Public Health News

May 8, 2024

Top Headlines

More Than 321,000 U.S. Children Lost a Parent to Drug Overdose from 2011 to 2021

May 8, 2024 — An estimated 321,566 children in the United States lost a parent to drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, according to a new study. The rate of children who experienced this loss more than doubled during ...

Companies May Buy Consumer Genetic Information Despite Its Modest Predictive Power

May 2, 2024 — Genetics can be associated with one's behavior and health -- from the willingness to take risks, and how long one stays in school, to chances of developing Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer. ...

Missing Link in Species Conservation: Pharmacists, Chemists Could Turn Tide on Plant, Animal Extinction

Apr. 30, 2024 — As the world faces the loss of a staggering number of species of animals and plants to endangerment and extinction, one scientist has an urgent message: Chemists and pharmacists should be key players ...

Economic Burden of Childhood Verbal Abuse by Adults Estimated at $300 Billion Globally

Apr. 11, 2024 — Childhood verbal abuse by adults costs society an estimated $300 billion a year globally, show recent ...

Latest Headlines

updated 5:30pm EDT

New Study Finds Increase in Exposures to Synthetic Tetrahydrocannabinols Among Young Children, Teens, and Adults

May 7, 2024 — A sharp rise in exposures to synthetic cannabis products among youth -- some leading to hospitalization -- highlights the need for increased ...

Study Finds School Entry Requirements Linked to Increased HPV Vaccination Rates

Apr. 29, 2024 — A new study shows that school entry requirements are linked to an increase in human papillomavirus (HPV) ...

Rise Seen in Use of Antibiotics for Conditions They Can't Treat -- Including COVID-19

Apr. 22, 2024 — America is going the wrong way when it comes to prescribing antibiotics, with 1 in 4 prescriptions going to patients who have conditions that the ...

Component of Keto Diet Plus Immunotherapy May Reduce Prostate Cancer

Apr. 26, 2024 — Adding a pre-ketone supplement -- a component of a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet -- to a type of cancer therapy in a laboratory setting was highly effective for treating prostate cancer, ...

How Geography Acts as a Structural Determinant of Health

Apr. 26, 2024 — In unincorporated communities in the United States-Mexico borderlands, historically and socially marginalized populations become invisible to the healthcare system, showing that geography acts as a ...

New Study Uncovers Lasting Financial Hardship Associated With Cancer Diagnosis for Working-Age Adults in the U.S.

Apr. 23, 2024 — A new study highlights the lasting financial impact of a cancer diagnosis for many working-age adults and their families in the United States. It ...

More Premature Babies Born Following Swedish Parental Leave Policy

Apr. 8, 2024 — The introduction of a policy protecting parental leave benefits in Sweden in 1980 had unintended consequences on child health. The policy appears to have led to an increase in premature birth ...

With the Planet Facing a 'Polycrisis', Biodiversity Researchers Uncover Major Knowledge Gaps

Apr. 4, 2024 — Connecting the study of infectious disease spread, biodiversity loss and climate change could offer win-win-win solutions for planetary health, but a ...

Testing Environmental Water to Monitor COVID-19 Spread in Unsheltered Encampments

Apr. 3, 2024 — To better understand COVID-19's spread during the pandemic, public health officials expanded wastewater surveillance. These efforts track SARS-CoV-2 ...

Life Expectancy Increased as World Addressed Major Killers Including Diarrhea, Lower Respiratory Infections, and Stroke

Apr. 3, 2024 — Global life expectancy increased by 6.2 years since 1990, according to a new study. Over the past three decades, reductions in death from leading ...

Past and Guides Future Efforts to Reduce Cancer Disparities

May 6, 2024 — The toll cancer takes on lives in the U.S. has declined during the last 28 years, but not equitably. Disparities persist in many historically marginalized communities -- including communities ...

Understanding Youth Nicotine Use to Prevent Initiation and Escalation

May 1, 2024 — Using multiple nicotine products can be associated with higher levels of nicotine dependence among youth and increased mortality in adults, compared with the use of one product alone. Researchers ...

Life Expectancy in Two Disadvantaged Areas Higher Than Expected

May 1, 2024 — Better than expected life expectancy in two disadvantaged areas in England is probably due to population change according to local residents and professionals. In the UK, people from the most ...

Treatment from Female Doctors Leads to Lower Mortality and Hospital Readmission Rates, Study Suggests

Apr. 23, 2024 — Patients have lower rates of mortality and hospital readmissions when treated by female physicians, with female patients benefitting more than their male counterparts, new research ...

Study Finds COVID-19 Pandemic Led to Some, but Not Many, Developmental Milestone Delays in Infants and Young Children

Apr. 22, 2024 — Infants and children 5 years old and younger experienced only 'modest' delays in developmental milestones due to the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions and restrictions, a study ...

Social Programs Save Millions of Lives, Especially in Times of Crisis

Apr. 22, 2024 — Primary health care, conditional cash transfers and social pensions have prevented 1.4 million deaths of all ages in Brazil over the past two decades, according to a new study. If expanded, these ...

New Data Identifies Trends in Accidental Opioid Overdoses in Children

Apr. 17, 2024 — The US saw a 22% decline in rates of prescription-opioid overdose related emergency department (ED) visits in children 17 and younger between 2008 and 2019, but an uptick in the early part of the ...

Gunshots in American Cities Twice as Likely at Night, Potentially Disrupting Sleep for Those in Earshot, Study Finds

Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers studied six cities, finding that nighttime gunshots were particularly prevalent in low-income neighborhoods. The team found gunshots are twice as likely to occur at night, and that ...

Reducing Late-Night Alcohol Sales Curbed All Violent Crimes by 23% Annually in a Baltimore Neighborhood

Apr. 1, 2024 — New study findings suggest that shortening overnight operations by seven hours at bars and taverns in a Baltimore, Md. neighborhood resulted in a 51 percent immediate drop in homicides within the ...

More Than One Billion People Around the Globe Are Facing Obesity

Mar. 27, 2024 — The prevalence of malnutrition across the globe was shared by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a network of health scientists from around the world who provide and evaluate data on major risk ...

Job Flexibility and Security Promotes Better Mental Health Among Employees

Mar. 26, 2024 — A new study found that employed adults with greater job flexibility and higher job security were less likely to experience serious psychological distress or anxiety. Greater job flexibility and ...

New Roadmap to Prevent Pandemics Centers on Protecting Biodiversity

Mar. 26, 2024 — An international team of 25 scientists has proposed a roadmap for how to prevent the next pandemic by conserving natural areas and promoting biodiversity, thereby providing animals with enough food, ...

Research Identifies Characteristics of Cities That Would Support Young People's Mental Health

Mar. 25, 2024 — As cities around the world continue to draw young people for work, education, and social opportunities, a new study identifies characteristics that would support young urban dwellers' mental ...

2 in 3 Parents Say Their Adolescent or Teen Worries About How Sick Days May Impact Grades

Mar. 25, 2024 — Many parents recognize increasing mental health concerns among children, reflected by the 1 in 5 who say they're open to allowing a child to take a mental health ...

Less Obesity in 3 And 4-Year-Olds After the Pandemic, Swedish Study Finds

Mar. 25, 2024 — The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the group of 3- and 4-year-olds in Sweden has decreased after the pandemic. The increase during the pandemic thus appears to have been temporary, according ...

Troubling Trends in Midlife Mortality in the US and UK

Mar. 25, 2024 — A new study reveals that US working-age adults are dying at higher rates than their peers in high-income countries; the UK is also falling ...

Most New Doctors Face Some Form of Sexual Harassment, Even After #MeToo

Mar. 22, 2024 — More than half of all new doctors face some form of sexual harassment in their first year on the job, including nearly three-quarters of all new female doctors and a third of males, a new study ...

Millions Are at Risk Using High Arsenic Water for Cooking

Mar. 21, 2024 — Around 32 per cent of the world's population live in countries that do not adhere to the World Health Organization's recommendations on safe limits of arsenic in drinking ...

Rural and Minority Dementia Patients Face Disparities in Access to Neurologists

Mar. 20, 2024 — A study of nearly 95,000 Washington state residents found that people living outside of urban areas as well as Native American and Hispanic people face longer travel distances to be seen by ...

Powerful New AI Can Predict People's Attitudes to Vaccines

Mar. 20, 2024 — A powerful new tool in artificial intelligence is able to predict whether someone is willing to be vaccinated against ...