Most Americans Are Happy With Health Insurance, Poll Finds

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• December 16, 2025
• Full Page

Most folks in the United States are happy with their health insurance, according to a new national poll, but many still struggle with denied claims, delays and rising costs.

The poll, conducted by NBC News Decision Desk and SurveyMonkey, found 82% of U.S. adults...

Childhood Behavioral Problems Are Straining Family Finances, Experts Say

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 16, 2025
• Full Page

Kids’ behavioral problems account for a growing chunk of their health care costs, a new study says.

Mental health, substance use and other behavioral health care made up about 40% of all health expenditures for U.S. children in 2022, nearly twice as much as in 2011...

Love Can Help The Heart Heal, Evidence Says

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 16, 2025
• Full Page

Hearts are often associated with love, especially around Valentine’s Day.

That’s more relevant than you might think, a new evidence review says.

The support of a beloved partner can dramatically improve recovery for people who’ve had a heart attac...

COVID Vaccine During Pregnancy Reduces Risk Of Preterm Birth

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 16, 2025
• Full Page

Pregnant women who get the COVID-19 vaccine are less likely to have a preterm birth, a new study says.

Vaccination was also strongly associated with lower risk of hospitalization or intensive care treatment among expecting mothers, researchers reported Dec. 15 in the

Risk-Based Breast Cancer Screening Outperforms Annual Mammograms, Clinical Trial Finds

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 16, 2025
• Full Page

Tailoring breast cancer screening to a woman’s individual cancer risk might work better than annual mammograms, a new study says.

Women had breast cancers caught at an earlier, more treatable stage when assigned to risk-based screening, compared to those who got an...

Large Review Finds Limited Proof Behind Many Medical Cannabis Uses

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

Medical marijuana is often seen as a safer, natural way to ease pain, anxiety or sleep issues. But a large new review suggests that for many of these uses, the science simply isn’t there.

It adds that a significant share of folks, roughly 30%, using cannabis for me...

COVID Vaccines Cut ER Visits for Children, CDC Reports

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

COVID-19 vaccines given to children last fall helped keep many out of emergency rooms (ER) and urgent care, new data shows.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that COVID vaccines reduced the risk of ER visits by 76% in kids under age 4 and...

FDA Approves Two New Antibiotics to Treat Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

Doctors now have new tools to fight gonorrhea, a common sexually transmitted infection that has grown harder to treat over time.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two new antibiotics: Zoliflodacin and gepotidacin.

This is the first new major ...

FDA Weighs Strongest Black Box Warning for COVID Vaccines

• I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering adding the strongest safety warning available to COVID-19 vaccines.

The move has alarmed many outside health experts, who say there is no scientific basis for the warning.

People familiar with the plan told...

Too Much Drinking Contributes To Cancer Risk, Study Says

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

A new evidence review offers some sobering info for folks preparing to raise more than a couple celebratory glasses during Christmas or New Year’s.

Alcohol significantly increases a person’s risk of developing a wide range of cancers, and that risk rises furt...

Home-Delivered Food Boxes Improve Diabetes Control, Experts Say

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

Folks with diabetes might fare better if health care professionals pick out and deliver their groceries, a new study says.

Folks with diabetes who received home deliveries of diabetes-appropriate grocery boxes for three months had better blood sugar control by the end of...

Doing Nothing Appears Best Approach To Common Heart Defect Among Preemies

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

Doing nothing at all to manage a common fetal heart defect might improve the survival odds of babies born prematurely, compared to treatment with drugs, a new clinical trial suggests.

A “wait and see” approach to patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) doubled a preem...

Some Can Slowly Taper Off Antidepressants Without Risk Of Relapse, Review Concludes

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

It’s safe to slowly taper some people off antidepressants after their depression fades, rather than continuing the drugs indefinitely, a new evidence review says.

People who slowly tapered off antidepressants while receiving psychological counseling had a similar r...

Mothers' Milk Might Be Key To Avoiding Childhood Food Allergies

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

Farm kids tend to have far fewer allergies than urban children, and a new study offers one possible explanation: The milk provided by breastfeeding moms.

Children who grow up in farming communities have immune systems that mature faster, with higher levels of protective ...

Most Receive Shock Therapy Without Psychological Counseling, Survey Says

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 15, 2025
• Full Page

Most people receiving shock therapy for mental health problems aren’t receiving any sort of psychological counseling before having their brains zapped, a new study says. 

Only a third of patients said they’d been asked about recent stressful events or ch...

How to Head Off Tendon Trouble

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• December 14, 2025
• Full Page

Injure a tendon and you might not notice right away, but beware: These injuries often fail to heal properly, putting everyday activities at risk. 

"No matter how strong your muscle is, you’re not going to be able to have the functionality and the stability you...

Ignore the Influencers: Simple Showers Are Still Best

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• December 13, 2025
• Full Page

Listen to the influencers, skin-care specialists say, and your daily shower could do more harm than good.

"Your skin is a barrier," said Dr. Nicole Negbenebor, a dermatologic surgeon at University of Iowa Health Care, told The Associated Press. "So you want to t...

New Sunscreen Ingredient Could Soon Be Allowed in the U.S.

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

Americans may soon have access to a new sunscreen ingredient already used around the world.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Dec. 11 that it is reviewing a proposal to allow bemotrizinol in sunscreens sold in the United States. 

The ingred...

Many Older Americans Don’t See Themselves as Disabled, Survey Finds

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• December 12, 2025
• Full Page

Americans may be getting older and need help doing things that were once routine, but a new survey finds only a fraction of seniors see themselves as having a disability.

"It’s a familiar story," Megan Morris, director of the Disability Equity Collaborative at New ...

South Carolina Places 254 in Quarantine as Measles Cases Surge

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

South Carolina health officials say a measles outbreak is growing amid holiday travel and low vaccination rates, and they warn the spread could continue for weeks.

As of Dec. 10, the state’s Department of Public Health has confirmed 114 cases, nearly all in the sta...