Fill up that mug: Having one or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day may reduce your risk of heart failure, new research suggests. There was one caveat, however: Decaffeinated coffee doesn’t appear to provide the same protection as caffeine-rich blends. “The association between caffeine and heart failure risk reduction was surprising,” admitted study senior…  read on >  read on >

Children in day care centers had low coronavirus infection rates early in the pandemic, and are unlikely sources of COVID-19 transmission, a new study from France finds. COVID-19 can infect people of all ages, but children tend to develop mild, if any, symptoms, and very rarely need to be hospitalized. Very young children’s role as…  read on >  read on >

Keep flossing: A new study finds that gum disease may raise the chances of hospitalization or death if COVID-19 strikes. The reason? Gum disease can be a sign of inflammation throughout the body. “It is well-established that systemic inflammation is not only linked with periodontal disease, but to several other respiratory diseases as well,” explained…  read on >  read on >

Severe frailty significantly increases the risk of death in COVID-19 patients, British researchers say. In their new study, the investigators analyzed data from more than 5,700 COVID-19 patients at 55 hospitals in 12 countries. They found that those who were severely frail were three times more likely to die than those who weren’t frail. That…  read on >  read on >

Peanut allergy is often thought of as a children’s problem, but three out of four Americans with the condition are older than 17, researchers say. Despite this, treatment remains focused on kids, says Dr. Ruchi Gupta, co-author of a new study and a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.…  read on >  read on >

In a grim development for allergy sufferers in North America, a new investigation warns that pollen seasons are getting longer and worse. Over the last three decades, the annual pollen season has expanded by nearly three weeks, accompanied by a 21% jump in pollen concentrations. A big underlying cause: climate change. “It is clear that…  read on >  read on >