The latest national data show that when it comes to suicide, Americans are increasingly resorting to firearms as their method of choice. An analysis by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that of the nearly 50,000 suicides recorded in the United States in 2022, more than half (27,000) involved a… read on > read on >
All Lifestyle:
EPA to Require Removal of All Lead Pipes From U.S. Water System
THURSDAY, Nov. 30, 2023 (Healthday News) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it plans to require the removal of all lead pipes from the country’s water systems. The proposed rule, an ambitious effort that will cost up to $30 billion over the next decade, would affect about 9 million pipes that send… read on > read on >
Commuting on a Highway? Your Blood Pressure May Pay a Price
It’s not just bumper-to-bumper highway traffic that’s causing your blood pressure to spike during your daily commute. New research shows that the exhaust fumes spewing from all those vehicles triggers a significant increase in car passengers’ blood pressure. The observed increase is comparable to the effect of a high-salt diet, researchers found, and the effect… read on > read on >
Misinformation Is Everywhere. Experts Offer Tools to Counter It
The world is being flooded with internet-driven misinformation, but there are ways to counter fake news with the facts, a new report says. These include aggressive fact-checking, preemptively debunking lies before they take root and nudging people to be more skeptical before sharing information, the American Psychological Association analysis found. The product of more than… read on > read on >
New COVID Variant Takes Hold in the United States
TUESDAY, Nov. 28, 2023 (Healthday News) — The prevalence of a highly mutated COVID variant has tripled in the past two weeks, new government data shows. Now, nearly 1 in 10 new COVID cases are fueled by the BA.2.86 variant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. The variant is spreading the fastest in… read on > read on >
Internet Poses No Threat to Mental Health, Major Study Finds
It might seem that surfing the web could cause a person’s mental health to suffer, but a landmark new study has concluded that internet use poses no major threat to people’s psychological well-being. Researchers compared country-level internet and broadband use to the mental well-being of millions of people in dozens of countries, and came away… read on > read on >
Long COVID Now Common in U.S. Nursing Homes
Repeated COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes have had a stark and lasting impact on vulnerable older residents, a new study reports. Long COVID has left many residents of these facilities relying more and more on staff to help them months later with basic, everyday activities such as bathing and using the toilet. Many also experience… read on > read on >
In Michigan, 5 Women Contracted Syphilis Affecting the Eyes From the Same Asymptomatic Man
In a disease cluster last year, one infected but asymptomatic man spread a rare form of syphilis that affects the eyes to five Michigan women, a new report finds. Since ocular syphilis remains very rare, researchers believe the strain of T. pallidum — the syphilis bacterium — that the man carried might have raised the… read on > read on >
Breathing in Coal-Based Pollution Could Be Especially Deadly: Study
When it comes to the ultra-fine particles you may breathe in from polluted air, all is not created equal as it affects your health. Fine particle pollutants known PM2.5 — particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter — appear to double the risk for premature death over time if they originate from coal-fired… read on > read on >
Clues to Mysterious New Sickness Affecting Dogs
A new type of bacterial infection could be the culprit behind a mysterious canine respiratory illness that has been infecting dogs from coast to coast, New Hampshire researchers say. Genetic sequencing of samples from 70 infected dogs from New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts has revealed a previously unknown bacterium, researchers from the New Hampshire… read on > read on >