Pack the Right Footwear for Summer Vacations

SATURDAY, June 23, 2018 -- When packing for your summer vacation, be sure to include the right footwear, a podiatrist advises.

"The type of vacation you go on will determine the type of shoe you need," Dr. Ronald Lepow, an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine's department of orthopedic surgery, in Houston, said in a school news release.

Police Killings Harm Well-Being of All Blacks: Study

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 -- Police killings of unarmed black Americans harm the mental health of black adults nationwide, researchers report.

"Our study demonstrates for the first time that police killings of unarmed black Americans can have corrosive effects on mental health in the black American community," said co-lead author Dr. Atheendar Venkataramani. He's a health economist and general internist at the University of Pennsylvania.

Picking an Exercise Boot Camp

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 -- Exercise boot camps get you in shape through one or more days of intensive training.

Some have a celebrity aspect, like camps run by the dance squads of pro sports teams, while others promise the secrets of elite military training forces. There are so many that a quick internet search could serve up dozens in your area alone.

Obamacare May Have Boosted Kidney Transplant Outcomes

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 -- Medicaid patients with kidney disease are more likely to be placed on a kidney transplant waiting list before they need dialysis if they live in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a new study shows.

The researchers examined United Network of Organ Sharing data on low-income adults who were put on kidney transplant waiting lists before dialysis dependence (pre-emptive wait-listing) in 2011-2013 (before Medicaid expansion) and in 2014-2016 (after Medicaid expansion).

Have Insurers Played a Role in Opioid Crisis?

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 -- Health insurers may have helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic by not encouraging use of less addictive pain medications, a new study contends.

In 2016, more than 2.1 million Americans had an opioid addiction. And more than 42,000 died from opioid overdoses, government data show.

Trump Carried Counties With High Opioid Use: Study

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 -- U.S. counties with high rates of prescription painkiller use voted heavily in favor of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, a new study finds.

Researchers found that, on average, Trump got about 60 percent of the vote in counties with the greatest use of prescription opioids -- drugs such as Vicodin and OxyContin. That was in contrast to counties with relatively low opioid prescription rates; there, Trump garnered just under 39 percent of the vote, on average.

Some California Mosquitoes Can Carry Zika Virus

FRIDAY, June 21, 2018 -- Aedes mosquitoes in California can spread the Zika virus, researchers report.

Laboratory studies have shown that several species of Aedes mosquitoes can transmit Zika, but whether the same species in different regions could spread the virus was unclear. Zika is a relatively mild illness for most people, but it can cause devastating birth defects in children born to women who are infected during pregnancy.

Smoking Becoming a No-No on College Campuses

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 -- Smoking continues to fall out of favor at colleges and universities across America, a new study finds.

As of November 2017, over 2,000 U.S. college campuses were smoke-free (no smoking) or tobacco-free (no smokeless tobacco use or smoking), compared with only 774 campuses in 2012, the report found.

AHA: CPAP Machines May Bring Better Sleep, Plus a Healthier Heart

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 (American Heart Association) -- People with sleep apnea, especially those over 60, could decrease their risk of heart failure by using CPAP masks at night to help with breathing, according to new research.

The study, published June 22 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, explored the connection between heart failure and sleep apnea, a condition that goes beyond plain snoring. It's when a person pauses breathing five to 30 times or more per hour while sleeping.

Native American Teens at Higher Risk for Substance Abuse

FRIDAY, June 22, 2018 -- Native American teens are at greater risk of alcohol and drug abuse than other American teens, a new study finds.

Still, "we do not want these data to be used to stigmatize American Indian kids," said study author Randall Swaim, director of Colorado State University's Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research.