Latest Health News

THURSDAY, Dec. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Hearing dogs make a huge difference in deaf people's lives, a new British study shows.The dogs are trained to alert deaf people to everyday sounds such as doorbells, human voices, baby monitors and alarm clocks, as well as safety-related sounds such as smoke and intruder alarms. The animals also provide companionship and emotional support.The trial included 165 people in the United Kingdom who either had a hearing dog or had applied to get one."This study provides, for the first time, robust evidence on the positive and wide-ranging impacts hearing dogs can make on people’s lives," said lead author Bryony Beresford, co-director of the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York.Compared to study participants who were still waiting...

THURSDAY, Dec. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The pandemic is taking a toll on health care workers' sleep, which can put both their mental health and patient care at risk, researchers warn. Their study of more than 800 New York City health care workers found that compared to those with no sleep problems, those with poor sleep were two times more likely to report symptoms of depression, 70% more likely to report anxiety, and 50% more likely to report mental distress. "Right now, a large percentage of health care workers are leaving their jobs because of the stress, producing a shortage of health care workers nationally,” said study author Dr. Marwah Abdalla, an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “With fewer workers on...

THURSDAY, Dec.2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- For those who think vaping is safer than smoking, think again.A new study warns that vaping triggers the same gene regulation changes that smoking does, so it may raise the risk of cancer and other serious diseases. "Our study, for the first time, investigates the biological effects of vaping in adult e-cigarette users, while simultaneously accounting for their past smoking exposure," said corresponding study author Ahmad Besaratinia. He is a professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, in Los Angeles. "Our data indicate that vaping, much like smoking, is associated with dysregulation of mitochondrial genes and disruption of molecular pathways involved in immunity and...

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The first confirmed U.S. case of the Omicron variant has been reported in California, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.The patient was a traveler, apparently from the San Francisco area, who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22, the CDC said in a statement.The person, who was fully vaccinated, developed mild COVID symptoms that are improving, the CDC said.Genome sequencing at the University of California, San Francisco, identified the person's infection as being caused by the Omicron variant, and the CDC has confirmed it.“The individual is self-quarantining and all close contacts have been contacted, and all close contacts thus far have tested negative,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief...