Identifying hotspots of low mammography screening in Black, Hispanic women

A young cancer epidemiologist who has already helped identify hotspots for geographic, racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer mortality in the United States, is now looking at mammography screening rates in those hotspots.

Postpartum depression may persist three years after giving birth

A National Institutes of Health study of 5,000 women has found that approximately 1 in 4 experienced high levels of depressive symptoms at some point in the three years after giving birth. The rest of the women experienced low levels of depression throughout the three-year span. The study was conducted by researchers at NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). It appears in the journal Pediatrics.

Why do certain chemotherapies increase the likelihood of blood cancer?

In recent years, improvements in cancer therapy have led to a significant increase in cancer survivorship. Experts estimate that by 2022, the United States will have 18 million cancer survivors, but a subset of those survivors will have long-term health problems to be addressed.

Vaping epidemic puts adolescents at risk for potentially fatal lung disease

Adolescent use of e-cigarettes and vaping products is at epidemic proportions, yet the adverse health effects are understudied, with almost no data on younger patients. The problem is sizable as children start vaping at a younger and younger age. Recent estimates show that 9.6 percent of eighth graders vape nicotine or THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active ingredient of cannabis), along with 19.9 percent of 10th graders and 25.5 percent of 12th graders. Many young people vape daily.

Study estimates exposure to air pollution increases COVID-19 deaths by 15% worldwide

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19 and, for the first time, a study has estimated the proportion of deaths from the coronavirus that could be attributed to the exacerbating effects of air pollution for every country in the world.