Federal Addiction And Mental Health Agency Faces Major Staff Cuts

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

A key federal agency responsible for addiction and mental health services is facing deep staff cuts.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which has a $7.2 billion budget, oversees vital services such as the 988 National Suicide and Cris...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Downplays Measles Vaccine as Cases Surge

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

A growing measles outbreak has led to 222 reported cases across Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma in 2025, with health officials urging more people to get vaccinated.

During an interview with Fox News, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kenned...

Red Wine Protects Against Cancer? Maybe Not

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

Red wine has been thought to potentially offer protection against cancer, given its high levels of the anti-inflammatory antioxidant resveratrol.

But there’s no clear evidence that red wine lessens cancer risk, a new evidence review has concluded.

In fact, ne...

Weed Use During Pregnancy Triples Risk Of Behavioral Problems In Kids

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

Some women turn to weed during pregnancy to help deal with common issues like nausea, sleep problem and stress.

Unfortunately, they could be endangering their unborn child’s future behavior, a new study says.

Women who use cannabis either during pregnancy or ...

Concussion Damage Lingers In Athletes' Brains Up To A Year

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

Concussion damage could linger in an athlete’s brain for at least a year, long after they’ve rejoined their sport, a new study says.

Concussed college athletes had brain changes that remained visible in brain scans up to a year after they’d been cleared...

Turning Off TV Better For Heart Health Of Folks Predisposed To Diabetes

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

People with a higher genetic risk for type 2 diabetes also have a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and other heart-related diseases.

But controlling that risk could be as simple as picking up a TV remote and hitting the “off” switch, a new study suggests.<...

Pandemic Set Kindergarteners Back Developmentally

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

The COVID-19 pandemic set kindergarteners’ development back in several ways, a new study says.

Post-pandemic kindergarten students on average scored significantly lower in language and thinking skills, social competence, and communication and general knowledge, whe...

OB/GYNs Walk Away From Anti-Abortion States

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2025
• Full Page

A brain drain is underway in states that banned or severely restricted abortion after the fall of Roe v Wade, a new study suggests.

A significant decline in the number of practicing obstetricians/gynecologists has occurred in the 12 most restrictive states, according to ...

Dozens Of Laid-Off CDC Workers Push To Get Their Jobs Back

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

A group of former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees is fighting to get their jobs back after being abruptly laid off last month.

In a letter sent Monday to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CDC leadership, t...

RFK Jr. Pushes for Stricter Oversight of Chemicals in Food

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

The nation's top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is taking steps to tighten oversight of chemicals in the U.S. food supply, a key component of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

On March 10, Kennedy directed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

USDA Disbands Two Key Food Safety Committees

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

Two key federal advisory committees on food safety have been shut down, raising concerns among food safety advocates.

The move was part of a Trump administration push to cut costs and shrink the government.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) elimi...

America's Well-To-Do Have Less Heart Disease Risk

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

Well-to-do and better-educated Americans have far lower rates of heart disease than the rest of the population, a new study says.

The top 20% of high-income, college-educated Americans have less heart disease risk than others, and this gap has widened over the past two d...

Splash Your Way To Weight Loss Through Water Aerobics

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

Purposeful splishing and splashing can help you trim your waist size and drop excess pounds, a new evidence review has concluded.

Water aerobics led to about 6 pounds of weight loss and more than an inch off the waists of overweight and obese people, researchers reported...

More Children Accidentally Poisoned By Fentanyl

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

The number of children poisoned through exposure to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, has skyrocketed in recent years, researchers have reported.

Fentanyl poisonings increased by 924% among children 12 and younger between 2015 and 2023, and by 1,506% among teens 13 ...

Responsive Parenting Can Help Counter Childhood Obesity

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

Kids are more likely to maintain a healthy weight if their parents adopt a responsive style while they’re babies and toddlers, a new study suggests.

Children had a significantly lower average body mass index (BMI) through middle childhood if they were raised using ...

Spouses Also Benefit From Partner's Knee/Hip Replacement

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

Knee or hip replacement is a major surgery, and many people must lean hard on their spouses to care for them during weeks to months of recuperation.

But all that hassle is absolutely worthwhile for the one providing care for their temporarily disabled partner, a new stud...

Pickleballers Bounce Back After Joint Replacement

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 12, 2025
• Full Page

Love pickleball, but facing a knee or hip replacement?

Odds are you’ll return to the court in no time, a new study suggests.

More than 7 of 10 regular pickleball players pick up their paddle promptly following joint replacement surgery.

What’s mor...

HHS Employees Offered as Much as $25K To Leave Jobs

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 11, 2025
• Full Page

In a sweeping effort to downsize the federal workforce, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has offered buyouts of up to $25,000 to many of its 80,000 employees. 

The offer, announced in an email sent to a broad range of HHS staff, is part of ongo...

Free COVID-19 Test Program Stops Taking Orders

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 11, 2025
• Full Page

The U.S. government program that provides free at-home COVID tests is no longer accepting orders.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has not said whether the program will ever restart.

"The free at-home COVID-19 test distribution prog...

NIH Cuts Funding for Studies on Vaccine Hesitancy and Acceptance

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• March 11, 2025
• Full Page

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is cutting or canceling more than 40 grants focused on vaccine hesitancy and ways to increase vaccine acceptance, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.

The message — sent Monday by Michelle Bulls, di...