It’s long been known that popping the antibiotic doxycycline within 72 hours of a risky sexual encounter can greatly reduce a person’s risk for a sexually transmitted infection (STI). In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommended this type of “morning after” strategy last month. But what if folks at especially… read on > read on >
All Lifestyle:
Fat Cats Purrfect for Studying Obesity in Humans
Pudgy with a purpose: Fat cats could help humans better understand the way gut bacteria influences conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes, a new study claims. Food-related changes in obese cats’ gut microbiome have striking similarities to the way diet affects the gut of humans, researchers reported recently in the journal Scientific Reports. As… read on > read on >
Frequent House Moves Take Lifetime Toll on Kids’ Mental Health
Kids whose families frequently move have a significantly higher risk of depression later in life, a new study warns. Children who move once between the ages of 10 and 15 are 41% more likely to be diagnosed with depression in adulthood, compared with those whose families don’t move, researchers found. And kids who move twice… read on > read on >
Altered Mealtimes Linked to Depression, Anxiety in Shift Workers
Folks need to have their meals at regular intervals or risk slipping into anxiety or depression, a new study of airline personnel has found. Delaying breakfast or dinner appears to increase a person’s risk of developing a mood disorder, researchers report. The study also found that confining meals to a 12-hour “eating window” every day… read on > read on >
Is Your Child With Type 1 Diabetes Facing ‘Diabetes Distress’?
Children born with type 1 diabetes are much more likely to develop certain mental health issues than those without the condition, a new study warns. Kids with type 1 diabetes are more than twice as likely to develop a mood disorder and 50% more likely to suffer from anxiety than other children, researchers reported June… read on > read on >
Two Years Later, 988 Crisis Line Has Answered 10 Million Requests
Just two years after the launch of the nation’s three-digit crisis hotline, more than 10 million calls, texts and chat messages have been fielded by counselors, U.S. health officials announced Tuesday. Introduced in July 2022 to simplify emergency calls and help counter a burgeoning mental health crisis in the United States, 988 was touted as… read on > read on >
Are You & Your Partner in a ‘Sleep Divorce?’ You’re Not Alone
Many couples may be painfully familiar with the scenario: One partner snores loudly all night long, so the other partner seeks better sleep in another bed. Now, a new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) shows just how common the practice of “sleep divorce” is: 29% of Americans have opted to sleep… read on > read on >
Does Exercise Near Bedtime Really Disrupt Sleep? Maybe Not
Exercise near bedtime won’t necessarily wreck a person’s sleep, a new study says. Intense exercise is typically discouraged as bedtime approaches, since such activity can disturb sleep by increasing body temperature and heart rate, researchers said. But short resistance exercise “activity breaks” at regular intervals can actually improve a person’s sleep, compared to winding down… read on > read on >
Could Living in Poor Neighborhoods Fuel Prostate Cancer in Black Men? Study Says It Might
The stress of living in a poor neighborhood might contribute to higher rates of aggressive prostate cancer in Black men, a new study warns. Black men are more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men, and more likely to develop it as well, the researchers noted. This could be due… read on > read on >
Global Childhood Vaccination Rates Still Haven’t Recovered from Pandemic Declines
More than four years after the pandemic began, childhood vaccination rates worldwide have yet to recover, a new report shows. The latest data, issued Monday by the World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), underscore the need for continuing to try to catch-up to pre-pandemic levels. “The latest trends demonstrate… read on > read on >