16Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Cigarette Smoking Doubles the Risk of Developing Both Types of Heart Failure

Cigarette Smoking Doubles the Risk of Developing Both Types of Heart Failure

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People who smoked tobacco cigarettes developed heart failure at 2 times the rate of people who never smoked, according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The research is one of the first to assess smoking in both types of heart failure — reduced ejection fraction and preserved ejection fraction — and found that smoking is significant risk factor for both.“These findings underline the importance of preventing smoking in the first place, especially among children and young adults.” said study senior author Kunihiro Matsushita, MD, PhD, associate professor in the department of epidemiology at Bloomberg School in Baltimore, in a release. “We hope our results will encourage current smokers to quit sooner rather than later, since the harm of smoking can last…
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16Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Sleep Problems Are Tied to a Risk of Life-Threatening COPD Flare-Ups

Sleep Problems Are Tied to a Risk of Life-Threatening COPD Flare-Ups

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Poor sleep is associated with an increased risk of potentially life-threatening disease flare-ups in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), according to a new study.People with COPD have lung conditions that block airflow and make it harder to breathe. There are two main types of COPD — emphysema and chronic bronchitis — and many people experience both, per the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).Researchers did sleep assessments for 1,647 patients with COPD and then followed them over three years to see how often they had flare-ups that required treatment.Compared with people who slept well, those with mild sleep problems were 25 percent more likely to have COPD flare-ups, according to the study's results, reported June 6 in the journal Sleep. Patients with the most severely insufficient or…
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16Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Type 2 Diabetes Drug Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) Aids Weight Loss in People With Obesity

Type 2 Diabetes Drug Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) Aids Weight Loss in People With Obesity

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A once-weekly injectable recently approved to treat type 2 diabetes may hold major potential as a weight loss medication for people with obesity, too, a study suggests.Overweight or obese participants without type 2 diabetes who took the drug, called tirzepatide (sold as the diabetes drug Mounjaro), lost an average of nearly 21 percent of their body weight at the highest dose studied. Scientists presented their findings at the American Diabetes Association (ADA)’s annual meeting in New Orleans and published the study in The New England Journal of Medicine.“Definitely, the weight loss in this study is far more what we had ever seen with other FDA-approved medications in term of the absolute amount of weight lost or percentage of weight lost,” says Osama Hamdy, MD, PhD, an associate professor at Harvard…
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15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Pulse Oximetry Readings Are Less Accurate for Black, Hispanic, and Asian People With COVID-19

Pulse Oximetry Readings Are Less Accurate for Black, Hispanic, and Asian People With COVID-19

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Pulse oximeter devices, a common tool used to guide medical decision-making in COVID-19 patients, overestimated the blood oxygen levels in nonwhite patients with COVID-19 and made them appear healthier than they actually were, according to a new study published May 31 in JAMA Internal Medicine.These findings add to the growing body of evidence about pulse oximetry inaccuracies in people of color, says the study's co-lead author Ashraf Fawzy, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “Our research is the first to show that the overestimation of oxygen saturation among Black and Hispanic patients led to a delayed recognition of the need for COVID-19 therapy compared with white patients,” says Dr. Fawzy.That’s because oxygen saturation levels are often used to determine…
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15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
The Mental Health Toll of Mass Shootings

The Mental Health Toll of Mass Shootings

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Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, joined a club no one wants to be in: the ever-growing list of schools, places of worship, and communities torn apart by a mass shooting.On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman entered the elementary school and murdered 19 children and two teachers in a fourth-grade classroom before being shot and killed by authorities responding to the shooting, AP News reports. The shooting in the heavily Latino town happened on the heels of another mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Only 10 days earlier, an 18-year-old gunman targeting Black people killed 10 people in a Tops Friendly Market.Those who weren’t directly affected by these shootings don’t escape unscathed, either.Many have even changed how they live their lives because they fear being a victim of a shooting.…
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15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Frequent Use of Antibiotics Tied to Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Older Adults

Frequent Use of Antibiotics Tied to Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Older Adults

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Older people who frequently take antibiotics are at greater risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2022. The study has not been peer-reviewed or published.Previous research, published in 2020, found a link between antibiotic use and the onset of IBD in young adults. Research led by Adam Faye, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, looked at whether the same link could be found in older adults. Using the Danish National Prescription Register, researchers identified 2.3 million people ages 60 and older from 2000 to 2018 and assessed the number of antibiotics prescribed, the timing of antibiotics, and the impact of specific antibiotic classes on the development of IBD…
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15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Jif Peanut Butter Recalled Due to Potential Salmonella

Jif Peanut Butter Recalled Due to Potential Salmonella

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Editor’s Note: This story was updated May 27, 2022, with additional products involved in the recall.The J.M. Smucker Company has added more items to its voluntary recall of multiple sizes and types of Jif peanut butter products due to concerns that the products are potentiality contaminated with salmonella. The multistate outbreak includes 14 illnesses, including two hospitalizations, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Find the expanded list of products here.Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can grow in food, and if it’s consumed, it can make people sick with an illness called salmonellosis; symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Most people recover in four to seven days without treatment with antibiotics. The main concern in healthy adults is dehydration due to the diarrhea, and so it’s recommended that…
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15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
‘Broken Heart’ Killed Husband of Slain Uvalde Teacher, Family Says

‘Broken Heart’ Killed Husband of Slain Uvalde Teacher, Family Says

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The shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead has claimed another life: Joe Garcia, the husband of slain teacher Irma Garcia, has died of what relatives described as a “broken heart.”“I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 25 years was too much to bear,” wrote Debra Austin, Irma Garcia’s cousin, on a GoFundMe page created to raise funds for the family. The couple is survived by their four children.Joe Garcia died on May 26 after a “medical emergency,” according to Austin’s fundraising page.Dying from what’s known as broken heart syndrome, also called stress cardiomyopathy, while rare, has been previously documented in people who are grieving a sudden loss of…
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15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
How to Talk to Your Children After a School Shooting: Expert Q&A

How to Talk to Your Children After a School Shooting: Expert Q&A

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In the wake of the mass shooting in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, trauma extends to every parent and child. What the grieving families are going through is an unimaginable pain. The horrific, senseless loss of life is also triggering fears in all of us — especially parents and their children. We spoke with Katie Hurley, LCSW, child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting educator, and Everyday Health contributor, about how to address children’s fears and cope yourself as an adult.Everyday Health: How do you talk to your kids about such a horrific incident that they've probably heard about from others or on TV?Katie Hurley: The key to talking kids through this is communicating relational safety by listening to their fears and co-regulating their responses. This means that parents need to…
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