In a National First, an Idaho Health Department Is Refusing to Give COVID Vaccines

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

In what may be a first for the United States, a regional public health department in Idaho will no longer provide COVID-19 vaccines, following a close vote by its board.

“I’m not aware of anything else like this,” said Adriane Casalotti, chief of govern...

'Dawson's Creek' Star James Van Der Beek Has Colon Cancer

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Actor James Van Der Beek, perhaps best known for his role as Dawson Leery in the popular television series "Dawson's Creek," has announced that he has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

"I have colorectal cancer. I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis ...

Too Much Sitting Harms the Heart, Even in Folks Who Exercise

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

There's just something about sitting.

New research shows that too much time on sofas and chairs harms the heart -- even among people who get the minimum recommended amount of daily exercise.

“Taking a quick walk after work may not be enough" to offset the hea...

World War II Data Shows Impact of Sugar on Kids' Health

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

The home front hardships of World War II illustrate how too much sugar is harming people’s health today, a new study shows.

British children who endured wartime rationing of sugar wound up with lifelong health benefits, researchers discovered.

Sugar restricti...

Mindfulness Meditation Could Have Direct Effect in Reducing Pain

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Many people turn to mindfulness meditation to help them manage their chronic pain, a practice that’s been used for centuries.

However, it’s been an open question whether meditation is simply functioning as a placebo, rather than actually quelling pain.

...

Too Many Meds: 'Polypharmacy' Can Really Harm Alzheimer's Patients

• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Alzheimer’s disease patients prescribed fistfuls of daily drugs are at greater risk of harm, a new study warns.

Patients with Alzheimer’s prescribed five or more daily medications suffer from more symptoms, falls and hospitalizations, and they are at greater ...

More Hot Flashes Could Mean Higher Odds for Type 2 Diabetes

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Menopausal women with frequent hot flashes and night sweats are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, a new study warns.

Middle-aged women who regularly suffer those well-known symptoms of menopause are 50% more likely to wind up with type 2 diabetes, researchers repor...

New Approach to Fight Huntington's Disease Shows Early Promise

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Huntington's disease is a devastating, fatal neurological illness with little means of treatment, but a new study in mice offers a glimmer of hope.

Huntington's occurs when inherited genes cause key proteins to fold and clump together within brain cells. Over time, this...

About 1 in 20 Women Use Marijuana During Pregnancy

• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Although numerous studies have shown that marijuana use during pregnancy may harm both the fetus and a mom-to-be, almost 6% of women responding to a recent survey said they used weed while pregnant.

That's more than one in every 20 pregnancies, noted a team from the Univ...

Text-Messaging Program Helps Parents Keep Infants at Healthy Weight

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Text messages and other online feedback can help prevent obesity in very young children, a new study demonstrates.

Kids had a healthier weight-for-height growth curve during their first two years if parents were offered electronic feedback on feeding habits, playtime and...

History of Concussion Could Raise a New Mom's Odds for Mental Health Issues

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 4, 2024
• Full Page

Women who’ve had concussions are more likely to suffer severe mental health problems following childbirth, a new study shows.

A history of concussion increased a new mother’s risk of severe mental illness by 25%, after adjusting for other factors, Canadian re...

Prepping for Colonoscopy? An Expert Offers Tips to Make Things Easier

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• November 2, 2024
• Full Page

Everyone knows that colonoscopies save lives, but that doesn't make drinking a lot of liquid laxatives in preparation for the procedure any less daunting.

Luckily, one expert has some helpful tips on how to take some of the pain out of the process.

The purpose of ...

Online Yoga Classes Can Ease Lower Back Pain

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

Yoga can help ease chronic low back pain, even if the classes are conducted online, a new study shows.

Guidelines recommend using physical therapy or yoga to treat lower back pain before moving on to painkillers, but it can be tough for some people to make it to a yoga s...

Ozempic, Wegovy Could Help Ease Knee Arthritis Pain

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

The GLP-1 drug semaglutide can help obese people manage debilitating knee arthritis, a new trial has found.

People who received weekly injections of semaglutide -- the active agent in the diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight-loss medication Wegovy -- had a nearly 14% dec...

Weight-Loss Surgery for Teens Brings Lasting Benefit

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

Hillary Fisher thinks receiving weight-loss surgery as a teenager put her on the path to a better life.

Fisher is one of 260 teens who participated in a long-term study which recently concluded that weight-loss surgery can bring lasting health benefits for obese teenager...

Sleep Apnea Could Raise Dementia Risk, Especially for Women

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

Sleep apnea appears to increase a person's odds of developing dementia, a new study finds.

The effect seems stronger among women compared to men, noted a research team from the University of Michigan.

Luckily, there are treatments available to help ease sleep apn...

Quitting Smoking After Cancer Diagnosis Boosts Survival by Up to 26%

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

Smokers diagnosed with cancer often shrug and keep lighting up, figuring a few more butts won’t make much difference.

They’re very mistaken, a new study finds.

Smokers are 22% to 26% less likely to die if they quit following a cancer diagnosis, research...

When Is It OK to Undergo Routine Surgery After a Heart Attack?

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

Seniors who’ve had a heart attack should probably delay any elective surgeries for three to six months, a new study advises.

People aged 67 and older face double to triple the risk of life-threatening complications -- like a stroke or a second heart attack -- if th...

Money, Education Helps Determine Your Odds for Dementia

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

Folks with more money and better education are at less risk for developing dementia as they grow older, a new study shows.

People with advantaged backgrounds are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, and to progress from there to dementia, researchers found.<...

Scientists Successfully Reverse Liver Fibrosis in Mice

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• November 1, 2024
• Full Page

Cirrhosis, hepatitis infection and other causes can trigger liver fibrosis -- a potentially lethal stiffening of tissue that, once begun, is irreversible.

For many patients, a liver transplant is their only hope.

However, research at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles ...