CNN – Health

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — For years, dreams of my teeth cracking, loosening or falling out plagued my sleep. Some of my loved ones have repeatedly dreamed of flying, rolling away in a self-operating car or running late for school or work. These aren’t typical nightmares, which usually happen once. They’re some of the

By Giri Viswanathan, CNN (CNN) — Most children in the US who die from an accidental shooting are playing around with guns at home or mistaking them for toys, according to a new study. And the research suggests that over 90% of guns used in such shooting deaths were left unlocked and loaded. The study,

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first gene therapy to treat a rare and devastating muscle disease but limited the approval to kids ages 4 and 5 based on available evidence. The drug, from biotech company Sarepta Therapeutics, will need to prove in an ongoing clinical

By Christine Koh, CNN (CNN) — When a friendship hits a stumbling block, how do you know whether to work on the relationship or let it go? It can be tempting to let a friendship fade instead of facing conflict — especially when life feels overwhelming in other ways — because conflict is hard. But

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — You might believe cortisol is the culprit sabotaging your fitness and weight loss efforts if you’re getting your guidance from social media. And if you could just get your cortisol levels to where they need to be, everything else will fall into place — right? Like most things that

By Giri Viswanathan, CNN (CNN) — A new report puts US states’ health care systems on a scorecard, with Massachusetts coming out on top. But it also highlights alarming trends across the country, especially in areas like premature deaths and women’s health care. Released Thursday, the Commonwealth Fund’s 2023 Scorecard on State Health System Performance

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Most US obstetrician/gynecologists worry that the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision has had significant negative effects on reproductive and maternity health in the United States, and many say they have experienced direct constraints on their ability to provide care, according to a new survey from KFF. Between March and May,

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — Aspirin is one of the most commonly used medications in the US. Studies show that more than 40% of adults ages 60 or older take an aspirin every day to prevent dangerous blood clots that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. In recent years, experts have backed

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — Our children are struggling with their mental health. And as visits to physicians for anxiety and other issues go up, it’s hard to figure out how to support them. But with schools letting out for the summer, families have the opportunity for a reset. If done right, it can

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — Like brushing your teeth or washing your face, putting deodorant on every day might seem like one of those rituals crucial for basic hygiene. But your decision is most likely based more on personal and cultural preferences than any potential medical necessity, dermatology experts say. “People have strong preferences

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent (CNN) – I’ve been thinking a lot about aging lately. I’m turning 54 this year, so by all chronological measurements, I am middle-aged – the point when a person is, jokingly or not, considered “over the hill.” Yet that doesn’t fit my self-perception: If you were to

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — It’s a misnomer that heavy drinkers can “hold their liquor,” a new study found. Instead, people with alcohol use disorder — what used to be called alcoholism — were significantly impaired on cognitive and motor tests up to three hours after downing an alcoholic drink designed to mimic their typical

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — Roughly 200 years ago, a Belgian mathematician and statistician named Adolphe Quetelet, seeking to characterize “normal man,” observed that adults’ body weight in kilograms is roughly proportional to the square of their height in meters – a measurement that came to be referred to as the Quetelet index. It wasn’t until

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — People who prefer to go to bed and get up later — a sleep chronotype known as being a night owl — may die early from bad habits they develop when they stay up late, according to a new study. “The increased risk of mortality associated with being a

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Fathers matter. A new study — a rare effort that focuses solely on the father’s involvement in an infant’s life — shows a striking link between the support that dads offer and better infant outcomes. The research sought to answer several questions about paternal participation in breastfeeding and the

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — The proportion of US adults who have ever been diagnosed with depression ranges greatly depending on where they live. A new report published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that in 2020, 18.4% of US adults reported having ever been diagnosed with depression in

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — The bones of teens and young adults who lost significant weight after bariatric surgery were weaker than those of youth with similar levels of obesity who did not have surgery, a new study found. But that doesn’t mean bariatric surgery should be avoided for youth with severe obesity, said

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Nearly 15% of children in the United States were recently treated for mental health disorders in 2021, according to new research from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding, released Tuesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, suggests that mental health disorders – such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Obesity may damage the brain’s ability to recognize the sensation of fullness and be satisfied after eating fats and sugars, a new study found. Further, those brain changes may last even after people considered medically obese lose a significant amount of weight — possibly explaining why many people often

By Deidre McPhillips and Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — Researchers say they may be able to explain how light drinking benefits the heart, and its main effect doesn’t stem from changes in the blood – as scientists once thought – but from its actions in the brain. But because alcohol also raises the risk of

By Megan Marples, CNN (CNN) — With hot summer months ahead, taking a dip in the water can be a refreshing way to cool off. Whether you’re diving into your family’s backyard pool or floating in the ocean, staying safe around water is crucial, said Dr. Sarah Denny, lead author for the Prevention of Drowning

By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN (CNN) — Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted Thursday to endorse a monoclonal antibody designed to protect infants and some young toddlers from RSV. Members of the agency’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted 21-0 that the benefit-risk profile of nirsevimab was favorable in infants and 19-2 that it

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Among some of the nation’s largest cancer centers, more than 90% have reported being directly affected by the current shortage of chemotherapy drugs in the United States, according to a new survey. The survey results, released Wednesday by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, show that among 27 cancer centers

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, wake up too early most days or have other signs of insomnia, you may be at higher risk for stroke, a new study found. The more symptoms of insomnia you have the higher the risk, especially if you’re younger than age

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — More kids, teens and young adults are experiencing anxiety — but fewer are getting the appropriate treatment, according to the latest research. A new study looked at data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2006 to 2018 and assessed office-based physician visits to see how many included

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Like lava rising from a volcano, the heat streams across your body, reddening your face and quickening your heart. Suddenly it feels as if every pore in your skin has begun to sweat. If you’re lucky, the hot flash subsides as quickly as it began. If you’re not …

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — People who use estrogen-only pills during menopause were more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure than those using patches or creams, a new study found. However, doctors who treat menopause say estrogen-only pills are rarely prescribed for high-risk patients, and the overall benefits of hormone replacement therapy

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — The Covid-19 pandemic set US life expectancy back by years, but new research shows that the country has been falling behind for decades. In 1950, the US had the 12th longest life expectancy among certain populous countries, with more than half a million residents, according to a study published

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Millions of adults in the United States are not taking their medications as prescribed because of costs, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most adults between the ages of 18 and 64 took at least one prescription medication in 2021. But