Poor mental and physical health among older adults can sometimes trace back to childhood abuse, a Canadian study suggests. The study, published online July 7 in the journal Aging and Health Research, found that people who were physically abused during childhood were twice as likely to experience anxiety and depression later in life. They were…  read on >  read on >

The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program slashed the coronavirus’ expected death rate by as much as 58%, saving hundreds of thousands of lives during the first two waves of the pandemic, a new study says. Computer models estimate that vaccines prevented 235,000 COVID deaths in the United States between December 2020 and September 2021, blunting the…  read on >  read on >

Your age may play a huge role in whether you’ll decide to get a COVID vaccine, new research finds. Though vaccine hesitancy due to personal politics has drawn a lot of media attention, a University of Georgia study reveals it’s not the only consideration. The link between vaccines and politics is “not so much true…  read on >  read on >

You might think everyone knows by now to protect against the sun’s rays, but many Gen Zers apparently haven’t gotten the message. In a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults by the American Academy of Dermatology, many of these 18- to 25-year-olds were unaware of the risks from tanning. About 60% of Gen Z respondents…  read on >  read on >

Heat coupled with smog can be a particularly lethal mix, especially for older adults, a new study finds. Unfortunately, both hot temperatures and air pollution are going to increase as the planet warms, and so will deaths, researchers report. “We are experiencing more and more frequent wildfires, which cause pollution, and wildfires happen during the…  read on >  read on >

COVID vaccination is highly protective against severe disease in people of all body weights, new British research finds. The study of over 9 million adults found that those who’d received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were strongly protected against hospitalization or death from the disease. And the effectiveness was just as great for obese…  read on >  read on >

While it’s more widely known that polluted air can harm human health, another danger may be lurking at your feet. New research shows that soil, too, can contain contaminants that can impact health. These include pesticides and heavy metals. In this study, scientists focused on the impact of contaminated soil on the cardiovascular system. “Soil…  read on >  read on >