Health Policy News

June 26, 2025

Top Headlines

The Molecule That Might Save Your Sight—and Your Heart

June 24, 2025 — Washington University researchers found that raising a molecule called ApoM helps eye cells sweep away harmful cholesterol deposits linked to age-related macular degeneration, potentially preventing vision loss, and the same trick might aid failing ...

The Invisible Killer: PM 1 Pollution Uncovered Across America

June 16, 2025 — A groundbreaking 25-year analysis using satellite technology has now mapped PM 1 levels across the U.S., uncovering how wildfires, vehicle emissions, and industrial byproducts have shaped the air we breathe. Although regulations have improved air ...

Johns Hopkins Blood Test Detects Tumor Dna Three Years Early

June 13, 2025 — Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that fragments of tumor DNA can appear in the bloodstream up to three years before a cancer diagnosis, offering a potentially revolutionary window for early detection and ...

Tea, Berries, Dark Chocolate and Apples Could Lead to a Longer Life Span, Study Shows

June 3, 2025 — Eating a colorful variety of flavonoid-rich foods like tea, berries, dark chocolate, and apples may significantly lower your risk of chronic diseases and even help you live longer. A major study ...

Clinical Research on Psychedelics Gets a Boost from New Study

June 3, 2025 — As psychedelics gain traction as potential treatments for mental health disorders, an international study stands to improve the rigor and reliability of clinical ...

Earlier Measles Vaccine Could Help Curb Global Outbreak

May 30, 2025 — The global measles outbreak must trigger an urgent debate into whether a vaccine should be recommended earlier to better protect against the highly contagious disease during infancy, a new review ...

When Climate Disasters Hit, They Often Leave Long-Term Health Care Access Shortages

May 30, 2025 — Immediate recovery efforts receive the most attention after severe natural disasters, yet new data from researchers at Drexel University and the University of Maryland suggests these climate events ...

Understanding Cultural Differences in Salt Usage May Help Lower Consumption

May 30, 2025 — An analysis of data from a national health survey conducted before the pandemic found that pizza, soup and chicken are some of the main sources of sodium (salt) intake for people in all racial and ethnic groups. The study also showed clear ...

Significant Declines in Maternal Mental Health Across US

May 30, 2025 — A new study reveals a concerning decline in self-reported mental health among mothers in the United States between 2016 and 2023. The study also found modest but measurable declines in self-reported physical health during the same ...

Exercise and Eat Your Veggies: Privileged Prescriptions Like These Don't Always Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

May 26, 2025 — A leading cardiovascular disease researcher is ringing the alarm on universal recommendations intended to improve heart health around the globe. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of ...

PREVENT Equation Accurately Estimated 10-Year CVD Risk and Those With Calcium Buildup

May 23, 2025 — A new risk calculator accurately identified participants who had calcium buildup in their heart arteries and those who had a higher future heart attack risk, in an analysis of about 7,000 adults in ...

Social Connection Is Still Underappreciated as a Medically Relevant Health Factor

May 22, 2025 — New studies reveal that both the public and healthcare providers often overlook social connection as a key factor in physical health, even though loneliness rivals smoking and obesity in health ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:03pm EDT

Male Bodybuilders Face High Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death, Especially Those Who Compete Professionally

May 22, 2025 — Sudden cardiac death is responsible for an unusually high proportion of deaths in male bodybuilders worldwide with the highest risk among ...

Landmark Report Reveals Key Challenges Facing Adolescents

May 20, 2025 — Poor mental health, rising obesity rates, exposure to violence and climate change are among the key challenges facing our adolescents today, according to a global ...

Genomic Data Shows Widespread Mpox Transmission in West Africa Prior to 2022 Global Outbreak

May 19, 2025 — Historically, most human mpox infections have resulted from zoonotic transmission --m eaning from animals to humans -- and these spillovers have ...

After Cardiac Event, People Who Regularly Sit for Too Long Had Higher Risk of Another Event

May 19, 2025 — People who were less active, with a daily average of more than 14 hours of sedentary behavior, were more than twice as likely to have another cardiac ...

New Study Shows AI Can Predict Child Malnutrition, Support Prevention Efforts

May 16, 2025 — A multidisciplinary team of researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict acute child malnutrition in Kenya up to ...

People With Critical Cardiovascular Disease May Benefit from Palliative Care

May 16, 2025 — Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on easing symptoms, addressing psychological and spiritual needs, and helping patients and ...

Drinking Water, Select Foods Linked to PFAS in California Adults

May 15, 2025 — A new study examined associations between diet, drinking water, and 'legacy' PFAS -- chemicals that were phased out of production in the US in the 2000s -- with blood samples from California ...

New Study Raises Concerns About the Safety of Long-Term ADHD Medication Treatment in Children

May 15, 2025 — A recent study reveals that the average duration of ADHD medication for children and adolescents is more than three years. However, reliable, ...

The Risk of Death or Complications from Broken Heart Syndrome Was High from 2016 to 2020

May 14, 2025 — The risk of death or complications from the stress-related heart condition associated with stressful events, such as the death of a loved one -- ...

