As a nasty flu season rages throughout the United States, new research finds that one particularly vulnerable population often misses out on tests for the illness. Among hospitalized people, older patients are much less likely to be tested for flu than younger patients, the new study found. That’s important, because the U.S. Centers for Disease… read on >
Are bleary-eyed Americans getting a break at last? New research suggests that people are sleeping a few more minutes each night than they used to. “Over 14 years [2003 to 2016], Americans were getting 17 minutes more sleep every night, or a full four days more sleep per year,” said study lead researcher Dr. Mathias… read on >
Americans spent more on health care in 2016, even though their use of health care did not increase, and rising costs are the reason why, a new report shows. “It is time to have a national conversation on the role of price increases in the growth of health care spending,” said Niall Brennan, president of… read on >
Survival rates are rising for people who have cardiac arrest while in the hospital, a new study finds. But if cardiac arrest happens at night or on a weekend, you’re more likely to die than if it happens on a weekday. The odds of surviving an “off-hours” cardiac arrest are nearly 4 percent lower than… read on >
If you’ve just shed a lot of pounds, you might want to hold off on buying a new wardrobe full of “thin” clothes. That’s because new research finds that lost weight starts creeping back almost immediately after a diet stops. “We noticed that individuals transitioned from a weight loss intervention immediately to weight gain,” said… read on >
Probiotics are live microorganisms (such as bacteria) that are sold as supplements, included in topically-applied skin creams and added to food products such as yogurt. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any health claims for probiotics. But the some people take probiotics for potential health benefits. The U.S. National Library of Medicine… read on >
Millions of American families struggle to find and keep stable housing — and the fight to do so may end up harming kids’ health. Researchers found that when families faced various types of “housing instability,” moms had a higher risk of depression and kids were more likely to be in “fair” to “poor” health. It… read on >
Increasing the number of trees in extremely large cities can lead to significant health and financial benefits, a new study claims. The researchers focused on 10 so-called mega-cities — those with at least 10 million people — on five continents. They included New York City, London and Mexico City. Nearly 10 percent of the world’s… read on >
Up to 75 percent of women experience PMS (premenstrual syndrome) with symptoms like anxiety, irritability and fatigue, health experts say. PMS is thought to be the result of a chain reaction that starts with the drop of the hormone progesterone near the end of every monthly cycle. In lab studies, an international team of researchers… read on >
A simple, cheap blood test to detect colon cancer — even in its early stages — appears highly effective and accurate, new research indicates. The test detects so-called “circulating tumor cells” (CTCs). Researchers tested it on 620 people in Taiwan who were scheduled for a routine colonoscopy at a local hospital. By comparing the blood… read on >
