Medicaid Expansion Protected Americans During COVID-19 Pandemic

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 4, 2025
• Full Page

Americans received some protection against death during the COVID-19 pandemic if they lived in a state that had expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a new study says.

Even though death rates rose nationwide during the pandemic, Medicaid expa...

Antidepressants Linked To Sudden Cardiac Death

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 4, 2025
• Full Page

Antidepressants appear to increase people’s risk of sudden cardiac death, a new study says.

People taking the mood meds are more likely to die suddenly from heart problems, and their risk rises the longer they’re on the drugs, according to findings presented ...

Discrimination Dramatically Increases Risk for Depression, Anxiety

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 4, 2025
• Full Page

Disrespected by a neighbor or colleague? Eyerolls from servers at a restaurant or store? Denied a job or a mortgage due to skin color?

More than half of Americans have experienced some such form of discrimination, and this mistreatment dramatically increases their risk o...

New Blood Test Can Diagnose, Track Alzheimer’s Disease

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 4, 2025
• Full Page

An experimental blood test for Alzheimer’s disease not only can aid in its diagnosis but also indicate how far the brain condition has progressed, a new study says.

The test tracks levels of a protein called MTBR-tau243, which is linked to toxic tau tangles that bu...

Longtime Head of 9/11 Health Program Let Go Amid Federal Job Cuts

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

The longtime leader of a federal health program for 9/11 survivors and first responders has been fired, worrying many advocates and lawmakers.

The program serves more than 100,000 people.

Dr. John Howard, head of the World Trade Center Health Program, lost his job ...

23 States Sue Over $12B in Public Health Cuts

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

A group of 23 states and Washington, D.C., is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over a sudden cut of $12 billion in public health funding.

The lawsuit says the rollback will disrupt vital services. It was filed Tuesday and asks the court to sto...

Two Louisiana Infants Die of Whooping Cough Amid Drop in Vaccinations

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

Health experts are warning that whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is making a dangerous comeback.

Cases are rising across the country, and Louisiana recently reported that two infants have died -- the state’s first deaths from the illness since 2018.

&...

How Cory Booker Prepped His Body To Break 25-Hour Senate Speech Record

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker stood on the Senate floor and spoke for 25 hours and 5 minutes this week, breaking the modern record for the longest Senate speech ever.

Senate rules allow a member who is recognized by the presiding officer to speak for as long as they wish, as lon...

Blood Test Can Predict Recovery From Spinal Cord Paralysis

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

An experimental blood test might be able to help doctors predict whether someone will recover their mobility following a spinal cord injury.

The test looks for fragments of spinal cord DNA floating freely in a person’s blood, researchers recently reported in the

Unnecessary Imaging Scans Contributing To Climate Change

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

Thinking of splurging on a whole-body MRI or CT scan, based on the latest health fad?

Just keep in mind that you’ll be contributing to climate change, a new study says.

Unnecessary imaging scans for Medicare recipients alone create up to 129 metric kilotons o...

Screen Time Linked To Poor Sleep, Depression Among Teen Girls

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

THURSDAY, April 3, 2025 -- Can’t get your teenage girl off her smartphone, iPad or laptop?

This could cost her much-needed sleep and increase her risk of depression, a new Swedish study says.

Teenagers who spend more time on screens tend to get worse sleep, b...

Even Wealthy Americans Die Younger Than Europeans

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

Death comes for everyone, be they rich or poor.

But no amount of money will help Americans live longer than Europeans, a new study says.

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans compared to well-heeled Europeans, according to results published April 2 in t...

'Weekend Warriors' Reap Similar Health Benefits As Steady Exercisers

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

Life is busy, and some folks simply don’t have time until the weekend to work out.

Turns out, that’s just fine for their health, a new study suggests.

“Weekend warriors” who cram their week’s exercise into one or two days appear to gai...

Stroke Risk From Neck Artery Tears Is Rising Fast

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2025
• Full Page

Strokes caused by an artery tear are landing five times as many Americans in the hospital these days, a new study says.

Cervical artery dissection involves a small tear in the inner lining of an artery in the neck that supplies blood to the brain.

Blood can clot at...

Shingles Vaccine Protects Against Dementia

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 2, 2025
• Full Page

The shingles vaccine can do more than protect seniors from painful, blistering rashes.

It also appears to protect older folks from dementia, researchers say.

Seniors who got the shingles vaccine when it became available in the U.K. were 20% less likely to develop d...

FDA Removes Top Expert on Vaping and Tobacco

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• April 2, 2025
• Full Page

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) top tobacco regulator, Brian King, has been placed on leave as part of a large wave of cuts across federal health agencies. 

King, who led the FDA's tobacco control efforts, told his staff Tuesday that he was remov...

More Americans Can't Afford Health Care, Prescriptions

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 2, 2025
• Full Page

The inability to pay for health care has reached a new high in the United States, a new study says.

More than one-third of Americans — an estimated 91 million people — say they couldn't afford to access quality health care if they needed it today, according t...

Swallowing Disorder Not Widely Known, Understood By Public

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 2, 2025
• Full Page

Insomnia and vertigo are health conditions so well-known that movies have been named after them.

But only a quarter of Americans know about a condition that occurs even more often than vertigo or insomnia, called dysphagia, a new study says.

Dysphagia is a conditio...

Drug Overdose Deaths Rising Faster in Black Americans, Study Finds

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 2, 2025
• Full Page

Black Americans have been dying from drug overdoses (OD) at higher rates than white Americans, a new study says.

Both Black men and women are at greater risk of a fatal OD compared to white people, researchers reported April 1 in JAMA Network Open.

The OD ...

Eye Exam Can Assess Risk Of Delirium Following Surgery

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 2, 2025
• Full Page

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul.

The eyes also might help detect seniors at risk for a common syndrome in which they emerge from surgery in a state of delirium, new research suggests.

Seniors who have thicker retinas are about 60% more likely to devel...