Public Health Education News

June 26, 2025

Top Headlines

New Study Analyzes Air Quality Impacts of Wildfire Smoke

May 28, 2025 — With wildfires increasing in frequency, severity, and size in the Western U.S., researchers are determined to better understand how smoke impacts air quality, public health, and even the weather. As fires burn, they release enormous amounts of ...

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 professional bodybuilders, according to new ...

Postpartum Depression and Bonding: Long-Term Effects on School-Age Children

May 14, 2025 — Postpartum maternal mental health and mother-to-infant bonding are well-established as critical factors in a child's psychosocial development. However, few studies have explored the combined impact of postpartum maternal depression and early bonding ...

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

May 9, 2025 — Researchers looked at PFAS serum concentrations in health care workers for the first time and were surprised by what they ...

Groundbreaking Device Instantly Detects Dangerous Street Drugs, Offering Hope for Harm Reduction

May 7, 2025 — Groundbreaking device instantly detects dangerous street drugs, offering hope for harm reduction A portable device that instantly detects illicit street drugs at very low concentrations, thereby ...

Mindfulness Therapy Reduces Opioid Craving and Addiction, Study Finds

May 2, 2025 — Researchers found that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) can help rewire the brain's response to natural healthy pleasure, leading to reduced opioid cravings. The findings suggest that MORE could be a promising tool in the fight ...

'Eolving' Opioid Epidemic Across U.S.

Apr. 14, 2025 — The heart of the opioid epidemic that killed 665,341 people in the United States between 2005 and 2020 shifted geographically from the Northwest to the East, according to a new geographical ...

Parents' Metabolic Traits Can Affect the Child's Health Over Time

Apr. 13, 2025 — Research shows that the biological parents' genes affect the child's insulin function and capacity to regulate blood sugar levels and blood lipids in different ways. Such knowledge may be used to to develop preventive treatments that reduce the ...

Smoke from US Wildfires, Prescribed Burns Caused Premature Deaths, Billions in Health Damages

Apr. 8, 2025 — Researchers estimated that smoke from wildfires and prescribed burns caused $200 billion in health damages in 2017, and that these were associated with 20,000 premature deaths. Senior citizens were ...

Researchers Concerned About Rise in Nitrous Oxide Misuse, Deaths in US

Apr. 2, 2025 — Despite a recent Food and Drug Administration warning against inhaling nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, deaths due to misusing the substance are rising in the United ...

My Robot Therapist: The Ethics of AI Mental Health Chatbots for Kids

Mar. 31, 2025 — AI mental health apps may offer a cheap and accessible way to fill the gaps in the overstretched U.S. mental health care system, but ethics experts warn that we need to be thoughtful about how we use them, especially with ...

Adulting Is Hard on the Heart: Teen to Young Adulthood Is a Critical Time to Address Risk

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many youth have heart disease risk factors by their late teens, and preventing or addressing these risks early may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future, according to a ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56pm EDT

Does Getting ADHD Drugs Via Telehealth Increase Addiction Risk?

Mar. 10, 2025 — A study of people who started ADHD stimulant treatment via telehealth vs in-person visits shows no difference in risk of new substance use disorders except for young adults age ...

Screening and Treating Maternal Psychological Health Key to Improving Cardiovascular Health

Feb. 25, 2025 — Identifying and treating risk factors for depression, anxiety and other psychological health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum may improve ...

New Home-Based Intervention Could Reduce Emergency Hospital Admissions for Older People

Feb. 24, 2025 — A new service aimed at supporting older people who are starting to become frail, could reduce emergency hospital admissions by more than a ...

Second-Hand Smoke Exposure During Childhood Leaves Its Mark on Children's DNA

Feb. 11, 2025 — Children exposed to second-hand smoke at home are more likely to show certain changes in the epigenome, which can alter the way genes are expressed. ...

Smoking Cannabis in the Home Increases Odds of Detectable Levels in Children

Feb. 6, 2025 — Researchers analyzed cannabis smoking practices to assess whether in-home smoking was associated with cannabis detection in ...

No Evidence That Maternal Sickness During Pregnancy Causes Autism, Study Finds

Feb. 4, 2025 — While many studies have reported a link between a mother's health condition during pregnancy and her child's risk of autism, a new study shows that ...

Over 1/3 of Parents Say Their Child Has Experienced Dental Problems That Reflect Oral Hygiene Habits

Jan. 28, 2025 — More than one in three parents say their child has faced issues like tooth decay, cavities, stained teeth, gum concerns or tooth pain linked to their ...

Heart Disease Remains Leading Cause of Death as Key Health Risk Factors Continue to Rise

Jan. 27, 2025 — Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the ...

SIDS Discovery Could ID Babies at Risk of Sudden Death

Jan. 22, 2025 — New research revealing the fingerprints of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome within blood samples could open the door to simple tests to identify babies at ...

Changes in Opioid Use Outcomes After Passage of Medical Marijuana Laws

Jan. 14, 2025 — A new study found no changes in opioid outcomes among the general population with the states' passage of medical and recreational marijuana laws. However, the findings also show decreases in opioid ...

