CNN – Health

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — Almost half of the tap water in the United States is contaminated with chemicals known as “forever chemicals,” according to a study from the US Geological Survey. The number of people drinking contaminated water may be even higher than what the study found, however, because the researchers weren’t able

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — With the arrival of spring, the United States is easing out of respiratory virus season, a familiar pattern that has been challenged by Covid-19 for the past four years. The addition of a novel germ has complicated and expanded respiratory virus season, which was already notoriously difficult to predict.

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Medicare could start covering Wegovy for certain senior citizens and other beneficiaries with a history of heart disease now that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s application to add cardiovascular benefits to the medicine’s label. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it

By Mira Cheng, CNN (CNN) — The US Federal Communications Commission has taken the first step toward adopting a rule that would require telecommunications companies to route calls to the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline based on the caller’s physical location rather than their phone number’s area code. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said she has

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — Mark another point against smoking: It may cause an increase in a type of body fat linked to serious disease, according to a new study. Both starting smoking and spending a lifetime smoking cigarettes was associated with an increase in abdominal fat, according to a study published Thursday in

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — Doctors have performed the first transplant of a genetically modified kidney from a pig into a living human, they announced Thursday. The four-hour surgery was performed Saturday at Massachusetts General Hospital, which was also the first hospital to perform a kidney transplant in 1954. The patient, Rick Slayman, a

By Casey Barber, CNN (CNN) — My love affair with small appliances started at an early age. The Easy-Bake Oven was my first glimpse of what magic could come from a miniature box, leading to a few experiments with microwave cooking — think nachos and Rice Krispie Treat bowls—during my latchkey kid years. And the

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — You’ve started taking an antidepressant, and it’s helping you to finally feel like life is worth living or that you can stop avoiding your friends’ texts. All seems right in the world — until the moment you realize your sex life has taken a hit. More than one in

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Life expectancy in the United States started to rebound in 2022 as death rates from Covid-19 and other leading causes of death dropped, but deaths among children increased, and drug overdoses caused a record number of deaths. In 2022, a 1.1-year increase brought overall life expectancy at birth to

By Mira Cheng, CNN (CNN) — A new study projects that global fertility rates, which have been declining in all countries since 1950, will continue to plummet through the end of the century, resulting in a profound demographic shift. The fertility rate is the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime.

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Scientists have long known that pulse oximeters are less accurate when used for people with dark skin tones – and now, a new report offers some insight into just how much more inaccurate these fingertip clamps can be. Pulse oximeters are electronic devices that clamp onto a patient’s finger

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hypertension, another word for high blood pressure, is a major contributing factor to heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death worldwide. In the US, 1 in 5

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Approximately 95% of nonorganic strawberries, leafy greens such as spinach and kale, collard and mustard greens, grapes, peaches and pears tested by the United States government contained detectable levels of pesticides, according to the 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. Nectarines, apples, bell and hot peppers, cherries, blueberries

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Intermittent fasting is one of the many trendy ways people try to lose or maintain their weight. Also known as time-restricted eating, the practice is a method of weight loss that confines a person’s eating window to set times — typically eight hours during a 24-hour period — with

By Megan Marples, CNN (CNN) — Just as spring is a time for rebirth, the Persian New Year is a time to celebrate new life. Nowruz is celebrated on the spring equinox, which Tuesday, March 19. This celebration of spring is filled with symbolism around rebirth and renewal, because spring is a time when life

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — A new gene therapy for the fatal genetic disorder metachromatic leukodystrophy, or MLD, will carry a wholesale price of $4.25 million, its manufacturer announced Wednesday, making it the world’s most expensive medicine. Lenmeldy was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on Monday and is the first therapy for

By Mira Cheng, CNN (CNN) — More than two-thirds of children under the age of 6 in Chicago may be exposed to lead-contaminated water, a new study finds. The study published on Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics analyzed lead exposure based on 38,385 household lead tests collected by the Chicago Department of Water Management

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — Amy Mazur spends holidays and vacations with her kids and their father, even after a divorce. “It is so much less stressful for my children … and for myself,” said Mazur, a clinical social worker in Brooklyn, New York. Her relationship with her ex-husband isn’t the picture that’s often

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Abortions are on the rise in the United States, despite bans that have taken effect in more than a dozen states since the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that revoked the federal right to abortion in June 2022. There were more than 1 million abortions in the US in

CNN, POOL, GUTTMACHER INSTITUTE, DANCO LABS By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Abortions are on the rise in the United States, despite bans that have taken effect in more than a dozen states since the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that revoked the federal right to abortion in June 2022. There were more than 1