Six and one-half years.

That’s the decline in life expectancy that the COVID-19 pandemic wrought upon American Indians and Alaska Natives, based on an August 2022 report from the National Center for Health Statistics.

This astounding figure translates to an overall drop in average living years from 71.8 years in 2019 to 65.2...Read more

The U.S. spends as much as three times more on health care per person as other high-income countries, yet residents are often less likely to visit doctors, according to a report that highlights poor returns for the nation’s large investment.

The pandemic has widened discordances between medical spending and health results in the U.S. and the ...Read more

A painful, parasitic disease that once infected 3.5 million people per year is tantalizingly close to being eradicated.

On Jan. 24, 2023, The Carter Center, a nonprofit founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, announced that “Guinea worm is poised to become the second human disease in history to be eradicated,” having ...Read more

For most American workers who commute, the trip to and from the office takes nearly one full hour a day – 26 minutes each way on average, with 7.7% of workers spending two hours or more on the road.

Many people think of commuting as a chore and a waste of time. However, during the remote work surge resulting from the COVID-19 ...Read more

When many people think of an average lung cancer patient, they often imagine an older man smoking. But the face of lung cancer has changed. Over the past 15 years, more women, never smokers and younger people are being diagnosed with lung cancer.

In fact, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women, and more women die...Read more

Q: How do I make my own nut butter?

A: Surprise yourself by trying your hand at homemade nut butter. You’ll never go back to store-bought after you experience fresh and oh-so-creamy butters made with your favorite nut or combination of nuts — how about peanut, almond, or cashew? Perhaps a pistachio-sunflower seed combo? It’s not only a ...Read more

Fruits and vegetables are great for many reasons: they can help lower inflammation, up your fiber intake and support organs from your brain to your gut. But many of us aren’t getting enough.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that roughly 90% of Americans aren’t reaching the suggested five servings a day. Part of ...Read more

Currently, 37 U.S. states have passed medical cannabis laws and 21 states have legalized recreational cannabis. Cannabis has proven beneficial for a range of conditions such as childhood seizure disorders, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite in people with HIV/AIDs.

In the meantime, a new generation of cannabis products has exploded onto the...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 70-year-old father-in-law smoked for more than 30 years. I read that men who used to smoke should be screened for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. What does this screening involve? What would be done if he is found to have an aneurysm?

ANSWER: A number of factors can raise the risk of developing an abdominal aortic aneurysm. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- People struggling with opioid addiction will now be able to access an addiction treatment drug from any physician licensed to prescribe controlled substances, rather than having to seek out doctors with specialized credentials.

The federal government last week lifted restrictions on who can prescribe the opioid buprenorphine to ...Read more

Brenna Kearney was seven months pregnant in December 2019 when she experienced what she thought were bad flu symptoms.

Her husband, Casey Trumble, drove her from their Chicago home to her OB-GYN’s office at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital downtown. With suddenly elevatled blood pressure and protein in her urine, she was ...Read more

The phrase "you are what you eat" is commonly used in conversations about health and the connection between food and the body. Eating an unhealthy diet can have serious consequences and can increase someone's risk of dying from heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Stephen Kopecky, a preventive cardiologist ...Read more

Radon is an odorless, invisible radioactive gas. It's naturally released from rocks, soil and water — and it can get trapped inside your home, office or school. There's no known safe level of radon.

Unfortunately, there are no symptoms of radon exposure as there are with carbon monoxide poisoning.

What makes radon so dangerous

Breathing ...Read more

Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, according to the American Red Cross. Becoming a donor is easy and can make a significant impact on your community.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Justin Juskewitch, associate medical director of the Blood Donor Center at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, breaks down the different types of ...Read more

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

Getting everyone who is eligible for free or discounted health insurance to sign up for it requires making it as easy as possible to enroll – and that convenience especially matters for young, healthy and low-income people. Those are the key findings of a recent ...Read more

Scientists have known for years that unhealthy diets – particularly those that are high in fat and sugar – may cause detrimental changes to the brain and lead to cognitive impairment.

Many factors that contribute to cognitive decline are out of a person’s control, such as genetics and socioeconomic factors. But ongoing research ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Cervical cancer, like many illnesses, is treatable if it’s caught early, but each year millions of women miss out on getting routine Pap smear screening for the disease, which kills a disproportionate number of Black women.

During the pandemic, cervical cancer screening rates got even worse, especially for lower-income women and...Read more

The former leaders of Outcome Health were greedy fraudsters, the government alleged during opening arguments in their criminal trial Monday morning, while defense attorneys described them as earnest executives who were deceived by their underlings.

The three defendants — former Outcome Health CEO Rishi Shah, president Shradha Agarwal and ...Read more

Classmates often stop Alma Gallegos as she makes her way down the bustling hallways of Theodore Roosevelt High School in southeast Fresno, California. The 17-year-old senior is frequently asked by fellow students about COVID-19 testing, vaccine safety, and the value of booster shots.

Alma earned her reputation as a trusted source of information...Read more

When you’re packing for the pool or beach this summer, don’t forget your towel, your sunscreen — and your grapes.

Why grapes? According to a recent study, eating grapes can protect you against ultraviolet skin damage.

More than 3 million Americans are affected by skin cancer each year, the study’s authors wrote, largely as a result of ...Read more