Latest Health News

4Nov
2020

Obamacare Boosted Health of Poor Women Before, After Pregnancy

Obamacare Boosted Health of Poor Women Before, After PregnancyWEDNESDAY, Nov. 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The health of low-income women before they become pregnant has improved in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), researchers report.The time before a woman becomes pregnant is critical for her health and that of her infant, but many poor women don't have health insurance during this important period, the researchers noted.Their study compared 10 major pre-pregnancy health indicators for low-income women in states that expanded Medicaid and those that did not, and found that expansion was associated with significant improvements in three of those indicators.There was an increase in pre-conception health counseling, which is important in reducing risk factors associated with mother and infant health problems.The...

Are Healthy Kids Getting Too Many Heart Tests?

4 November 2020
Are Healthy Kids Getting Too Many Heart Tests?WEDNESDAY, Nov. 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Not every kid needs an electrocardiogram (ECG) before playing sports or as part of routine exams, child health experts say. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is advising parents and pediatricians to avoid unnecessary tests, and has released a list of common medical practices and therapies that may not be needed for young patients. The AAP and the Choosing Wisely campaign also offered additional advice for student-athletes who have had COVID-19.For kids who have no heart symptoms, are otherwise healthy and have no personal or family history of heart disease, doctors should not order a screening ECG as part of an exam for sports or for starting attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) therapy, according to the academy."Even during...

For Rural Youth, Mental Health Care Can Be Tough to Find

4 November 2020
For Rural Youth, Mental Health Care Can Be Tough to FindWEDNESDAY, Nov. 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- While young Americans' mental health appears to be getting worse, the places where help is needed most appear to have the fewest resources.A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that rural areas of the United States have fewer mental health services for young people. Previous studies have reported that they also have higher rates of youth suicide than urban areas do."Youth mental health is something that seems to be getting worse, not better, because of COVID-19," said lead author Janessa Graves, assistant dean for undergraduate and community research at Washington State University College of Nursing. "We really need these resources to serve these kids."Using ZIP codes, researchers found 3.9% of rural areas have a mental health...

Lockdowns Made Taming Obesity Even Tougher, Research Shows

3 November 2020
Lockdowns Made Taming Obesity Even Tougher, Research ShowsTUESDAY, Nov. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- People struggling with obesity fared poorly during the COVID-19 lockdowns earlier this year, with their weight-control plans flying off the rails as they coped with the stress of the global pandemic, two new studies report.Seven out of 10 people with obesity reported that their weight-loss goals became harder to achieve during the lockdown, according to a survey conducted by UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.Folks in lockdown also were much more likely to become couch potatoes, reporting an increase in the time they spent binge-watching TV, Johns Hopkins researchers found in another study.People struggling with excess weight need to learn these lessons from the first lockdown and be prepared to deal with the stress and uncertainty that a...

Don't Believe the Myth: Face Masks Don't Lower  Oxygen Levels

3 November 2020
Don`t Believe the Myth: Face Masks Don`t Lower  Oxygen LevelsTUESDAY, Nov. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Face masks: Yes, they may not be the most pleasant item to wear, but they are not depriving people of needed oxygen, a new study confirms.The findings should counter a common anti-mask myth -- that donning a face mask is unhealthy.Claims that masks reduce oxygen supplies, cause carbon dioxide "intoxication" and weaken the immune system have gained steam, fueled in part by social media. At hte same time, medical authorities — including the World Health Organization and the American Lung Association — have issued statements debunking those myths. But the claims persist.So researchers at McMaster University in Canada set out to test the notion out: They gave 25 adults (average age: 76.5 years) portable pulse oximeters to measure their blood...

Not Harmless: Rubber Bullets, Pepper Spray Rob Vision

3 November 2020
Not Harmless: Rubber Bullets, Pepper Spray Rob VisionTUESDAY, Nov. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Last summer, the American Academy of Ophthalmology condemned the use of rubber bullets as a law enforcement tactic for crowd control during protests that rocked the United States. The argument: rubber bullets can cause serious eye injury.Now, a new study backs up that concern, finding that the use of rubber bullets and pellets, pepper spray, tear gas and/or bean bag guns does, in fact, increase the risk for severe eye trauma."Compared to a regular bullet, rubber bullets are not intended to be used as a method of lethal force," explained study author William Bloom. "But rubber bullets can certainly cause serious eye injuries, and even death in some instances."In the end, his analysis "found that these products certainly have the ability to cause...

Newborn Brain Bleeds Resolve by Age 2

3 November 2020
Newborn Brain Bleeds Resolve by Age 2TUESDAY, Nov. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Here's some good news for new moms: Babies born with asymptomatic brain bleeds have normal brain development by the time they reach the age of 2, researchers report.MRIs were used to examine the brains of 311 newborns in the Early Brain Development Study at the University of North Carolina between 2003 and 2016.Of those newborns, 26% were found to have asymptomatic subdural hemorrhages (bleeding in and around the brain).That was an unexpectedly high rate because subdural hemorrhage had been considered unusual in full-term newborns. But the new findings suggest that small, asymptomatic brain bleeds are fairly common after normal vaginal delivery, according to the researchers.In following up, the researchers used MRI to assess the infants when...

Depression Has Strong Ties to Stroke, Study Finds

3 November 2020
Depression Has Strong Ties to Stroke, Study FindsTUESDAY, Nov. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The more symptoms of depression people have, the higher their risk of stroke, researchers say."There are a number of well-known risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease; but we are beginning to understand that there are nontraditional risk factors as well, and having depressive symptoms looms high on that list," said study co-author Virginia Howard. She's a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama (UA) at Birmingham."These nontraditional risk factors need to be in the conversation about stroke prevention," Howard said in a university news release.The study included more than 9,500 Black people and more than 14,500 white people across the United States who were 45 and older and...

Upbeat Outlook Could Shield Your Brain

TUESDAY, Nov. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Being positive may help protect your memory as you age, a new study indicates.Researchers analyzed data from almost 1,000 middle-aged and older U.S....

Is It a Cold, the Flu or COVID-19?

TUESDAY, Nov. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Cold and flu season is here, so you need to know how to tell the difference between those illnesses and COVID-19, an expert says.It's also especially...
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