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New study maps localized factors influencing US breastfeeding rates

New data on breastfeeding initiation across the U.S. reveal broad geographic patterns as well as local factors that can inform targeted public health interventions.

16 Jul 2026

New body mass index could overcome limitations of BMI

The Consistent Body Mass Index (CBMI) offers a promising alternative to traditional BMI, aligning with waist-to-height ratio for better body size assessment.

16 Jul 2026

Sleeping longer may signal early Alzheimer's-related brain changes

Regularly sleeping long hours each night is associated with higher levels of an Alzheimer's-related protein in the blood, even accounting for other health factors, suggests a new study from UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

15 Jul 2026

Epidurals during labor show no significant risks to newborns

Having an epidural during labor is not associated with clinically significant increased risks of harm to newborn babies, including brain injury, severe breathing problems, sepsis and death, or cerebral palsy later in childhood.

15 Jul 2026

NHS data highlights racial disparities in medical training recruitment

Black and Asian doctors in the UK are up to 30 times less likely to be offered medical training posts in some specialties than white candidates, shows data published exclusively by The BMJ today.

15 Jul 2026

Social media restrictions for adolescents require broader systems approach

Amrit Kaur Purba and colleagues argue that social media restrictions operate within a wider system of adolescents, families, schools, governments, and commercial actors - and therefore should be treated as complex systems interventions rather than isolated behavioral policies.

15 Jul 2026

Sustainable diets may transform global food systems by 2050

There is a clear need to shift towards healthier and more sustainable food systems. According to the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission Report, the global adoption of a flexitarian Planetary Health Diet could prevent around 15 million premature adult deaths per year.

15 Jul 2026

Framing loneliness as a medical issue hinders societal responsibility

While loneliness has been shown to harm one's health, framing it as a health issue shifts responsibility from society to healthcare, even though healthcare alone cannot rebuild social ties, a new University of Michigan study warns.

15 Jul 2026

Low-nicotine cigarettes do not cause increased compensatory smoking

People who switch to cigarettes with dramatically reduced nicotine levels are unlikely to smoke more cigarettes or inhale more smoke to compensate for the lower nicotine content, according to a new study led by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and published in JAMA Network Open.

15 Jul 2026

Incidence of ischemic cardio-cerebrovascular disease rises among young women

Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal. The global burden, secular trends, and future projections of ischemic cardio-cerebrovascular disease (ICCVD), a composite indicator of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and ischemic stroke (IS), have not been specifically described in women.

15 Jul 2026

New study links loneliness to poorer mental and general health

People who feel lonely are much more likely to experience poorer mental health and lower wellbeing, a new collaborative study led by the University of Bristol, Nesta and Amsterdam UMC has found.

15 Jul 2026

Why dementia prevention should be tailored by country

An international study reveals common clusters of dementia risk factors, highlighting the need for tailored prevention strategies across diverse populations.

15 Jul 2026

Breast and prostate cancer survival worsens with metabolic syndrome

A SEER-Medicare analysis of more than 200,000 adults aged 66 and older found that metabolic syndrome was associated with about twice the adjusted hazard of death from any cause after breast or prostate cancer. The condition was also linked to higher cancer-specific, cardiovascular-specific, and liver-failure-specific mortality, although the observational design prevents causal conclusions.

14 Jul 2026

India's childhood immunization program reduced deaths while reshaping educational outcomes

Each year, approximately 700,000 children worldwide die from diseases that vaccines could have prevented, nearly all of them in low- and middle-income countries.

14 Jul 2026

Reddit exposes menopause symptoms often missing from medical records

Nearly half the world's population experiences menopause, yet many of its emotional, cognitive and social impacts may never be discussed during medical appointments.

14 Jul 2026

Experts urge Mexico to integrate liver disease into chronic care

Liver disease may affect close to half of adults in Mexico, yet the country tracks it far less closely than the diabetes and obesity to which it is linked, according to a new paper by Jeffrey Lazarus, professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy Professor (CUNY SPH), and colleagues, and released to coincide with the International Congress on Obesity taking place in Mexico City this week.

14 Jul 2026

Fear of new foods may affect more than dietary variety

Higher food neophobia was associated with poorer self-reported physical and mental health among 4,537 adults in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The relationship remained after accounting for age, gender, education, and country, although the cross-sectional study could not establish causation.

14 Jul 2026

New report highlights top ten brain health breakthroughs for clinicians

"Understanding Breakthroughs in Brain Health: Top 10 Articles of 2025" - the latest "Top 10" report in the Gerontological Society of America's Insights & Implications in Gerontology series - presents a curated collection of the year's most impactful research on cognitive decline, dementia detection, and brain health across the lifespan, with a focus on actionable insights for primary care providers.

14 Jul 2026

Tracking Lassa fever survivors provides crucial clues for future vaccines

The University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), has announced the launch of a research study to understand how Lassa fever survivors fight and overcome Lassa virus infection.

14 Jul 2026