People with cancer face a higher risk for serious flu-related complications, so getting vaccinated should be at the top of their to-do list this winter, an expert says. "The flu shot is recommended annually for cancer patients, as it is ...
Caution is required when using portable bed rails because they put people at risk for falling or becoming trapped, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. Portable bed rails attach to a normal, adult-sized bed, often by sliding a ...
Total smoking bans in homes and cities greatly increase the likelihood that smokers will cut back or quit, according to a new study. "When there's a total smoking ban in the home, we found that smokers are more likely to reduce tobacco ...
Smokers who work with a counselor specially trained to help them quit -- along with using medications or nicotine patches or gum -- are three times more likely to kick the habit than smokers who try to quit without any help, a large new ...
Most Americans do not deal with end-of-life issues and wishes, a new study indicates. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 8,000 people who took part in nationwide surveys conducted in 2009 and 2010, and found that only about 26 percent ...
Altitude may affect an athlete's risk of concussion, according to a new study believed to be the first to examine this association. High school athletes who play at higher altitudes suffer fewer concussions than those closer to sea level, ...
Omega-3 fatty acids -- nutrients long thought to be helpful for neurological health -- can cross the usually impenetrable blood-brain barrier and make their way into the brain, a new study suggests. The finding could have implications for ...
Tags: Omega-3 fatty acids, neurological health, cross blood-brain barrier
People who take certain acid-reflux medications might have an increased risk of vitamin B-12 deficiency, according to new research. Taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to ease the symptoms of excess stomach acid for more than two years ...
Tags: acid-reflux medications, vitamin B-12 deficiency, proton pump inhibitors
People with sleep apnea and hard-to-control high blood pressure may see their blood pressure drop if they treat the sleep disorder, Spanish researchers report. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the standard treatment for sleep ...
Americans with health insurance are more likely than uninsured people to use preventive services such as flu shots and health screenings, according to a new study. They are no more likely, however, to take health risks such as smoking. ...
Tags: health insurance, preventive services, preventive care, uninsured people
Listen up: Being obese, especially if you carry those extra pounds around your waist, might be linked to hearing loss, a new study suggests. Researchers tracked more than 68,000 women participating in the Harvard Nurses' Health Study. ...
Tags: obesity, hearing loss
Expectant mothers who smoke marijuana may triple their risk for a stillbirth, a new study suggests. The risk is also increased by smoking cigarettes, using other legal and illegal drugs and being exposed to secondhand smoke. Stillbirth ...
Tags: expectant mothers, smoke, stillbirth, pregnancy, fetal death
Smokers who have a CT scan to check for lung cancer stand a nearly one-in-five chance that doctors will find and potentially treat a tumor that would not have caused illness or death, researchers report. Despite the finding, major medical ...
Tags: lung cancer, over-diagnosis
Strong state alcohol control policies make a difference in efforts to help prevent binge drinking, a new study finds. Binge drinking -- generally defined as having more than four to five alcoholic drinks in a two-hour period -- is ...
Tags: state alcohol control policies, binge drinking, prevent binge drinking
Better diabetes treatment has slashed rates of complications such as heart attacks, strokes and amputations in older adults, a new study shows. "All the event rates, if you look at them, everything is a lot better than it was in the ...
Tags: diabetes treatment, hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, diabetes