More US kids are fully immunized against common childhood illnesses, and disparities in vaccine coverage among socioeconomic groups are shrinking, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
U.S. healthcare spending rose at the lowest rate on record in 2008 due to the recession, but still reached $2.3 trillion and devoured 16.2 percent of the U.S. economy, government analysts said in a report on Tuesday.
Overweight middle-aged men may have a higher risk of heart problems and strokes and die earlier than their thinner peers -- even in the absence of some traditional risk factors, a new study suggests.
One in 10 of the some 130 million births around the world each year is premature, the vast majority in poorer countries where chances of survival are low, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
Smoking is well known as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, but scientists said on Monday that quitting the habit can raise the risk even more in the short term.
Mammograms should begin at 40 for women with an average risk of breast cancer and by 30 for high-risk women, according to guidelines released on Monday by two groups that specialize in breast imaging, contradicting controversial guidelines from a U.S. advisory panel last year.
Perhaps it's not surprising, but for members of the U.S. armed forces, combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan increases the risk of depression, according to a new study.
A voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets is being expanded because of consumer reports of an unusual moldy odor with the 100-count bottles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said late on Monday.
Taking a cholesterol-lowering statin will lower your cholesterol but it won't cut your risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to study of more than 400,000 Canadians.
The Food and Drug Administration's approval of cardiovascular devices is often based on weak studies or may be prone to bias, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
A Zanzibari man crouches in a half-built roofless building, struggling to find a vein in his arm, while his friend takes over and injects the heroin for him, drawing blood back into the syringe.
Smoking and other types of tobacco use may increase the pain of temporomandibular joint disorders, a new study suggests.
Avoiding fast food burgers and fried chicken may cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes -- the kind closely linked to obesity, new research hints.
Individually designed music therapy may help reduce noise levels in people suffering from tinnitus, or ear ringing, German scientists said on Monday.
Black cohosh and red clover are widely promoted as helping to ease menopausal and aging-related symptoms, but a rigorously performed study has found they are no better than placebo for treating hot flashes and night sweats.
When a dipstick test suggests there's blood in the urine, the next step should be to examine a sample of the urine under a microscope to make sure the dipstick result is accurate, according to medical guidelines - but often the patient is sent directly to see a specialist, or for further testing.
Patients with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can choose between medication and surgery for relief of their symptoms, but researchers caution that while both strategies are effective, they're also different in some important ways.
The various forms of recurrent facial pain can sometimes be debilitating, but are fortunately relatively uncommon, according to a new study.
Soheila, an Egyptian village housewife, traded her kidney for $2,185 to pay off debt -- the best option the desperate mother of three could find to keep food on the family table.
Air pollution, which tends to inflame the airways in people with asthma, might also reduce the effectiveness of the rescue inhalers they count on for quick relief of their asthma symptoms, study findings hint.
The H1N1 flu pandemic may not be conquered until 2011, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
New Year's resolutions: We make them, we break them, we make them again.
No one's weight is more scrutinized or weight loss practices more imitated than the Hollywood crowd. With personal budgets that allow for the best training, cooks, and food, not to mention the freedom in scheduling to make time for working out, it's no wonder these stars have enviable figures. But
About 300 survivors of a deadly outbreak of SARS in China in 2003 are now suffering from serious after-effects, possibly due to aggressive hormone treatment to save their lives, the Beijing News said on Friday.
H1N1 swine flu can kill children at a much higher rate than seasonal flu, and the elevated risk for pregnant women extends as long as two weeks after they give birth, researchers reported on Wednesday.
An Oklahoma company said it was voluntarily recalling 248,000 lbs (112,000 kg) of beef products in six states following an outbreak of illnesses involving E. coli bacteria.
The White House sought to downplay differences on Sunday between the two versions of healthcare legislation passed in Congress as Democrats prepared to meld them into one, while a top Republican saw great unrest and perhaps more party-switchers among Democrats.
Tumors can not only spread through the body by sending out tiny cells called seeds, but they can re-seed themselves, researchers said in a report on Thursday that may help explain why tumors grow back even after they are removed.
At least 11,516 people around the globe have died from the H1N1 flu virus since the pandemic emerged in April, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday.
Want to keep your eyesight sharp as you age? Eating lots of fish packed with healthy omega-3 fatty acids could help, new research suggests.
