Smoke from wildfires driving you mad? You’re not alone, a new study says. Short-term exposure to air choked with wildfire smoke increases people’s risk of mental health problems, according to findings published April 4 in JAMA Network Open. Hospital emergency rooms experience surges in patients with mental health conditions on days when smoke pollution is… read on > read on >
Don’t be surprised if you get a bill for that note your doctor sent you through his clinic’s patient portal. About 1 in 7 patients have been billed for messages sent to them through a patient portal, according to a new study published April 4 in JAMA Health Forum. “Even though we don’t know the… read on > read on >
A notorious hospital-associated infection has been spreading through hospitals much more readily than people suspected, a new study says. The bacterium Clostridium difficile – commonly called C. diff – spreads within intensive care units more than three times as much as previously thought, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. C. diff can spread covertly from… read on > read on >
Ozone air pollution increases the risk of asthma among preschoolers and kindergarteners, a new study says. Relatively small increases in ozone smog in a child’s first two years of life is associated with an increased risk of asthma and wheeze at 4 to 6 years of age, researchers reported April 2 in JAMA Network Open.… read on > read on >
Disrespected by a neighbor or colleague? Eyerolls from servers at a restaurant or store? Denied a job or a mortgage due to skin color? More than half of Americans have experienced some such form of discrimination, and this mistreatment dramatically increases their risk of depression or anxiety, a new study says. Nearly 56% of Americans… read on > read on >
Hospitals could be short-changing patients if they lean too heavily on nurse staffing agencies or overtime hours, a new study says. Patients are much more likely to develop bedsores at short-staffed hospitals that regularly bring in travel nurses or require nurses to work overtime, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. “Our study shows that when… read on > read on >
THURSDAY, April 3, 2025 — Can’t get your teenage girl off her smartphone, iPad or laptop? This could cost her much-needed sleep and increase her risk of depression, a new Swedish study says. Teenagers who spend more time on screens tend to get worse sleep, both in terms of sleep quality and duration, researchers reported… read on > read on >
The shingles vaccine can do more than protect seniors from painful, blistering rashes. It also appears to protect older folks from dementia, researchers say. Seniors who got the shingles vaccine when it became available in the U.K. were 20% less likely to develop dementia than those who did not take the jab, according to research… read on > read on >
The inability to pay for health care has reached a new high in the United States, a new study says. More than one-third of Americans — an estimated 91 million people — say they couldn’t afford to access quality health care if they needed it today, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index.… read on > read on >
Insomnia and vertigo are health conditions so well-known that movies have been named after them. But only a quarter of Americans know about a condition that occurs even more often than vertigo or insomnia, called dysphagia, a new study says. Dysphagia is a condition in which people have trouble swallowing, due to nerve, muscle or… read on > read on >
