Nearly 1 in 5 Young People Turn to AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice

Nearly 1 in 5 young people in America turn to AI chatbots for mental health advice — and most aren't telling anyone.

A new nationwide study finds 19.2% of adolescents ages 12 to 21 have used AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Character.AI or Meta AI for help when feeling sad, angry, nervous or stressed. A RAND survey just one year ago...

Home-Delivered Medical Meals Reduce ER Visits, Save Money

Providing home-delivered, medically tailored meals to people with chronic health conditions lowers their risk of landing in a hospital, a new study says.

Medicaid patients had fewer hospitalizations and ER visits while receiving meals tailored to their specific medical conditions, which included diabetes, heart disease and depression, rese...

Night Owls Are More Prone To Anxiety, Loneliness

The wee hours of the morning might not be so good for the mental health of night owls, a new study says.

People with later sleep schedules have more anxiety and feelings of loneliness, researchers will report at an upcoming joint meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

“People with late...

Older LGBTQ+ Adults Fear Less Support As They Age, Poll Shows

LGBTQ+ people are woven into the lives of middle-aged and older Americans, a new national poll reports.

About 7 out of 10 non-LGBTQ+ people older than 50 (69%) have at least one personal connection to a person who is LGBTQ+, according to results from the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging.

The majority (56%...

Menopause Hormone Therapy Use Drops Sharply Across United States

Fewer women affected by menopause are turning to hormone therapy to ease their symptoms, a new study says.

Hormone therapy use declined from 4.4% in 2007 to 1.7% in 2023 among women 40 and older, researchers report in the June issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Even among women most likely to benefit – those...

Millions on Medicaid May Soon Have To Prove They’re Working To Keep Coverage

The Trump administration has published new rules on who can qualify for Medicaid coverage, including requirements that many recipients work or attend school.

The requirements state that Medicaid recipients who are not exempt must prove they spent at least 80 hours per month working, performing community service or going to school at least ...

Just 90 Minutes Of Strength Training A Week Linked To Longer Life

A few sessions in the weight room each week could do more than build muscle — they may help you live longer.

While the evidence linking aerobic exercise to longevity is extensive, little is known about the effects of strength training.

In a study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers...

Urine Test Can Detect Autism, Study Says

A simple urine test might help identify children who are likely to have autism earlier than the best assessment tools now available, a new study says.

Autistic children appear to have specific gut microbe profiles that can be used to distinguish them from neurotypical (or typically developing) children, researchers reported May 26 in the j...

High-Puff Vapes Become More Toxic Over Time, Study Says

E-cigarettes that offer a lot of extra puffs might become more toxic the longer they are used, a new study says.

High-puff vapes can typically deliver into the thousands of inhalations before they run out, because they hold more e-liquid and are designed for extended use, researchers said.

But toxic chemicals called aldehydes start b...

Chemo-Free Drug Shows Major Survival, Remission Gains In Relapsed Multiple Myeloma

A recently approved cancer immunotherapy can put nearly two-thirds of people with relapsed multiple myeloma into complete remission, a new clinical trial has found.

About 70% of patients treated with teclistamab (Tecvayli) achieved 18 months without any progression of their cancer, compared to about 27% who received standard treatment, res...

GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic May Lower Breast Cancer Risk By About 30%

Taking Ozempic or Zepbound might lower a woman’s risk of breast cancer, a new study says.

Women with excess weight taking GLP-1 drugs were about 30% less likely to develop breast cancer than those not taking such medications, researchers reported June 2 in the journal JCO Oncology Practice.

“While our study was o...

Trump Signs Order Calling For Fewer Childhood Vaccines

President Donald Trump has ordered federal health agencies to review and potentially narrow the list of vaccines recommended for kids. 

The executive order signed Friday aligns on a scientific assessment released earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which noted that that the United States "recom...

Simple Blood Test May Help Detect And Stage Alzheimer's Disease

Scientists may be one step closer to staging Alzheimer's disease with a simple blood test.

The test could offer a cheaper, less invasive alternative to brain scans and spinal taps now used to diagnose and determine the extent of disease.

Researchers developed a model that uses just two forms of tau protein in the blood to track Alzhe...

Smartphone App Helps Those With Advanced Cancer Maintain Quality Of Life

A smartphone app can help individuals with advanced cancer deal with symptoms and maintain their quality of life, according to new research.

The SUPPORT+ app asks them each week to complete a short questionnaire about their physical and emotional symptoms, researchers reported at a meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASC...

Childhood Flu Shots Prevent Millions of Cases, Study Finds

Pediatric flu vaccines significantly reduce cases of influenza among children, a new study finds.

For every 100 children vaccinated, as many as 14 fewer children come down with the flu, researchers reported June 1 in JAMA Pediatrics.

"In the United States, that's hundreds of thousands, if not a million cases of flu that we c...

Asthma Drug Cuts Need For Steroid Pills While Keeping Attacks In Check

A recently approved asthma drug can help those with asthma take fewer steroid drugs while keeping attacks under control, according to clinical trial results.

People taking tezepelumab (Tezspire) were nearly three times more likely to achieve greater reductions in daily steroid use while maintaining asthma control, compared to those on a pl...

TikTok Videos Fuel Illicit Vaping Culture Among Underage Youth

#illegalvape. #discreetvapeshipping. #discreetpackaging. #noIDvape. #hiddennic.

With these sorts of hashtags, TikTok videos are fostering a culture that promotes illicit vaping among underage youngsters, a new study says.

For the study, researchers used eight illicit vaping-related hashtags to identify and analyze dozens of TikTok vi...

Your Surprise Medical Bill May Be Gone — But Your Premiums Could Still Spike

A new federal rule may unintentionally make it easier for health care providers to game the system, potentially raising health insurance costs for Americans.

The final rule issued Thursday tweaks the No Surprises Act, which went into effect for most people in 2022. The rule aims to improve communication between payers and providers while g...

Short-Term Fasting Could Boost Chemo Response in Ovarian Cancer, Study Suggests

A simple change in meal timing may help improve outcomes for women with the most common and aggressive form of ovarian cancer, a new study suggests.

"Despite advancements in surgery and chemotherapy, patients with advanced ovarian cancer still face poor outcomes," said lead study author Claudia Marchetti of the Agostino Gemelli University ...

Perfectionism Among College Students Reaches Record High, Fueling Anxiety

College students are under more pressure than ever to be perfect, and such perfectionism is driving rising rates of mental disorders, a new evidence review says.

Students became increasingly perfectionistic between 1989 and 2024, researchers reported recently in the journal Psychological Bulletin.

This has been fueled in par...