THURSDAY, Sept. 3, 2020 — A group of widely used medications might speed up older adults’ mental decline — especially if they are at increased risk of dementia, a new study hints. The medications in question are called anticholinergics, and they are used to treat a diverse range of conditions — from allergies, motion sickness… Read More: Common Meds Tied to Faster Mental Decline in Seniors »
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 19, 2020 — High levels of air pollution may increase young children’s risk of developing asthma and persistent wheezing, researchers warn. The findings “support emerging evidence that exposure to air pollution might influence the development of asthma,” according to a report by Torben Sigsgaard, of Aarhus University in Denmark, and colleagues. For the… Read More: Air Pollution Tied to Asthma in Young Kids »
Living near oil and gas wells may increase a woman’s risk of having a baby with a congenital heart defect. Researchers writing in Environment International reported on 3,324 infants born in Colorado from 2005 to 2011, comparing 536 babies with heart defects to 2,860 controls matched for sex, maternal smoking, race and ethnicity. They correlated… Read More: Living Near Oil and Gas Wells Tied to Heart Defects… »
When the number of reported flu cases goes up, so does the number of hospitalizations for heart failure. A study in JAMA Cardiology used data on 451,588 people, ages 35 to 84, in four geographic areas over four flu seasons, from 2010 to 2014. The researchers randomly sampled 2,042 hospitalizations for heart failure and 1,599… Read More: Flu Tied to Heart Failure Worsening »