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TUESDAY, July 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Less than 7% of U.S. adults are in good cardiometabolic shape, and new research warns the trend is only getting worse.Cardiometabolic health is an umbrella term that includes blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol, weight and/or the presence of heart disease."While we know that cardiometabolic health among Americans is a significant problem, we were surprised by the magnitude of the crisis," said study author Meghan O’Hearn, a doctoral candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston. “The lack of good health and well-being across the board is truly devastating and has only been getting worse.”Researchers found the steepest declines in percentage of Americans with healthy weights and...

TUESDAY, July 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Most U.S. children and adults have poor scores for heart health, according to a new assessment tool called "Life's Essential 8."Fewer than 30% of 2- to 19-year-olds had high scores for cardiovascular health on the new American Heart Association scoring tool. And their scores got lower with age. Just 14% of 12- to 19-year-olds had high scores, compared to 33% of 6- to 11-year-olds and 56% of kids between 2 and 5, the analysis found.“We found that among U.S. children, scores were lowest for the diet metric, which is comparable to what we saw in adults,” said senior author Dr. Amanda Marma Perak, a cardiologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago."Life's Essential 8" evaluates heart health on eight components: sleep...

TUESDAY, July 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Whether they're household pets in South Africa, strays in India or living in rural Laos, dogs have similar microbes colonizing their digestive tracts.That's the key takeaway from a new study that built upon existing research into the canine microbiome — the collection of bacteria that live inside dogs' guts. Researchers noted that most other studies have worked with dogs that eat kibble and live in controlled conditions. This one analyzed fecal samples from dogs with vastly different diets and lives in far-flung locations.“Most of our previous studies have looked at animals that come into a vet clinic or are housed in a research facility; they are vaccinated and eat food that is processed,” said Kelly Swanson, a professor of animal and...

TUESDAY, July 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Doctor burnout and suicide are a growing concern, a new study finds.“We often overlook the physical health of our health care workers, but poor health can lead to difficulty performing tasks at work, which then leads to job stress and mental health issues,” said corresponding author Dr. Kristen Kim, a resident in psychiatry at UC San Diego Health.About 1 in 15 doctors experience suicidal thoughts, according to the study. It reviewed death investigation information from 200 physician suicides nationwide between 2003 and 2018.Researchers identified six themes in the reports: inability to work due to deteriorating health; substance use that put employment at risk; relationship conflicts affecting work; the interplay of mental health and...