The percentage of cancer survivors who struggle with a disability has doubled in the past 20 years, new research shows. “The fact that we are saving more lives from cancer is worth celebrating, but it also warrants a shift toward understanding and improving the quality of life for those who survive,” said study co-author Dr. S.M. Qasim Hussaini. He is chief medical oncology fellow and a health systems researcher at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, in Baltimore. “Overall, our study calls for urgent action to address the burden of cancer and its treatment on physical, psychosocial and cognitive function,” Hussaini said in a Hopkins news release. The study of more than 51,000 survivors was weighted to represent a larger population of 178.8 million people. About 3.6 million survivors had a functional limitation or disability in 1999, but that increased to 8.2 million in 2018. The study authors wanted to understand whether increasing survivorship was associated with one of the key determinants of quality of life: functional ability. To do this, the investigators reviewed 20 years of records from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey. The researchers reviewed responses from 1999 to 2018, looking for 12 functional limitations, including inability to stand for more than an hour, difficulty sitting for more than two hours and difficulty participating in social activities without assistance. About 70% of…  read on >  read on >

Young American adults have doubled their use of non-LSD hallucinogens in just a few years, a new report warns. Researchers found that between 2018 and 2021, U.S. adults aged 19 to 30 increased their use of mescaline, peyote, psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) and PCP, though not LSD. The prevalence of young adults’ past-year use of these drugs was 3.4% in 2018, but it hit 6.6% in 2021. “However, the prevalence of LSD did not see this dramatic increase, and was around 4% in 2018 and 2021,” said study co-author Megan Patrick. She is a research professor at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor and co-principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future study, which focuses on substance use and health. The study found that use of these non-LSD hallucinogens was greater for males. White young adults used these drugs at a higher rate than Black people of the same age. Use of these drugs was also greater for those whose parents had a college education, which researchers used as a proxy for socioeconomic status. The Monitoring the Future study does not identify why young adults used these drugs, whether it might be recreational or because they thought there would be therapeutic benefit. Non-medical hallucinogen use is associated with risks of substance use disorders, injury including self-harm and anxiety, the study authors noted…  read on >  read on >

The benefits of friendships and activity aren’t just for the young. Staying socially active can also help older adults age their best, according to new research that pinpoints volunteering and recreational activities as important for seniors. “Although the study’s observational nature prohibits the determination of causality, it makes intuitive sense that social activity is associated with successful aging,” said study co-author Mabel Ho, a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and the Institute of Life Course and Aging. “Being socially active is important no matter how old we are. Feeling connected and engaged can boost our mood, reduce our sense of loneliness and isolation, and improve our mental health and overall health,” Ho added in a university news release. To study this, the researchers analyzed data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging of more than 7,000 Canadians aged 60 and older, following them for three years. The investigators only included those in excellent health at baseline, which was about 45% of the respondents. The findings showed that those who participated in volunteer work and recreational activities were more likely to maintain excellent health. They also were less likely to develop physical, cognitive (“thinking”), mental or emotional problems. Successful aging was freedom from any serious physical, cognitive, mental or emotional conditions that prevent daily activities. It also meant having…  read on >  read on >

An amino acid found in meat, fish and energy drinks might be a key regulator of aging in animals, a new study suggests. However, experts warn that no one should start seeing Red Bull as a fountain of youth. Researchers found that deficiencies in the amino acid, called taurine, seemed to be a prime driver of aging in lab mice: Their taurine levels naturally declined with age, but giving middle-aged mice a daily taurine supplement for one year essentially slowed the aging process. Compared with lab mice fed a placebo supplement, the taurine-consuming mice survived 10% to 12% longer. These mice were also more likely to be living their best lab-mouse lives — staying leaner, maintaining stronger bones and muscles, showing fewer depression- and anxiety-like behaviors, and holding on to a “younger-looking” immune system. “Whatever we checked, taurine-supplemented mice were healthier and appeared younger than the control mice,” said study leader Vijay Yadav, an assistant professor of genetics and development at Columbia University, in New York City. When the scientists repeated the supplement experiment in middle-aged monkeys, they observed similar effects. One major caution, the researchers and other experts said, is that mice and monkeys, studied in a controlled lab setting, are not people living their complicated lives out in the world. And the research offers no proof that taurine supplements can help humans live…  read on >  read on >

