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KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Digesting Trump’s big budget law

As he had wanted, President Donald Trump signed his big budget bill into a big budget law in a White House ceremony on July 4, cementing, among other things, billions of dollars in cuts to health programs such as Medicaid.

10 Jul 2025

Early skin-to-skin contact boosts breastfeeding in premature babies

More premature babies who had early skin-to-skin contact with their mother were being breastfed at the time of discharge from hospital and for up to one year afterwards. However, this is far from the only benefit.

10 Jul 2025

Doulas, once a luxury, are increasingly covered by Medicaid — even in GOP states

As a postpartum doula, Dawn Oliver does her best work in the middle of the night.

10 Jul 2025

AI reveals hidden bias behind higher amputation rates in minority and rural patients

Why do rural adults and racial and ethnic minorities with vascular disease get major leg amputations more often? A new study out today in Epidemiology uses AI to solve the mystery, finding an unaccounted-for factor that researchers think points to implicit bias in the clinical decision-making process.

10 Jul 2025

Most baby foods are sweet, smooth, and poorly aligned with health advice, review finds

A new review of commercial baby foods in high-income countries reveals most products are high in sugars, low in texture diversity, and often fail to meet public health recommendations. Aggressive marketing and misleading labels further drive parental choices, despite official guidance favoring homemade options.

9 Jul 2025

Climate change linked to thousands of heat-related deaths in Europe

Human-induced climate change may have intensified the European heatwave between 23 June and 2 July 2025, and increased the number of heat-related deaths, according to a new rapid analysis.

9 Jul 2025

Improving sleep and lifestyle could reduce heart disease risk in menopausal women

During the menopause transition, only 1 in 5 women have optimal scores using the American Heart Association's health-assessment tool, known as Life's Essential 8 (LE8).

9 Jul 2025

Study finds no metabolic danger from ultra-processed foods

Research shows ultra-processed foods contribute to poor diet quality without a significant association to metabolic syndrome among European children and adults.

9 Jul 2025

Study examines factors influencing delivery of oral health services at Federally Qualified Health Centers

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are a crucial component of the dental safety net and provide oral health services to those who might not otherwise have access to needed care, including low-income individuals, the uninsured and Medicaid beneficiaries.

9 Jul 2025

World’s premier cancer institute faces crippling cuts and chaos

The Trump administration's broadsides against scientific research have caused unprecedented upheaval at the National Cancer Institute, the storied federal government research hub that has spearheaded advances against the disease for decades.

9 Jul 2025

More fiber, fewer health risks: evidence for this easy diet fix

This study reveals that adequate dietary fiber intake is crucial for lowering obesity risk and mortality, supporting its role in effective weight management.

9 Jul 2025

ECDC warns of ongoing diphtheria spread among vulnerable populations

Despite a steady decline in reported cases following a large outbreak in 2022, diphtheria is still being reported in Europe, with the number of cases higher than before 2020.

9 Jul 2025

Why vitamin B6 could raise the risk of hypoglycemia for people with diabetes

A large-scale Mendelian randomization study found no genetic evidence that vitamins A, C, or D reduce the risk of major diabetic complications. However, higher genetically predicted vitamin B6 levels were strongly associated with increased risk of diabetic hypoglycemia, warranting caution with supplementation.

8 Jul 2025

Can dietary copper help protect against dementia and memory loss?

Higher dietary copper intake was linked to better cognitive performance in older US adults, with benefits plateauing above a certain threshold. The effect was especially notable in stroke survivors, but further research is needed to confirm causality.

8 Jul 2025

Vaping linked to higher COPD risk, meta-analysis finds

A comprehensive meta-analysis of over 4.3 million adults shows e-cigarette use is associated with significantly higher odds of developing COPD. The risk persists even after adjusting for smoking history, with former users at even greater risk than current users.

8 Jul 2025

Research reveals Ghanaian children face high cancer risk from local fish

Researchers found that most fish sampled from Ghana’s Keta Lagoon had arsenic and mercury levels exceeding World Health Organization limits. Health risk assessments show these contaminants pose significant cancer and non-cancer risks, especially for children.

8 Jul 2025

Multi-contaminant water treatment could prevent tens of thousands of cancer cases

Drinking water treatment that pursues a multi-contaminant approach, tackling several pollutants at once, could prevent more than 50,000 lifetime cancer cases in the U.S., finds a new peer-reviewed study by the Environmental Working Group.

8 Jul 2025

Waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios predict physical performance in adults

A new research paper was published in Aging (Aging-US) Volume 17, Issue 6, on May 30, 2025, titled "Impact of waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios on physical performance: insights from the Longevity Check-up 8+ project."

8 Jul 2025

Shaping the future of psychiatry with precision medicine

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview published today in Genomic Psychiatry, Dr. Mirko Manchia opens up about his transformative journey from a small Sardinian city to becoming a leading voice in psychiatric pharmacogenomics, revealing how personal family experiences with mental illness sparked a lifelong quest to understand why psychiatric medications work brilliantly for some patients while failing others.

8 Jul 2025

Uncovering the hidden dangers of artificial light exposure

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Innovators & Ideas interview published today, distinguished neuroscientist Dr. Randy J. Nelson shares insights from his pioneering research on how disrupted circadian rhythms affect brain function and overall health.

8 Jul 2025