarriages in the 1950s and 1960s may be twice as likely to develop cancer in adulthood. The drug in question, hydroxyprogesterone caproate, also known as OHPC or 17-OHPC, is a man-made version of the hormone progesterone. It is no longer used to reduce… read on > read on >
WEDNESDAY, March 24, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — The increasingly trendy trio of kefir, kimchi and kombucha may not be familiar to you, but experts say fermented foods like these can help the home of most of your immune system – your gut. How and why some (not all) fermented foods work is an… read on > read on >
It’s not unusual for a fictional character to ring such a chord that their story shapes your life. Think of educators inspired by Robin Williams’ character in “Dead Poets Society,” lawyers drawn to the profession by Perry Mason or Atticus Finch, or health professionals motivated by the doctors on “ER” or “Grey’s Anatomy.” Now researchers… read on > read on >
Heavy bleeding following birth can threaten the life of the mother, and doctors at times turn to a hysterectomy to end the bleeding. But a new study suggests a less invasive, underused procedure might be a better, less drastic option. Investigators determined that when postpartum bleeding occurs, hysterectomies — the removal of the uterus —… read on > read on >
Women who develop diabetes during pregnancy have a higher risk of complications for themselves and their babies if they’re night owls instead of early birds, a new study finds. Gestational diabetes increases the mother’s risk of premature delivery and preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure). It also raises the baby’s risk of growing too large in… read on > read on >
After a sharp drop early in the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of routine breast and colon cancer screening soon returned to near-normal levels, a new study finds. “These are the first findings to show that, despite real fears about the consequences of drop-off in cancer screens, health facilities figured out how to pick this back up… read on > read on >
COVID-19 may intensify kidney damage in people with acute kidney injury (AKI), researchers report. AKI is a sudden decline in the kidney’s filtration function that happens to 15% of hospitalized patients. It increases a patient’s likelihood of death 10-fold. The reason is unknown, but AKI is more common — and often more severe — in… read on > read on >
It was bound to happen: As the pandemic wore on, many older Americans couldn’t resist the urge to bring home a furry friend. According to a new poll from the University of Michigan, about 10% of all U.S. adults between the ages of 50 and 80 adopted a new pet between March 2020 and January… read on > read on >
