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TUESDAY, Nov. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Kids who are overweight or obese often struggle with school work, and now new research provides clues on how excess weight may harm the developing brain.“The main takeaway is to raise awareness about brain health consequences of obesity besides physical health consequences, especially since obesity rates are very high and continue to rise,” said study author Simone Kaltenhauser, a post-graduate research fellow in radiology and biomedical imaging at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. About one in every five American kids is now obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.For the study, researchers looked at several types of brain scans in more than 5,100 kids aged 9 to 10 who took part in the ongoing...

TUESDAY, Nov. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- People with long COVID deal with months or years of punishing fatigue, mind-numbing brain fog or a frightening fight to take each and every breath.But they can also face the skepticism of others, a new study finds -- employers and doctors questioning whether they're really sick, friends avoiding them, family losing patience.About 95% of people living with long COVID say they've experienced at least one type of stigma, and three out of four say they are stigmatized "often" or "always" by their condition, researchers report."Our findings suggest that long COVD is currently more stigmatized than many other long-term conditions, such as HIV and depression," said lead researcher Marija Pantelic, a lecturer in public health at Brighton and Sussex...

TUESDAY, Nov. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Persistent asthma may take a toll on the heart, not just the lungs, a new study suggests.When the respiratory condition is relentless, it appears tied to plaque in the carotid arteries, increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke, researchers say.The carotid arteries — large arteries on the sides of the neck — carry blood to the brain. In a study of more than 5,000 men and women, researchers found that people with persistent asthma had nearly double the odds of having plaque buildup in the carotid arteries, compared with those without asthma. Persistent asthma was defined as using daily controller medications to control asthma symptoms, such as wheezing or shortness of breath.The plaque may be a response to inflammation caused by...

TUESDAY, Nov. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Out-of-pocket costs may make as many as 1 in 5 women forgo additional screening when an initial mammogram finds an abnormality, a new U.S. study finds. The Affordable Care Act improved access to mammograms, but high-deductible insurance plans appear to keep women from important follow-ups, according to the findings."The ACA removed out-of-pocket costs for screening mammograms under most health plans to encourage women to partake in this important preventative health care measure," said study lead author Dr. Michael Ngo, a radiology resident at Boston Medical Center. "However, the screening mammogram is only the first step in detecting breast cancer," he explained. "If the radiologist detects an abnormal finding on the screening image, then...