Adults aged 60 and up have fared better emotionally compared to younger adults (18-39) and middle-aged adults (40-59) amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research. Based on daily diary data collected between mid-March and mid-April of this year, the researchers found that older adults experienced greater emotional well-being and felt less stressed and threatened…

A new study found that life may be more stressful now than it was in the 1990s, especially for people between the ages of 45 and 64. A team of researchers led by Penn State found that across all ages, there was a slight increase in daily stress in the 2010s compared to the 1990s.…

A team of researchers has determined that the type of fats a mother consumes while breastfeeding can have long-term implications on her infant’s gut health. Their study suggests that the type of fat consumed during breastfeeding could differentially impact an infant’s intestinal microbial communities, immune development and disease risk. Dr. Deanna Gibson, a biochemistry researcher,…

Why are some people better able to fight off the flu than others? Part of the answer, according to a new study, is related to the first flu strain we encounter in childhood. Scientists from UCLA and the University of Arizona have found that people’s ability to fight off the flu virus is determined not…

Breast cancer survivors in romantic relationships who feel happy and satisfied with their partners may be at lower risk for a host of health problems, new research suggests. The findings suggest that the relationship itself wasn’t the cure-all, however. Women who were satisfied in their relationships also reported lower psychological stress — and these two…

After medical marijuana became legal in Massachusetts, cannabis-related poison control calls involving the commonwealth’s children and teenagers doubled, according to a public health investigation. The increase in calls to the Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention at Boston Children’s Hospital occurred despite legislative mandates for childproof packaging and warning labels, and before the recreational…

A new article reports that, based on analysis of public wastewater samples in at least one Western Washington population center, cannabis use both increased and substantially shifted from the illicit market since retail sales began in 2014. Led by chemist Dan Burgard, the research team analyzed wastewater samples collected from 2013-2016 from two treatment plants…

The number of women using cannabis in the year before they get pregnant and early in their pregnancies is increasing, and their frequency of use is also rising, according to new data. The research, published July 19, 2019, in JAMA Network Open, examined self-reported cannabis use among 276,991 pregnant women (representing 367,403 pregnancies) in Northern…

In a study of twins, people who reported increasing their physical activity after the start of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders reported higher levels of stress and anxiety than those whose activity levels stayed the same. In a study of twins led by Washington State University researchers, people who reported increasing their physical activity after the start…

Three simple factors that predict whether a healthy weight child will be overweight or obese by adolescence have been revealed in a new study. The research shows three factors — a child’s and mother’s Body Mass Index (BMI) and the mother’s education level — predict the onset or resolution of weight problems by adolescence, especially…