As the United States mourns one million deaths from COVID-19, a new study indicates the grim tally could have been worse. Use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine prevented more than 110,000 deaths and 690,000 hospitalizations in the United States in 2021, researchers report. The vaccine also prevented 8.7 million symptomatic cases of infection and saved… read on > read on >
Wildfires, like the one currently raging in New Mexico, are known to cause upticks in breathing issues and heart attacks in their immediate wake for folks who live nearby. Now, new Canadian research shows that these fires may also increase risk for lung and brain cancer over time. People who lived within about 30 miles… read on > read on >
Long-distance travel will likely prove a nearly insurmountable barrier to some women seeking abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned as expected, a new study concludes. Women who need an abortion are more than twice as likely to delay the procedure or decide to continue their pregnancy if they live 50 or more miles from… read on > read on >
Many people who get a diagnosis for one mental illness may find they have additional psychiatric conditions, and new genetic research offers an explanation why. A number of mental illnesses share genetic similarities, researchers found. This discovery helps explain why multiple conditions are common among people with psychiatric disorders, the investigators pointed out in a… read on > read on >
Narcissists’ belief that it’s ‘all about them’ can make them less likely to wear a mask or get vaccinated during the pandemic, a new study shows. Researchers analyzed data gathered from 1,100 U.S. adults in March 2021. They were asked about their mask use and vaccination views and behaviors, and they also completed assessments to… read on > read on >
Emphysema is missed more often in Black Americans than in white Americans, and now researchers report they have figured out why. The investigators found that many Black men who were considered to have normal results after race-specific interpretations of a common lung function test called spirometry actually had emphysema when assessed using computed tomography (CT).… read on > read on >
College basketball player Joey Liedel suffered years of debilitating hip pain that limited his ability to play. As a freshman at University of Detroit-Mercy, he was in constant discomfort. Eventually, the Erie, Mich., athlete underwent hip surgery and took some time off to get comfortable on the court again. The 6-foot-1 guard had arthroscopy —… read on > read on >
A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer may feel like a death sentence because this fast-moving disease is often discovered at a later stage, when it’s harder to treat. Now, a new study offers hope for earlier diagnosis, finding an association between recent gallstone disease and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Patients diagnosed with PDAC were six times… read on > read on >
Here’s one way in which the pandemic did not exacerbate health care disparities: A new study shows that telemedicine has closed the gap in access to primary care between Black and non-Black Americans. The use of telemedicine boomed during the pandemic, so University of Pennsylvania researchers decided to examine how that affected Black patients’ historically… read on > read on >
Nurses can be trained to detect postpartum depression in new mothers and could be crucial in spotting the condition early, researchers report. Postpartum depression affects about 15% of new moms and can cause persistent sadness, fatigue, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, and trouble sleeping or eating. Some women with the condition struggle to care for… read on > read on >
