THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The opioid epidemic has been front-page news for a few years now, with rising overdose deaths driving an overall decrease in Americans' average life expectancy.

But a new study suggests that the opioid epidemic is, in fact, nothing new.

Death rates from drug overdoses in the United... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Puppies can be cute and cuddly, but they also carry germs that might make you very sick, a new government report warns.

An outbreak of antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter infections in 2017 and 2018 that sickened 118 people in 18 states was traced to pet store puppies, according to t... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Infants who are born with heart defects are four times more likely to die in the hospital if they also have sleep apnea, new research indicates.

Scientists at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson found this potentially deadly combination is also linked to longer and more c... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- By 2060, almost 14 million Americans will suffer from Alzheimer's disease, a number that's nearly three times as high as today, a new report projects.

"This study shows that as the U.S. population increases, the number of people affected by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will rise... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The Mediterranean diet may do more than help you reach and maintain a healthy weight: New research suggests that women who follow it also lower their stroke risk.

But men did not reap the same benefit from the diet, which concentrates on fish, fruits, nuts, vegetables and beans, and avoids... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- You might feel squeaky clean after that morning shower, but you carry an invisible cloud of bacteria, viruses, fungi and chemicals every day.

That's one of the lessons from the first study to take a deep dive into the human "exposome" -- the collection of microbes, plant particles and chemic... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (American Heart Association) -- Black patients hospitalized for heart attacks continue to receive different medical treatment than white patients, according to a new study that explored whether previously reported racial differences in care have faded.

Researchers found that black heart attack patients were le... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Your tendency to share may depend less on your own nature and more on the surrounding culture, a new study suggests.

If you're among people who share, you will likely share, too. But if the group doesn't practice giving, you probably won't either, researchers say.

This finding is ... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Sleep apnea is a known risk factor for stroke, and new research suggests that curbing the condition might also aid the recovery of people who've suffered a stroke or mini-stroke.

Patients in the study typically used the CPAP mask -- "continuous positive airway pressure" -- to ease their nig... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Life expectancy in the United States has declined for two years in a row, fueled by increasing death rates from opioid drug overdoses, suicides and chronic liver disease, a new government report shows.

"It's really the first time we've seen this multi-year drop" in decades, said Renee Gindi,... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, residents of the Carolinas are facing a new health threat: mold.

Mold-related illnesses are a serious concern following severe flooding in North and South Carolina, say experts from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

"Where th... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- By fourth grade, girls in the United States read and write better than boys, a new study reveals.

Australian researchers found this gender achievement gap appears in standardized tests and worsens over time.

"The common thinking is that boys and girls in grade school start with t... Full Page

THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Different from osteoarthritis, which is the wear-and-tear breakdown of joint cartilage experienced over time, rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune disease that causes both pain and intense fatigue.

When you're in the throes of a flare, exercise may seem like mission impossible and y... Full Page

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- If a pregnant woman eats a lot of high-gluten foods, the odds that her child will have type 1 diabetes rise significantly, new research suggests.

In the study, pregnant women who had the highest consumption of gluten had double the risk of having a child with type 1 diabetes compared to tho... Full Page

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Brain injury research typically focuses on football players and military veterans, but a new study suggests head injuries are far more widespread than estimated.

About 1 in every 6 U.S. adults -- roughly 23 million people aged 40 or older -- have been knocked out by a head injury, researche... Full Page

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have their ovaries removed before menopause may find themselves at higher risk for chronic kidney disease, a new study suggests.

Researchers believe the reason behind it is the drop in estrogen levels that follows the procedure.

"This is the first study that has shown an... Full Page

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Every nine minutes, a patient in a U.S. hospital dies because a diagnosis was wrong or delayed -- resulting in 80,000 deaths a year.

That sobering estimate comes from the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM).

To help remedy this situation, more than 40 health care and p... Full Page

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- It's well-known that regular exercise can help cut your risk for a stroke. Now, new research shows fitness may have an added bonus, cutting the severity of a stroke should one occur.

So finds a study of more than 900 stroke survivors. It found that fitter people were twice as likely as seden... Full Page

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The early symptoms of ovarian cancer are often confused with less serious issues, making successful treatment less likely, a cancer expert warns.

Ovarian cancer is called a "silent killer." That's because many women are diagnosed too late, said Dr. David Fishman of NewYork-Presbyterian Quee... Full Page

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, can be very difficult to control in some people.

But the skin condition, which leads to dry, itchy and inflamed skin, is particularly problematic for black people, according to new research.

Scientists who examined patients' skin on a molecular level ... Full Page