Could asking teens a simple, but pointed, question about their mental health reveal whether they are at risk for suicide? It might, new research suggests. Since suicide is now the second leading cause of death among American teens, any strategy that could lower that risk may be worth trying. “The depression screening tool we used… read on > read on >
All Mommy:
TikTok Videos on Abortion Pills Are Largely Accurate: Study
While you can’t trust everything you read or see on social media, some information is reliable. Researchers from Duke University studied popular videos on the social media site TikTok. The videos offered information on ways to obtain a medication abortion. These were typically informative and useful, the study authors said. “When we started the study,… read on > read on >
Pregnant Women in Rural America Often Lack Health Insurance, Upping Risks
New research suggests that pregnant women and new moms in rural U.S. areas are at greater risk of adverse outcomes, including death, because they are more likely to be uninsured. Women living in rural communities had lower rates of uninterrupted health insurance before, during and after pregnancy compared to those in urban areas, a University… read on > read on >
Weed-Friendly Posts on Social Media Get Teens Using Cannabis
Laws bar advertising cannabis to teens, but that doesn’t mean they always work. In a new survey, researchers found that teens still see a lot of positive cannabis messages through social media posts. These messages influenced their intentions and actual use of cannabis, the survey found. When young people saw anti-cannabis messages, the intent to… read on > read on >
Deer Carry COVID Variants No Longer Seen in People
While COVID-19 variants Alpha, Gamma and Delta are no longer circulating among humans, they continue to spread in white-tailed deer. The animals are the most abundant large mammal in North America. Scientists aren’t sure whether the deer could act as long-term reservoirs for these obsolete variants. In a new study, researchers at Cornell University, in… read on > read on >
Pregnancy Complications Could Mean Lifelong Heart Risks for Women
Major pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia and preterm birth, should be recognized as lifelong risk factors for women’s heart disease, new research suggests. Women who experience any of the five major pregnancy complications have an increased risk of ischemic heart disease up to 46 years after delivery, says the study published Feb. 1 in the… read on > read on >
Estrogen Exposure Could Impact a Woman’s Odds for Stroke
When it comes to reducing stroke risk among women, new research suggests that the more estrogen a woman is exposed to over the course of her life, the better. The finding follows nearly a decade spent tracking stroke risk among roughly 123,000 Chinese postmenopausal women. In the end, investigators concluded that those who had a… read on > read on >
Poll Finds Many U.S. Women Confused About Medical Abortion
Changes in U.S. abortion laws have prompted confusion among women about medication abortion and emergency contraception, or the “morning-after” pill. A new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) underscores this lack of awareness about what’s legal or not from state to state, including whether a full abortion ban is in place or abortions are… read on > read on >
Sepsis Raises Odds for Heart Failure After Hospital Discharge
Having sepsis — a life-threatening response to infection — may put patients at risk for future heart failure and rehospitalization, according to a new study. Sepsis is an extreme immune response to an infection in the body. It can cause that infection to spread throughout the body and lead to organ failure and possibly death.… read on > read on >
Smoking in Pregnancy Has Declined by a Third Since 2016
There’s good news for American mothers-to-be and their newborns: Rates of smoking during pregnancy have fallen by 36% since 2016, a new report finds. The percentage of pregnant women who smoked was already low in 2016 compared to decades past: 7.2%. But by 2021, that rate had fallen to just 4.6%. That’s according to the… read on > read on >