Stress is flooding the nation as the 2024 U.S. presidential election nears its climax. This stress is only natural, but it can be managed, said Eric Storch, vice chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “There is uncertainty with change,” Storch said in a Baylor news release. “People worry… read on > read on >
Long-term exposure to even low levels of arsenic in drinking water can raise a person’s risk of heart disease, a new study warns. Even folks exposed to arsenic levels below the federal limit of 10 micrograms per liter (ug/L) had an increased risk of heart disease, researchers reported Oct. 23 in the journal Environmental Health… read on > read on >
Babies who breathe in polluted air tend to have higher rates of peanut allergy as they grow up, but the same wasn’t true for immune-based conditions like egg allergy or eczema, Australian researchers report. Why the connection to peanut allergy in particular? That’s not yet clear, said study lead author Dr. Diego Lopez, of the… read on > read on >
Baby Boom seniors are divorcing at rates triple that of a few decades ago, a new study has found. “Gray divorce” among folks 65 and older increased to 15% in 2022 from 5% in 1990, according to research from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University. Increased life expectancy… read on > read on >
Smokers find it easier to quit if they’re automatically offered support, even if they didn’t ask for it, a new clinical trial finds. Quit rates were higher among health system patients placed in an “opt-out” program, in which tobacco cessation medications and counseling are automatically prescribed upon learning they smoke, researchers found. It’s called an… read on > read on >
Health insurers would be required to cover the cost of over-the-counter birth control and emergency contraception under new rules proposed by the White House on Monday. “Since Roe v. Wade was overturned more than two years ago, Republican elected officials have made clear they want to ban or restrict birth control, defund federal programs that… read on > read on >
Walking pneumonia cases are surging among young children in the United States, federal health officials warn. “Bacterial infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae increased in the United States since late spring and have remained high,” a statement issued Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted. “The proportion of patients discharged from emergency departments with… read on > read on >
The repeated fasting required for multiple surgeries in a row can slow a patient’s recovery and increase the risk of death, a new study warns. Surgical patients are asked to not eat after midnight prior to their procedure, to reduce the risk that they’ll throw up during general anesthesia and deep sedation. But folks having… read on > read on >
An overwhelming majority of teens and young adults are worried about how climate change will affect their future, a new survey has found. About 85% of 16- to 25-year-olds are worried about the impact of climate change on people and the planet, according to the survey of nearly 16,000 people from all 50 states. That… read on > read on >
A handheld pinprick blood test could someday deliver results in as little as an hour, a new study shows. The portable device, which fits in the palm of a hand, uses sound waves to separate a tiny whole blood sample down into microscopic biomarkers, researchers reported Oct. 16 in the journal Science Advances. The entire… read on > read on >
