Health News [UP]

Call volumes to 311 — used by many cities to report non-emergency issues — for nuisance code violations accurately predicted future opioid overdose “hotspots” more than 90% of the time, a study indicates....Read More

Men age 45 and younger who take the hair-loss drug finasteride were more than three times as likely as those not on the drug to have thoughts of suicide, make plans to commit suicide or attempt...

Prescription opioid use increases a person’s risk for major depressive disorder by 14%, according to a study published Wednesday by JAMA Psychiatry....Read More

Older adults benefit at least as much as young people from cholesterol-lowering medications that reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart disease, according to two studies published Tuesday by The Lancet....Read More

Vitamin D, omega-3 supplements and exercising regularly — alone or in combination — won’t necessarily lower blood pressure, improve cognitive function or reduce risk for infections or bone fractures, a new study says....Read More

A combination of e-cigarettes and counseling is twice as effective at getting smokers of traditional cigarettes to quit than a program with counseling alone, at least in the short term, a JAMA study found....Read More

Researchers working to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 must consider the mutation of the virus and monitor its evolution to ensure that new shots continue to prevent infection, a PLOS Biology paper argues....Read More

COVID-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine showed no signs of significant improvement in “clinical status” compared with those given a placebo, a study published Monday by JAMA found....Read More

Hospitalizations for gunshot wounds rose by about 22% during COVID-19 lockdowns in Philadelphia earlier this year, compared to the same period in prior year, according to a study published Monday....Read More

Statewide stay-at-home orders and mask mandates issued by officials in Delaware reduced COVID-19 cases by 82% and hospitalizations associated with the disease by 88%, while dropping deaths from the virus to zero....Read More