In rural America, more people die from chronic health conditions and substance abuse than in suburbs and cities, and the gap is widening. Researchers report in a new study that the difference in rural and urban death rates tripled over the past 20 years mostly due to deaths among middle-aged white men and women. “We…  read on >  read on >

ADHD medications might help lessen the risk of suicide in children with serious behavioral issues, a new study suggests. Researchers found that medications like Ritalin and Adderall, commonly prescribed for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), were linked to a lower risk of suicidal behavior among 9- and 10-year-olds with substantial “externalizing” symptoms. That included children with high…  read on >  read on >

Fewer temptations at checkout? People may spend more money when they buy their groceries online, but they also tend to buy fewer unhealthy, “impulse-sensitive” foods like candy and cookies, new research shows. For the study, the researchers looked at the shopping habits of 137 primary household shoppers in Maine to compare their in-store and online…  read on >  read on >

New research suggests that many people who’ve undergone an organ transplant do not get an immune response from COVID-19 vaccines that’s strong enough to ward off a “breakthrough” infection. In a new review of 14 such cases, these breakthrough COVID-19 infections occurred in 10 recipients of new kidneys, two liver recipients, one lung recipient and…  read on >  read on >

Women whose diets tend to feed inflammation may have a heightened risk of breast cancer, a preliminary study suggests. The study, of more than 350,000 women, found that the more “pro-inflammatory” foods women consumed, the higher their breast cancer risk. The term refers to foods thought to contribute to chronic low-grade inflammation throughout the body…  read on >  read on >

Bots, not individual users, drive much of the COVID-19 misinformation on Facebook, according to a new study. Bots are large numbers of automated accounts controlled by single users. “The coronavirus pandemic has sparked what the World Health Organization has called an ‘infodemic’ of misinformation,” said study leader John Ayers, a scientist who specializes in public…  read on >  read on >