Is your baby’s stuffy nose and cough just a cold or something more serious? It could be respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the United States, experts say. RSV causes symptoms similar to those of other viruses, including stuffy or runny nose, fever, coughing, sneezing, loss of appetite and irritability.… read on >
Teens with friends are active teens, a new study suggests. “You can build beautiful parks and facilities; but if children don’t have friends to play with, these facilities won’t be enough to increase their physical activity,” said study lead author Sarah-Jeanne Salvy. “Peers and friends are the catalyst of the physical environment,” Salvy added. She… read on >
Here’s to keeping your health on a tight leash: New research suggests that having a dog might boost a single person’s life span. The study tracked more than 3.4 million Swedes, middle-aged and older, for 12 years. All were free of heart disease at the beginning of the study. The researchers reported that dog owners… read on >
Boys tend to pay more attention in school when there are girls around, and new research suggests it’s not just about how the girls look. The study found that young men got better reading marks in school when they were outnumbered by young women in the classroom. Researchers reviewed the reading test scores of more… read on >
Before you let your parental frustration get the better of you, a new study suggests you should refrain from spanking your misbehaving youngster. Researchers analyzed data from more than 12,000 children in the United States and found that those who had been spanked by their parents at age 5 had more behavior problems at ages… read on >
Getting a pet can improve not only your emotional outlook but your physical health as well, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. The CDC says furry companions have been shown to trigger these health improvements: Decreased blood pressure. Decreased cholesterol. Decreased triglycerides. Reduced feelings of loneliness. Greater exposure to social activities and… read on >
Smog might raise a woman’s risk of miscarriage early in her pregnancy, a new study suggests. Chronic exposure seemed to increase that risk by more than 10 percent, according to researchers who tracked hundreds of pregnancies among couples in Michigan and Texas. “We found that both ozone and particles in the air were related to… read on >
States that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw a greater increase in low-income adults who quit smoking than did states that did not expand Medicaid, a new study found. Under the health care act, states that expanded Medicaid had to offer services to help people quit smoking. About 30 percent of low-income adults… read on >
Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk for an aggressive type of breast cancer among black women in the United States, a new study finds. Researchers from Boston University analyzed data from more than 54,000 black women who were cancer-free at the start of the study. During the next 18 years, 914 women were diagnosed… read on >
Despite the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord on climate change, the United States will benefit from international efforts to slow the global environmental threat, researchers say. Improvements in air quality and health are likely as a result of domestic and global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study led by… read on >
