Waist Size Linked to Lung Cancer Risk. While lung cancer is often attributed to smoking, a new study finds abdominal obesity may also play a role in lung cancer occurrence. A review of long-term study data concerning 831,535 men and women found a link between each 10 cm increase in waist circumference and about a…

Spend Less Time on Your Smartphone Before Bed. In this study, participants who spent more screen-time on their phones, especially if they used their smartphones shortly before bedtime, experienced shorter sleep and reduced sleep quality. The authors of the study advise that reducing screen-time, particularly before bedtime, may help enhance the length and quality of…

Sports and Eye Injuries. Researchers analyzed a database of emergency room visits at more than 900 hospitals in the United States and found nearly 86,000 reports of sports-related eye injuries, with about 50% of the injuries occurring during four activities: basketball (23%), baseball and softball (14%) and air guns (12%). Despite that fact air-gun eye…

Lack of Sleep May Widen Your Waistline. A review of eleven publishes studies revealed that sleep-deprived individuals consumed an average of 385 more calories per day than those who get enough sleep. Senior study author Dr. Gerda Pot writes, “Reduced sleep is one of the most common and potentially modifiable health risks in today’s society…

Can High Cholesterol Cause Arthritis? High cholesterol may harm more than just the cardiovascular system. Using mice, researchers have found that high cholesterol levels trigger mitochondrial oxidative stress on cartilage cells, causing the cells to die, ultimately resulting in the development of osteoarthritis. The research team also found that the development of osteoarthritis slowed when…

High Blood Pressure May Elevate Dementia Risk. The American Heart Association (AHA) warns that high blood pressure (hypertension)—especially during middle age—may open the door to dementia. While the precise mechanism is not yet known, researchers speculate that hypertension damages blood vessels in the brain, impairing its ability to control blood flow, which is essential for…

Batteries in E-Cigarettes May Explode. A new report claims that e-cigarette devices are randomly and unexpectedly exploding, burning and maiming users as well as bystanders. It’s believed the explosions are caused by the powerful lithium-ion batteries that charge the heating coil used to help create inhalable vapor. In some of the devices, these batteries are…

Obesity Linked to Liver Cancer. Having a large waistline, a high body mass index (BMI), and type 2 diabetes may raise the risk of liver cancer. Researchers examined data on 1.57 million adults and found that individuals with type 2 diabetes were 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with liver cancer than the general…

“Smoke Waves” Threaten the Western United States. Persistent smoke waves from wildfires may increase in the future. Investigators examined levels of fine particulate matter in 16 Western states from 2004 to 2009 and estimated that incidents of two or more days of high pollution from wildfires will grow by 57% in frequency and 31% in…

Gestational Diabetes Increases Depression Risk Following Birth… The National Institutes of Health reports that gestational diabetes (GD) “is a form of diabetes (high blood sugar level) occurring only in pregnancy, which if untreated may cause serious health problems for mother and infant.” A new analysis of data from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies-Singleton Cohort reveals…