Health News

Health News for 03/02/12

March 02, 2012

For Sleep Struggles, Women Urged to Alter Routines

Driven to sleeplessness by the effects of stress and the demands of their own biology, women are more likely than men to have serious sleep problems, experts say.

Health Tip: Living With Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome causes uncomfortable sensations in the legs and the strong desire to move the legs during rest or inactivity.

Health Tip: Help Your Child Develop a Healthy Approach to Eating

Girls can develop an unhealthy body image and unhealthy eating habits just by watching how others look at their bodies and treat food.

Young Puzzle-Solvers May Be Tomorrow's Engineers

Playing with puzzles when they're 2 to 4 years old can help children develop better spatial skills, a new study indicates.

Prescription Meds Can Put on Unwanted Pounds

Medications taken by millions of Americans for mood disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic conditions can have an unhealthy side effect: weight gain.

Parents' Wishes Sway Docs' Choices on Preterm Deliveries

When making decisions or counseling families on how to manage very premature deliveries, obstetricians are strongly influenced by parents' wishes, especially when the parents want everything done to save their baby's life, a new study finds.

'Parent Training' May Help Kids With Autism Behave Better

Children with autism often display challenging behaviors, but new research suggests that parents can learn to better handle tantrums and aggression, which may improve their child's overall functioning.

College Women's Condom Use Falls in Freshman Year

Women become less likely to insist on condom use during the course of their first year of college, new research finds.

Too Many Americans Skipping Colon Cancer Screening

Approximately one in three U.S. adults between the ages of 50 and 75 who should be screened for colorectal cancer have not been, according to the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Cold Air May Raise Heart-Attack Risk During Exercise

Breathing cold air during certain physical activities, such as shoveling snow, increases the body's demand for oxygen, which may put people with heart disease at greater risk for cardiac arrest or death, a new study finds.

Twitter Adding to Stigma of Epilepsy, Study Says

The social networking service known as Twitter seems to have become a platform for derogatory comments about epilepsy and seizures, researchers say.

Bullying May Raise Risk of Suicidal Thoughts: Study

Children involved in bullying are more likely than their peers to consider suicide by the time they are 11, a new study indicates.

Kidney Donors May Not Face Higher Heart Disease Risk

People who donate a kidney don't appear to face a higher risk of developing heart disease in the first decade following donation, new research finds.

Regular Pap Smear Boosts Cervical Cancer Survival: Study

Women who have regular Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer are more likely to survive if they are ever diagnosed with the disease, a new Swedish study suggests.

Timing of Preemie Birth May Be Key to Kids' Health Later

Preemies face a relatively unhealthy childhood when compared with full-term babies, and new British research suggests that the degree to which a child's health is compromised seems to depend on exactly how premature the child was.

Sickle Cell Blood Test Might Predict Severity of Disease

Researchers report they have developed a blood test that can predict which sickle cell patients are most likely to experience the most severe symptoms of the disease.

Smoking Linked to Higher Rate of Psoriasis: Study

Smokers are at higher risk of developing the autoimmune skin condition psoriasis than nonsmokers, a new study finds, possibly because smoking pushes the body's immune system into overdrive, one expert suggests.

Health Highlights: March 2, 2012

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay: