The Conversation, CC BY-ND Before the United States began vaccinating all infants at birth with the hepatitis B vaccine in 1991, around 18,000 children every year contracted the virus before…
Tag: Quick reads
Most air cleaning devices have not been tested on people − and little is known about their potential harms, new study finds
Portable air cleaners aimed at curbing indoor spread of infections are rarely tested for how well they protect people – and very few studies evaluate their potentially harmful effects. That’s…
Shingles vaccination rates rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, but major gaps remain for underserved groups
Vaccination against shingles increased among adults age 50 and older in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not equally across all population groups. That’s the key finding from a…
About a third of pregnant women in the US lack sufficient vitamin D to support healthy pregnancies − new research
Children whose mothers had higher vitamin D levels during pregnancy scored better on tests of memory, attention and problem-solving skills at ages 7 to 12 compared with those whose mothers…
Muscle weakness in cancer survivors may be caused by treatable weakness in blood vessels – new research
Tumors can destroy the blood vessels of muscles even when the muscles are nowhere close to the tumor. That is the key finding of a new study that my colleagues…
More than half of US teens have had at least one cavity, but fluoride programs in schools help prevent them – new research
Programs delivering fluoride varnish in schools significantly reduce cavities in children. That is a key finding of our recently published study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Fluoride varnish…
Older adults with dementia misjudge their financial skills – which may make them more vulnerable to fraud, new research finds
Older adults diagnosed with dementia lose their ability to assess how well they manage their finances, according to a recent study I co-authored in The Gerontologist. In comparison, people of…
Teens say they can access firearms at home, even when parents lock them up, new research shows
More than half of U.S. teens living in households with firearms believe they can access and load a firearm at home. Even when their parents report storing all firearms locked…
Millions of US children have parents with substance use disorder, and the consequences are staggering − new research
About 1 in 4 U.S. children – nearly 19 million – have at least one parent with substance use disorder. This includes parents who misuse alcohol, marijuana, prescription opioids or…
Too much sitting increases risk of future health problems in chest pain patients – new research
For patients hospitalized with chest pain, the amount of time they spend sedentary afterward is linked to a greater risk for more heart problems and death within a year. That’s…