Hospitals and clinical laboratories across the United States are facing a critical shortage of bottles used to culture blood samples, federal health officials report. Without the ability to culture blood, patients might receive the wrong antibiotics to treat conditions like endocarditis, sepsis and catheter-related blood infections, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned… read on > read on >
All Lifestyle:
Twice-Yearly Shot Protects At-Risk Women Against HIV
Just two shots a year of an HIV treatment provided complete protection against infections in highly at-risk women, researchers reported Wednesday. In the study of about 5,000 women in South Africa and Uganda, those given injections of lenacapavir were 100% protected, while roughly 2% of those given daily prevention pills were infected by their sex partners. “These… read on > read on >
Risk of Mental Illness Rises for Kids Treated in ICUs
Youngsters so sick they’ve needed treatment in an ICU appear to bear the scars of that experience years later, a new study finds. Children and teenagers treated in an intensive care unit have a significantly higher risk of developing a mental illness as they grow up, researchers reported July 20 in the Journal of Affective… read on > read on >
Huge Warehouses Can Create Unhealthy Neighborhoods
Online retail giants like Amazon have made it easier for people to buy what they want when they want it, but that convenience comes at a cost to people’s health, a new study says. Huge warehouses that support online shopping increase air pollution in the neighborhoods where they’re located, increasing residents’ risk of asthma attacks… read on > read on >
Another Study Ties Poor Sleep to Type 2 Diabetes
Consistently bad sleep is linked to a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study shows. Both too little and too much sleep is tied to diabetes risk, and swinging wildly between the two patterns of poor sleep reflects the most risk, researchers reported recently in the journal Diabetologia. The findings support “the… read on > read on >
City vs. Country vs. Suburbs: Who’s Happier?
City dwellers are less likely to be healthy, happy and well-off than people living outside urban areas, a new study reports. Instead, there’s a suburban “Goldilocks zone” between cities and rural areas where people are happiest, researchers report. “Areas near cities but beyond their boundaries… show the highest and most equal levels of psychological satisfaction,”… read on > read on >
Money Worries Keep Depressed Americans From Mental Health Care
Medical debt is significantly more common among people with a mood disorder, and these money woes can keep them from getting the help they need, a new study says. Among people with depression or anxiety, those with medical debt were twice as likely to delay or forego mental health care as those who were debt-free,… read on > read on >
Scientists May Have Stopped a Form of Inherited Blindness in Dogs
In her youth, Shola, an English Shepherd Dog, was a member of the Edale Mountain Rescue Team, a corps of U.K. pooches charged with helping hurt and stranded hikers. But Shola was retired as part of the Rescue Team after a rare genetic disease affecting dogs, called progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), robbed her of her… read on > read on >
Dogs Can Smell Your Stress and Make Choices Based on It
Dogs can sniff out whether a human is stressed or relaxed, new research suggests, and that sensory feedback appears to influence canine emotions and choices. The dog doesn’t even have to know the human well to interpret odor in this way, the British researchers noted. “Dog owners know how attuned their pets are to their… read on > read on >
Natural Medicine: Head Outside for Better Mental Health, Study Finds
Spending time in nature can provide a boost for people with mental illness, a new review finds. Even as little as 10 minutes spent in a city park can improve a person’s symptoms, researchers found. The positive effects of nature approved particularly helpful for people with mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder, results show.… read on > read on >