Health & Safety

Flaws in a study of the Mediterranean diet led to a softening of its conclusions about health benefits. But don't switch to a diet of cotton candy just yet.

Errors Trigger Retraction Of Study On Mediterranean Diet's Heart Benefits

8:54pm June 13, 2018

by Alison McCook

An anesthesiologist who taught himself statistics identified flaws in an influential study that claimed to prove the Mediterranean diet has cardiovascular benefits. The 2013 paper is being retracted.

A patient talks with a nurse at a traveling contraception clinic in Madagascar run by the British nonprofit group Marie Stopes International. The organization is one of many that has decided to give up U.S. funding because it deems Trump's ban on providin

Trump's Ban On Funding For Overseas Abortions Has Some Little-Known Exceptions

6:45pm June 13, 2018

by Nurith Aizenman

These exceptions could allow a huge number of groups to provide abortion referrals without losing U.S. aid.. Now critics of the ban are trying to spread the word.

Health & Safety

Opioid Abuse Emerges As A Major Cause Of Children Entering Foster Care

4:42pm June 13, 2018

by Sean Bueter

A new report from a statewide child advocacy group suggests an increasing number of North Carolina children are entering foster care because their parents are abusing drugs like heroin and fentanyl

A pharmacist holds a bottle of OxyContin earlier this year at Daniel's Pharmacy in San Francisco.

Massachusetts Sues OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma, Saying It 'Peddled Falsehoods'

2:40pm June 13, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

The civil lawsuit is just one of many the opioid drug manufacturer now faces — but the complaint filed Tuesday adds an unusual wrinkle: It also singles out the Sackler family, which owns Purdue.

Rinsing your produce is a good idea, but it won't give you 100 percent protection from bacteria that cause foodborne illness unless you cook it thoroughly. Because we eat lettuce raw, a lot of people got sick in a recent outbreak.

Health & Safety

To Rinse Or Not To Rinse: How Washing Some Foods Can Help You Avoid Illness

10:21am June 13, 2018

by Jill Neimark

Rinsing foods doesn't always prevent foodborne illness and can sometimes make the risks worse. Here's what the science says about which foods you should run water over and why.

Americans are increasingly taking multiple drugs. And depression is a potential side effect of many of them.

1 In 3 Adults In The U.S. Takes Medications Linked To Depression

10:01am June 13, 2018

by Allison Aubrey

Depression is a possible side effect of 200 medications. Now, a new study finds people who take these drugs are, in fact, more likely to be depressed. The more drugs you take, the higher the risk.

Queue Listen Now

Deborah Ann Favorite holds a photograph of her mother, Elaine Essa. A nursing home and Essa's primary care practice paid to settle a lawsuit brought by the family.

Health & Safety

Medicare Takes Aim At Boomerang Hospitalizations Of Nursing Home Patients

5:00am June 13, 2018

by Jordan Rau

One in 5 Medicare patients who leaves the hospital for a nursing home ends up back in the hospital. The federal government will soon use bonuses and penalties to try to lower readmissions.

Protesters on both sides of the abortion issue gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Jan. 19 during the March for Life.

Americans' Support For Abortion Rights Wanes As Pregnancy Progresses

3:08am June 13, 2018

by Sarah McCammon

A new Gallup poll finds widespread support for abortion rights in early pregnancy, while a minority support abortion rights in the third trimester.

If you're at low risk for heart disease, an electrocardiogram shouldn't be a routine test for you, a panel of medical experts says.

Health & Safety

Doctors Told Not To Order Electrocardiograms For Low-Risk Patients

2:16pm June 12, 2018

by Rob Stein

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the benefits from routine electrocardiograms in people at low risk of heart disease don't outweigh the harms from unnecessary follow-up tests.

Staff members hold an informal meeting before opening the STD free clinic in February in Portland, Maine. The CDC recorded more than 2 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis nationally in 2016 — the highest number of reported cases yet, offi

Trump's Redirection Of Family Planning Funds Could Undercut STD Fight

1:00pm June 12, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

Some public health officials fear Trump's move to change how the Title X family planning funding is handled may hurt the effort to cut the record number of sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S.