Only 12% of adults think they had the flu this past winter, fewer than the 15% to 21% who thought they had the flu in other winters since 2004. We emphasize “think” because it is widely believed that not everyone who has flu-like symptoms actually has the flu. However, there is no evidence that flu [...]

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that the kidneys of healthy adults show signs of chronic mild injury that increase with age. This damage is present even though the adults showed no clinical signs of kidney disease. The findings are reported in the current issue of the, Annals of Internal Medicine. “This was a surprise,” says [...]

The GE Foundation – the philanthropic organization of GE – and the GE Corporate Diversity Council today announced the award of $1.25 million in total to five Houston community health centers toward the goal of increasing access to primary care for uninsured and underserved populations across the city. The donations expand the reach of the [...]

Obese women are more likely to have breast cancer detected at a later stage and to have lymph node metastases when diagnosed than women who are not obese, according to a study presented this week at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. “Obese women in our study had larger tumors than [...]

A year-long collaboration between professionals and parents has resulted in Missouri’s first guidelines dealing with autism. Autism Spectrum Disorders: Missouri Best Practice Guidelines for Screening, Diagnosis, and Assessment is geared toward clinicians, educators, service providers and parents and is the most current document of its kind in the U.S. With the Centers for Disease Control [...]

Approximately 57.2 million people under the age of 65—more than one in five (22.4 percent) of America’s non-elderly population—have a diagnosed pre-existing condition that could lead to a denial of coverage in the individual health insurance market, according to a report released today by the consumer health organization Families USA. Once the newly-enacted health reform [...]

Kids and teens often think they know what’s best. When it comes to preventing childhood obesity, maybe we should listen to them, says Baker Harrell, executive director of ACTIVE Life, a non-profit organization that seeks to combat obesity with social activism. Empowering kids to help families be healthier is more effective than lecturing our children [...]