After many nights of tossing and turning, you might have more to worry about than just feeling exhausted and less sharp at work. Insomnia symptoms — trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, or waking up too early — are also associated with higher risk of stroke, according to new research from Virginia Commonwealth University. And the risk is greater if you’re younger than 50, researchers found. As a biological function, sleep is key for processing memories, repairing cells and releasing toxins accumulated during the day, said study co-author Dr. Wendemi Sawadogo, a doctoral candidate at the time of the study. “It is a really huge important part of the body function,” Sawadogo said. “So, when it’s happened that there’s a disruption in the system, for sleep disturbance, trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, this can lead to some adverse health outcomes.” Insomnia is common, affecting more than one-third of the U.S. population, the authors noted in background notes. Researchers aren’t exactly sure how it affects stroke risk, but prior research suggests it may trigger harmful inflammation. The study used data from the Health and Retirement Study of Americans over 50 and their spouses. It included more than 31,000 people, average age 61, and no history of stroke before the research began. Researchers asked four questions about how often people had trouble falling asleep, awakened…  read on >  read on >

Have you seen more hair in the shower or on the bathroom floor than usual? Grab a mirror and take a look at your head. If it looks like you’re “going bald,” you may have androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness). According to the Cleveland Clinic, male pattern baldness is very common. If you want to do something about this condition, you do have options. Here, experts break down what male pattern baldness is, its causes and symptoms, and what medications and treatments may help. What is male pattern baldness? Male pattern baldness is a type of hair loss — specifically the loss of hair above your ears. This type develops slowly, notes the American Academy of Dermatology. Most men experience hair loss at some point in their lives. How old were you when you first noticed your hair loss? Most likely you were in your 30s, the Cleveland Clinic notes, but you may have been as young as a teenager. The older you get, the more likely you are to see the symptoms of male pattern baldness. What causes male pattern baldness? You may have heard about male pattern baldness genetics. Yes, male pattern baldness is usually influenced by the genes you’re born with. There may be a history of it in your family. Interestingly, the genes passed down on your mother’s side of the…  read on >  read on >

Wildfires that have been spreading throughout Canada in recent weeks are now spewing tons of smoke southward into the United States. The smoke was so thick on Tuesday that New York City’s skyline could not be seen clearly and air quality alerts were issued to residents from parts of the Northeast to the southern Mid-Atlantic region. New York officials issued an air quality alert for much of the state on Wednesday. “Exposure can cause short-term health effects such as irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath,” the alert warned. “Exposure to elevated levels of fine particulate matter [PM 2.5] can also worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. People with heart or breathing problems, and children and the elderly may be particularly sensitive to PM 2.5.” “While conditions are anticipated to temporarily improve later tonight through tomorrow morning, they are expected to deteriorate further tomorrow afternoon and evening,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement on Tuesday. “We recommend all New Yorkers limit outdoor activity to the greatest extent possible. Those with preexisting respiratory problems, like heart or breathing problems, as well as children and older adults may be especially sensitive and should stay indoors at this time,” Adams noted. “While all students should still go to school tomorrow, New York City…  read on >  read on >

Folks who are loaded down with medical debt are less likely to survive a bout of cancer, a new study reports. Researchers found that U.S. counties where more residents have medical debt in collections also had more cancer deaths, compared to counties with less medical debt. “This association was seen for all cancers combined, and the five major cancer types: lung, colorectal, pancreas, prostate for men, and breast for women,” said senior researcher Xuesong Han, scientific director of health services research for the American Cancer Society. Han presented this research Tuesday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, in Chicago. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. For this study, Han and her colleagues compared 2018 county-level medical debt data from the Urban Institute against cancer death data from the National Centers for Health Statistics between 2015 and 2019. The investigators found that about 20% of the entire U.S. population carries some medical debt. The county-level percentage of population with medical debt varied from 0% to nearly 54%. “Counties in the South had the highest medical debt. For example, among the top 10 counties with the highest share of the population with medical debt in collections, eight of them were in Texas, two were in North Carolina, and one was in Georgia,” Han said. “The…  read on >  read on >