Measles Virus Detected in Houston Wastewater Before Cases Were Reported

May 12, 2025 — An innovative outbreak detection program that tracks disease-causing viruses in wastewater identified the measles virus in Houston samples collected in early January 2025, before cases were ...

Studies Point to Redlining as a 'Perfect Storm' for Breast Cancer

May 9, 2025 — New research indicates that while the residential segregation policy was outlawed decades ago, it still impacts women's health ...

Health Care Workers, Firefighters Have Increased PFAS Levels, Study Finds

May 8, 2025 — Researchers looked at PFAS serum concentrations in health care workers for the first time and were surprised by what they ...

HIV Drugs Offer 'Substantial' Alzheimer's Protection, New Research Indicates

May 8, 2025 — The drugs, called NRTIs, have the potential to prevent a million cases of Alzheimer's every year, the researchers ...

AI-Human Task-Sharing Could Cut Mammography Screening Costs by Up to 30%

May 7, 2025 — The most effective way to harness the power of artificial intelligence when screening for breast cancer may be through collaboration with human radiologists -- not by wholesale replacing them, says ...

Climate Change: Future of Today's Young People

May 7, 2025 — Climate scientists reveal that millions of today's young people will live through unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical ...

Teens Driving Older Vehicles Have Increased Risk for Fatal Crashes

May 7, 2025 — Researchers reviewed US national fatal crash data (2016-2021) and examined the vehicle age and driver assistance technologies of vehicles driven by teen and middle-aged drivers, and their ...

Most People Say They Want to Know Their Risk for Alzheimer's Dementia, Fewer Follow Through

May 6, 2025 — A new study examines the choices healthy research volunteers make when given the opportunity to learn their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease dementia. The researchers found a large ...

New Chronic Pain Therapy Retrains the Brain to Process Emotions

May 6, 2025 — Researchers have created an effective therapy for chronic pain that reduces pain intensity by focusing on emotional ...

Teens With Mental Health Conditions Use Social Media Differently Than Their Peers, Study Suggests

May 5, 2025 — One of the first studies in this area to use clinical-level diagnoses reveals a range of differences between young people with and without mental health conditions when it comes to social media -- ...

Exposure to Extreme Heat and Cold Temperature Is Leading to Additional Preventable Deaths, New 19-Year Study Suggests

May 1, 2025 — Urgent action must be taken to reduce the ever-rising number of people killed by extreme temperatures in India, say the authors of a new 19-year study which found that 20,000 people died from ...

Lower Screening Age Calls for More Tailored Bowel Cancer Surveillance

Apr. 30, 2025 — Australia's recent move to lower the starting age for bowel (colorectal) cancer screening from 50 down to 45 years old will mean better outcomes -- but it will also increase the burden on an ...

Broader Antibiotic Use Could Change the Course of Cholera Outbreaks, Research Suggests

Apr. 30, 2025 — Recent disease modeling research challenges public health guidelines recommending conservative antibiotic use for cholera, suggesting that for some outbreaks, prescribing antibiotics more ...

Heart Disease Deaths Worldwide Linked to Chemical Widely Used in Plastics

Apr. 29, 2025 — Daily exposure to certain chemicals used to make plastic household items could be linked to more than 356,000 global deaths from heart disease in 2018 alone, a new analysis of population surveys ...

Hospital-Based Outbreak Detection System Saves Lives

Apr. 28, 2025 — An infectious diseases detection platform demonstrated over a two-year trial that it stops outbreaks, saves lives and cuts costs, making the case for development of a national early outbreak ...

United States Sees Disproportionate Increase in Body Mass Index Rates of More Than 60

Apr. 28, 2025 — In the past 20 years, the average rate of obesity among adults in the United States has risen by approximately 30 percent, but the rate of those with the most severe forms of obesity, or those with a ...

Study Using Simulations Highlights Power of Pooled Data in Environmental Health Research

Apr. 28, 2025 — Conflicting findings in environmental epidemiology have long stalled consensus on the health effects of toxic chemicals. A new study suggests that one major reason for these inconsistencies may be ...

High Blood Sugar in Adolescence Tripled the Risk of Premature Heart Damage Affecting Females Worse Than Males

Apr. 28, 2025 — Persistently high blood sugar and insulin resistance significantly increased the risk of worsening functional and structural heart damage during growth from adolescence to young adulthood, a new ...

AI Model for Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis, With Over 90% Accuracy and Reduced Consultation Preparation Time

Apr. 25, 2025 — An interdisciplinary research team has unveiled the world's first artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to classify both the cancer stage and risk category of thyroid cancer, achieving ...

Simple Consultations in Emergency Room Can Help Patients Manage High Blood Pressure

Apr. 24, 2025 — A simple consultation during unrelated visits to the emergency room can help patients with high blood pressure -- 'the silent killer' -- manage the condition, even before they experience ...

Telemedicine Had an Impact on Carbon Emissions Equivalent to Reducing Up to 130,000 Car Trips Each Month in 2023

Apr. 22, 2025 — Telemedicine use in 2023 reduced monthly carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of up to 130,000 gas operated vehicles or recycling up to 4 million trash ...