TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Even though asthma is common in the United States, there are many misconceptions about the respiratory disease, an allergy/immunology expert says.

"Asthma is a serious condition that affects more than 26 million Americans -- more than 8% of the population," Dr. Todd Mahr, president of the... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Twenty million largely self-taught home caregivers in the United States perform complex medical tasks for family members and friends, a new report says.

That means that half of the nation's 40 million family caregivers do things typically performed by health care professionals, such as givin... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Does playing a lot of video games really jeopardize a boy's ability to make and keep friends?

Maybe not, reports a team of Norwegian and American researchers.

Investigators spent six years tracking the gaming habits and social interactions of nearly 900 Norwegian children from ages ... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Many American women feel less welcome at work once they become pregnant, a new study finds.

On the other hand, expectant and new fathers often get a career boost.

"We found that pregnant women experienced decreased career encouragement in the workplace only after they disclosed they... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- America's couch potatoes are becoming ever more deeply rooted, and computers are the reason why.

The amount of time people spend sitting around has increased in recent years, driven largely by more leisure time spent with a computer, federal survey data shows.

Total daily sitting t... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- What looked like a mild flu season in December has turned into the longest flu season in five years, U.S. health officials report.

The season is so prolonged because two waves of flu viruses hit one after the other, making it like two flu seasons in one.

"Those two waves together ha... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- One of the most valuable lessons in pediatrician April Inniss' medical career came from an 8-year-old boy.

Inniss was just out of medical school and was asked to draw blood from the terrified young patient at a Boston hospital. The child was diagnosed with chronic stomach is... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- A type of cervical cancer that's less sensitive to Pap testing is increasing among white women in the United States, new research shows.

An overall decline in cervical cancer rates in recent decades has been driven by decreases in squamous cell carcinomas. Most of the rest of cervical cancer ... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Obese people may show some shrinkage in their brain tissue as early as middle age, a large new study confirms.

The study, based on brain scans of thousands of adults in the United Kingdom, found that those with higher body fat levels tended to show differences in brain structure compared to... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Think breakfast isn't the most important meal of the day?

Think again, say researchers behind a new study that found the risk of heart-related death rises dramatically for folks who skip the morning repast.

Compared to people who always ate breakfast, those who say they never did ha... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- As if you needed any more proof that fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good for you, a new study finds they may cut your chances of heart failure by 41%.

Conversely, the so-called Southern diet, which focuses on meats, fried and processed foods and lots of sweet tea, was tied to a 7... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- For elderly heart attack survivors, how well they perform on a simple mobility test could help predict whether they will be back in the hospital within a month, researchers say.

Nearly one in five of these heart patients are readmitted with complications such as heart failure, bleeding or irr... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The body's immune system is designed to fight off threats, like infection-causing germs, through a process called inflammation. But a steady state of inflammation can lead to everything from diabetes to autoimmune diseases to heart disease to cancer.

Many of these health threats don't come f... Full Page

TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- With growing concern about mosquito-borne viruses such as Zika, it's easy to let down your guard when it comes to ticks. But Lyme disease is still a danger, especially in the Northeast and upper Midwest. In fact, it has affected people in almost every state.

Lyme disease is spread through the... Full Page

MONDAY, April 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Despair runs rampant through Generation X as these Americans struggle through middle age, a new study reports.

So-called indicators of despair -- depression, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse -- are rising among those in their late 30s and early 40s, and it's occurring across-the-board, research... Full Page

MONDAY, April 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests a first-line drug for treating type 2 diabetes -- metformin -- may help people with pre-diabetes maintain long-term weight loss.

People who lost weight while taking metformin maintained a loss of about 6% of their body weight for six to 15 years. People who lost weig... Full Page

MONDAY, April 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- People at risk for an aortic aneurysm should get screened for the life-threatening condition, an expert says.

Aortic aneurysms are balloon-like bulges that can develop anywhere along the aorta, which runs from your heart through your chest and abdomen. An untreated aneurysm can grow until it r... Full Page

MONDAY, April 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- As you dig into gardening this spring, be sure you don't plant the seeds of skin problems, an expert advises.

"Adverse skin reactions from gardening are very common and may include bug bites and stings, plant-induced rashes, and cuts and infections," said Dr. Sonya Kenkare, a dermatologist in ... Full Page

MONDAY, April 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- On any given day, 1 in 5 American youngsters don't drink any water at all, a new survey shows.

And those who don't end up consuming almost twice as many calories from sugar-sweetened beverages.

That, investigators warn, translates into an extra 100 calories per day, which over time c... Full Page

MONDAY, April 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Teaching preschoolers about healthy habits can reduce their risk of obesity and heart disease later in life, new research suggests.

The New York City study included 562 youngsters in 15 preschools in Harlem, which has a largely black and Hispanic population. The two groups are known to have an... Full Page