You’ve probably had respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at some point in your life. Just a few years ago, RSV was nothing much to worry about: a common virus that nearly all children are exposed to before the age of two, RSV presents as a mild cold in healthy people. Over the past few months, however, RSV has surged, and pediatric care units are at or over capacity in the United States. Cases in both children and adults are nearly three […]
This is the third is a series of articles on cardiovascular health and risk factors for heart disease. We need to drop a few pounds. Most of us, after all, are now overweight or obese. Nearly 74% of adults in the United States have BMIs above the healthy weight range. 42% are considered obese. America is one of the fattest nations on the planet, and data from the CDC suggest the numbers will only continue to grow in the near […]
During this time of division, Massachusetts has chosen to serve as a state which will support women’s rights to abortion, alongside New York, California, Washington, and others. However, not everyone in the state has the same opinion. Misinformation is being spread about abortion to try and prevent people from going ahead with these procedures. For Massachusetts to become a haven for women, it is vitally important for the state to grant straightforward protection for people in need of abortions and […]
On September 28th, the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the second White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Historically, the first conference on the issues of hunger, nutrition, and health in America took place in 1969, which resulted in the momentous establishment of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program. The support for the second conference can be traced to Massachusetts Congressman James […]
After 23 years of service at South Cove Community Health Center (SCCHC), the current CEO, Eugene Welch, will be stepping down from his position at the end of 2022. Started by a group of community activists in 1972 in response to the inadequate health care services for the local residents in Boston Chinatown, SCCHC now operates in five locations in the greater Boston area and serves more than 32,000 patients annually. SCCHC aims to improve the health and wellbeing of […]
This is the second is a series of articles on how to protect against heart disease and improve cardiovascular health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and globally. Though it affects people of all races and socioeconomic statuses, a 2021 Nature article found that “large differences in cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality exist between migrant populations and host populations.” Migration itself “generally has an adverse effect on health, particularly cardiovascular and metabolic health, which […]
If you are a time traveler recently arrived from 2019, you probably don’t think much has changed in the city of Boston. Even the Orange Line shutdown shouldn’t come as a surprise (new year, same MBTA). Some people are wearing masks, and ads on the subway encourage you to wash your hands and get vaccinated – but for the most part, things look as they did three years ago. Restaurants and bars are filled with people. Students have returned to […]
The technician squirts a large amount of cold, greenish gel over your chest, then picks up a device that looks like a barcode scanner and starts slathering the gel around with it. On the screen next to you, shifting grey shapes resolve into a ghostly image of your heart beating. The whole thing takes 30 minutes, after which the technician hands you a paper towel to wipe up the gel. You’ve just had an ultrasound. Now imagine taking that experience […]
Last month, a study published in the medical journal The BMJ (a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the British Medical Association) connected the consumption of ultraprocessed foods to a higher risk for colorectal cancer. Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, a researcher at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, led this project, focusing specifically on the effects of ultraprocessed diets on cancer risk through a large cohort study over 28 years. A key finding in her study […]
Once upon a time, bloodletting and lobotomies were common medical procedures. Cocaine was prescribed for depression, and doctors treated asthma with cigarettes. Conventional medical wisdom – fortunately for us – changes over time. The progress of science is cumulative: as we gather more evidence, we build upon our existing knowledge and abandon those practices for which there is little empirical support. Earlier this year, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a volunteer panel of experts that issues evidence-based […]
