A new, more toxic strain of strep A bacteria is causing an outbreak of scarlet fever among British children, researchers report. The upswing in scarlet fever is the biggest seen since the 1960s. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of cases went from 15,000 to more than 19,000. The infection tends to peak between March…  read on >

Spending time on their phones or online doesn’t harm teens’ mental health, according to a new study that challenges a widely held belief. “It may be time for adults to stop arguing over whether smartphones and social media are good or bad for teens’ mental health and start figuring out ways to best support them…  read on >

To the many ways in which coffee seems to confer unexpected health benefits, add a lowered risk of painful gallstones. After tracking nearly 105,000 Danes for an average of eight years, researchers found that those who downed more than six cups per day of the world’s most popular beverage saw their gallstone risk drop by…  read on >

Over the past four decades, the U.S. has seen a sharp rise in the number of pregnant women with high blood pressure, new research reveals. For the study, the researchers analyzed data from about 151 million hospitalizations between 1970 and 2010 to determine the rates of chronic high blood pressure in pregnant women aged 15…  read on >

Your kids had a good summer. You were able to get them away from the TV and outside to play for lots of exercise. But now, they’re back to school and you want them to keep off the pounds. The Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati says lunches provided by many schools are loaded with…  read on >

FRIDAY, Sept. 6, 2019 (Healthday News) — Heading back to school can be especially stressful for children with autism and their parents, but preparation and establishing a routine can make it easier. The Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles has tips to help parents get a new school year off to a good start. If time…  read on >

There are gaps in immunity against mumps among college-aged Americans who were vaccinated in childhood, researchers say. New findings show the need to learn more about the immune system response to mumps and mumps vaccination. Mumps is a highly contagious viral disease that can spread rapidly among people in close living quarters, such as college…  read on >

Although regular screening mammograms can catch breast cancer early, new research suggests women over 75 who have chronic illnesses can probably skip this test. The study findings indicate that women with chronic conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes, would likely die from those conditions before developing breast cancer. “For those 75 and over with…  read on >

Suicide continues to become more common in the United States, with rural areas hit hardest by this ongoing crisis of despair, a new study reports. Deprivation, isolation and lack of access to mental health care all appear to be driving the crisis in rural America, said lead researcher Danielle Steelesmith. She’s a postdoctoral fellow at…  read on >

Growing up in a poor neighborhood significantly increases kids’ odds of becoming obese adults, and the risk is highest among teens, a new study says. It found that children from poor neighborhoods had 31% higher odds for adult obesity, and the risk was much higher (29%) among 11- to 18-year-olds than for younger children (13%).…  read on >