Cancer screening guidelines and recommendations are utterly confusing. For example, if you're a woman in your 40s , do you have mammography or not? A review of a massive amount of data may help you have a more informed discussion with your doctor about what's best for you. In looking at the benefits and harms of breast cancer screenings in women aged 40-49, a group of researchers has determined that two risk factors are most important to consider - the type of breast tissue a woman has and her family history. For women who have these risks, every-other-year screening may be a go...

Patients are still receiving blood transfusions more often than needed, and a new study suggests premature or unnecessary transfusions could be leading to worse outcomes.

Doctors may have found a new marker capable of suggesting a teen suffers from high blood pressure. Abnormal levels of uric acid, a build-up associated with gout attacks, may act as a mechanism for hypertension. Though a cause and effect link between uric acid and hypertension was not found, researchers said the findings suggest uric acid may act as a biomarker of high blood pressure. Avoid smoking to maintain healthy blood pressure. Lauren Loeffler , MD, MHS , lead investigator and a nephrologist at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, noted that high blood pressure is no longer...

Knowing what pesticides are used around you or on the food you eat may not always be possible. But knowing the effect they can have on unborn children may help you decide how to shop. Chlorpyrifos ( CPF ) is a widely used pesticide that has been used in agriculture since 1965. Although use of it in residential areas was phased out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2001, it was commonly heavily used in cities and continues to be used today away from urban areas. Avoid pesticide exposure and consider organic food while pregnant. Virginia Rauh , ScD , an epidemiol...

If money is always low and stress or depression is always high, moms may be overfeeding their babies - and thereby increasing their kids' risks of obesity. A recent unpublished study being presented at a conference found that the unhealthy practice of adding cereal to babies' bottles tends to occur more often among low-income mothers who are single and/or showing symptoms of depression or high stress. Don't add cereal to your baby's bottle. Lead author Candice Taylor Lucas, MD, a an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital...

Breast is best… but what about pacifiers? It's commonly been thought that giving a baby a pacifier might cause problems with breastfeeding.

Think outside the bun for some finger lickin ' good food. Head for the border and have it your way. And if you recognized all those taglines , you might be more likely to be obese. Although past research has shown a link between TV watching and obesity, less evidence exists regarding possible links between obesity and fast food advertising. But an unpublished study recently presented at a conference offers just that. Limit your child's access to fast food. Auden McClure, MD, an assistant professor of the Department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, led the ...

Arthritis affects an estimated 50 million people in the United States alone. Physical joint pain may not be the only negative effect, psychological disorders may accompany arthritis as well.