More than 29.5 million Americans ages 12 and up had alcohol use disorder – the medical term for the disease commonly known as alcoholism – in 2022, when the most recent national data was published.

The condition is characterized by a pattern of heavy alcohol consumption with loss of control over drinking despite negative social, ...Read more

Living a busy, fast-paced life can make it hard to find the motivation to cook a healthy meal at home.

However, learning some shortcuts in the kitchen can keep your healthy eating goals on track and help you avoid grazing on unhealthy snacks, grabbing the first thing you see in the fridge or going out for fast food.

Why cook at home?

...Read more

Jacqueline Saa has a genetic condition that leaves her unable to stand and walk on her own or hold a job. Every weekday for four years, Saa, 43, has relied on a home health aide to help her cook, bathe and dress, go to the doctor, pick up medications, and accomplish other daily tasks.

She received coverage through Florida’s Medicaid program ...Read more

From the driver's seat of his parked truck, Lewis recalled what it felt like to take opioids.

He was prescribed Vicodin after getting his wisdom teeth removed at age 15, he says, which jumpstarted an addiction he's battled for nearly two decades. (Lewis' last name has been omitted for concerns regarding his medical privacy.)

"I just remember ...Read more

Menopause marks a significant transition for women, yet understanding its precursor, perimenopause, and its symptoms can be complex.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Women's Health and medical director of The Menopause Society, says experiencing perimenopause and menopause can be confusing for some. She says it is not...Read more

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jolynn Mungenast spends her days looking for ways to help people pay their hospital bills.

Working out of a warehouse-like building in a scruffy corner of this former industrial town, Mungenast gently walks patients through health insurance options, financial aid, and payment plans. Most want to pay, said Mungenast, a ...Read more

Many parents ask why they can't feed their baby regular cow's milk instead of breast milk or formula.

There are two main reasons: Infants cannot digest cow's milk as completely or easily as they digest breast milk or baby formula. More importantly, cow's milk is not a source of complete nutrition for babies under age 1, since it does not ...Read more

Baby boomers – that’s anyone born in the U.S. between 1946 and 1964 – are 20% of the population, more than 70 million Americans. Decades ago, many in that generation experimented with drugs that were both recreational and illegal. Although boomers may not be using those same drugs today, many are taking medications, often several of ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The animal tranquilizer xylazine's spread into Philadelphia's illicit opioid supply has introduced new hazards to an already-dangerous drug crisis, sending people in addiction into intense blackouts and leaving them with severe skin wounds.

Now, another veterinary sedative more potent than xylazine has emerged. The discovery of...Read more

ATLANTA — Bird flu continues to pose a low risk to the general public according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is rare for humans to get bird flu and currently, most cases of bird flu in people around the globe are linked to direct contact with an infected animal ― mostly birds.

But scientists are paying close ...Read more

Power is invisible, but its effects can be seen everywhere — especially in the health records of active duty military personnel.

By examining details of 1.5 million emergency room visits at U.S. military hospitals nationwide, researchers found that doctors invested significantly more resources in patients who outranked them than in patients ...Read more

BALTIMORE — It’s a right of passage into Mike Locksley’s Maryland football program to participate in the ‘3 H’s’ meeting. Newcomers stand before teammates, coaches and staff to share about their hero, a highlight of their life and a hardship. It’s one of a few crucial Terps mental health touchpoints.

Head coach always goes first. ...Read more

Most small kidney stones can pass on their own. However, kidney stones that are too large to pass on their own or cause bleeding, kidney damage or ongoing urinary tract infections may require surgical treatment. In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Aaron Potretzke, a Mayo Clinic urologist, explains some of the different surgical options for removing ...Read more

Heather Crivilare was a month from her due date when she was rushed to an operating room for an emergency cesarean section.

The first-time mother, a high school teacher in rural Illinois, had developed high blood pressure, a sometimes life-threatening condition in pregnancy that prompted doctors to hospitalize her. Then Crivilare’s blood ...Read more

Kori Thompson had long wrestled with the idea of having a child.

The 24-year-old worried about the world a kid would face as climate change overtook the globe, fearing the environmental devastation and economic strain that could follow. He had been thinking about getting a vasectomy ever since he learned about the sterilization procedure from a...Read more

When you think about obesity, you may not connect it to cancer. However, researchers long have suspected a link between certain cancers and weight.

Among those are endometrial, ovarian, colon, liver, pancreatic and postmenopausal breast cancers, which together contribute to 15 to 20% of all cancer deaths in the U.S.

Cancer risk increases with...Read more

Meta Getman heard the news out of Alabama and, suddenly, she was right back in it.

Getman and her husband had spent more than three years struggling with infertility — including four rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI), three rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and a six-month pause to weigh next steps — before eventually opting to...Read more

The FDA never inspected Johns Dental Laboratories during more than a decade in which it made the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or “AGGA,” a dental device that has allegedly harmed patients and is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

According to FDA documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the agency “...Read more

Deaths from drug overdoses fell last year in the United States as fewer people lost their lives to fentanyl and other opioids, marking the first time the death toll had dropped in five years, according to newly released estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal officials said the numbers show a 3% decline in the ...Read more