Hepatitis E Vaccination Is Effective in an Epidemic

Jan. 14, 2025 — Hepatitis E, a potentially serious viral liver disease, is transmitted through contaminated water. The risk is particularly high in populations with limited access to safe water and sanitation. In ...

Lower Access to Air Conditioning May Increase Need for Emergency Care for Wildfire Smoke Exposure

Jan. 11, 2025 — People who have limited access to air conditioning may be at higher risk of seeking emergency care for health problems following exposure to wildfire smoke, according to a new study. The study found ...

Months After Colorado's Marshall Fire, Residents of Surviving Homes Reported Health Symptoms, Poor Air Quality

Dec. 23, 2024 — Three years after the Dec. 30, 2021, Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County, two new studies offer insight into what happens to air quality and health in the aftermath of ...

Exposure to Remote Wildfire Smoke Drifting Across the US Linked to Increased Medical Visits for Heart and Lung Problems

Dec. 13, 2024 — Wildfire smoke has long been known to exacerbate health problems like heart disease, lung conditions, and asthma, but now a new study finds that smoke from these fires can lead to poor health ...

As Wildfires Intensify, Prolonged Exposure to Pollution Linked to Premature Death

Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers have found evidence that living in areas prone to wildfire smoke may negatively impact an individual's life ...

Persistent Tobacco Smoking from Childhood May Cause Heart Damage by the Mid-Twenties

Dec. 11, 2024 — The majority of children who started smoking tobacco at age 10 years or in their later teens continued to smoke until their mid-twenties. Continuous smoking from childhood significantly increased the ...

Research Links Wildfire Smoke Exposure With Increased Dementia Risk

Nov. 25, 2024 — Research found that wildfire smoke is especially hazardous to people's memory health. An analysis of the health care records of 1.2 million Southern California residents found that higher ...

How Educational Attainment May Impact Memory and Dementia Risk Later in Life

Nov. 20, 2024 — Historical policies shaping educational attainment have enduring benefits for later life memory and risk of dementia, according to a new study. The study compared the differences in years of ...

Cigarette Smoke Alters Microbiota, Aggravates Flu Severity

Nov. 20, 2024 — A new study shows that cigarette-smoke induced changes to the microbiota resulted in increased severity of disease in mice infected with influenza A ...

National Poll: Some Parents Need Support Managing Children's Anger

Nov. 18, 2024 — Some parents may find it challenging to help their kids manage intense emotions. One in seven think their child gets angrier than peers of the same age and four in 10 say their child has experienced ...

Study Explores the Pandemic's Impact on Breastfeeding Practices in Historically Marginalized Communities

Nov. 18, 2024 — A new study has found that 34 percent of mothers said stay-at-home orders facilitated easier breastfeeding at home, stronger mother-child bonding, and extended breastfeeding duration for many women. ...

Curbing Air Pollution Control Devices Would Cost Thousands of Lives and Billions of Dollars

Oct. 25, 2024 — A new commentary found that power plants' use of these devices saved up to 9,100 lives and up to $100 billion in health costs in 2023. These estimates reveal the substantial health benefits that ...

Opioids May Negatively Impact Hormone Health

Oct. 24, 2024 — A new scientific statement released today by the Endocrine Society highlights research gaps associated with the negative effects of opioid use on the endocrine ...

Researchers Show Why Cannabis Policies Should Shift to a Harm Reduction, Health Promotion Approach to Safeguard Public Health

Oct. 23, 2024 — A new paper explains why there needs to be a shift in cannabis policies to a public health approach as opposed to the prevailing, more punitive approach that pushes abstinence instead of public ...

New Guideline: Preventing a First Stroke May Be Possible With Screening, Lifestyle Changes

Oct. 21, 2024 — Updated clinical recommendations, including lifestyle changes, prevention strategies and treatment options, to reduce the risk of a first stroke have been outlined in a new ...

Controlling Prosthetic Hands More Precisely by the Power of Thought

Oct. 17, 2024 — Researchers have developed a novel training protocol for brain-computer interfaces in a study with rhesus monkeys. The method enables precise control of prosthetic hands using signals from the brain ...

Scientists Bring Socioeconomic Status at the Forefront of Epidemic Modelling

Oct. 14, 2024 — Researchers have developed an innovative approach to epidemic modeling that could transform how scientists and policymakers predict the spread of infectious diseases. The study introduces a new ...

Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy May Protect the Child Against Asthma

Oct. 10, 2024 — The risk of asthma in the child can be reduced by nearly half if the mother engages in active physical exercise at least three times a week during pregnancy, compared to a child of a mother who is ...

Chronic Pain Patients Are More Supportive of Cannabis Access Than Doctors

Oct. 2, 2024 — A study reveals a gap between patient and physician attitudes on medical marijuana ...

Rates of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Changed During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sep. 26, 2024 — Rates of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the immediate pre-pandemic period, according to a new study. ...