CDC finds nearly 1 in 3 U.S. youth have prediabetes, but experts question scant data
A new federal estimate shows a rise in prediabetes among American adolescents, a finding that is spurring concerns about the health of U.S. children — and the way Trump administration health officials are conducting research and communicating information, experts said. In 2023, nearly 1 in 3 U.S. youngsters ages 12...
Stretch Zone opens in Sewickley
Stretch Zone Sewickley, an assisted stretching brand, is now open. There, certified professional stretch practitioners help clients one-on-one to improve range of motion and mobility through a series of proprietary stretch protocols, relieving stiffness and soreness, as well as improving mobility. “It is different than massage because you are out...
Safe to splash? State parks, watershed associations monitor rivers for E. coli contamination
When it rains, it pours E. coli. That’s what water quality testers across Western Pennsylvania might tell you right now. Every week during the summer months, volunteers and employees monitor the region’s public waterways for E. coli, which can flow into lakes and streams from agricultural and sewer systems overwhelmed...
Deluzio skewers Medicaid cuts as Dems seek winning message on Trump megabill
With cuts to Medicaid and food stamps now law, Democrats are looking to minimize their impact and punish Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections for what they frame as an attack on vulnerable people. “I’m going to do everything I can between now and 2026 to remind voters, Democrat and...
Mattel launches new Barbie with Type 1 diabetes
Barbie’s latest look includes a glucose monitor — Mattel’s newest doll is living with Type 1 diabetes. Mattel, Inc. said this week in the announcement that the new Barbie, which is part of the Barbie Fashionistas line, will enable more kids to see themselves reflected in Barbie, as well as...
Indiana Township cancer survivor raises $700,000 for research while state senate weighs expanded testing access
Astrid Bitzer was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in 2022 and after 13 biopsies, ultimately decided on a full mastectomy. Though clinically in remission, the Indiana Township woman is hedging her bets to keep the disease at bay. “Cancer is a funny thing,” she said. “What you can be sure...
The U.S. is having its worst year for measles in more than 3 decades
The United States is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go in 2025. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the national case count surpassed 2019, when there...
Ticky business: How Pitt researchers track the 8-legged bloodsuckers
There’s nothing fancy about tick hunting. When University of Pittsburgh professor Danielle Tufts and her team of public health students go out, they bring just a few things: A white jumpsuit, a pair of tweezers, some tiny vials to store specimens and a meter-long piece of white corduroy. The cloth...
Doctors, public health organizations sue Kennedy over vaccine policy change
NEW YORK — A coalition of doctors’ groups and public health organizations sued the U.S. government on Monday over the decision to stop recommending covid-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women. The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and four other groups — along with an unnamed...
RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed
WASHINGTON — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday praised a company that makes $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees. He even thanked Mom’s Meals for sending taxpayer-funded meals “without additives” to the homes of sick or elderly Americans. The spreads...
Wegovy and Zepbound prices fall, but access to the obesity drugs still isn’t guaranteed
Prices are falling for the popular obesity treatments Wegovy and Zepbound, but steady access to the drugs remains challenging. The medications still amount to around $500 per month for those without insurance — out of reach for many patients. And even for people with insurance, coverage remains uneven. “The medications...
American kids have become increasingly unhealthy over nearly 2 decades, new study finds
The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various...
Rural hospitals brace for financial hits or even closure under Republicans’ $1 trillion Medicaid cut
OMAHA, Neb. — Tyler Sherman, a nurse at a rural Nebraska hospital, is used to the area’s aging farmers delaying care until they end up in his emergency room. Now, with Congress planning around $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years, he fears those farmers and the more than...
FDA vaccine official restricted covid vaccine approvals against the advice of agency staff
WASHINGTON — The government’s top vaccine official working under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently restricted the approval of two covid-19 vaccines, disregarding recommendations from government scientists, according to federal documents released Wednesday. The new memos from the Food and Drug Administration show how the agency’s vaccine chief, Dr....
Nearly 368,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon recalled over possible listeria contamination
Nearly 368,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon products are being recalled over possible contamination with listeria bacteria that can cause food poisoning, federal health officials said Wednesday. No illnesses have been confirmed to date, U.S. agriculture department officials said. Kraft Heinz Food Company of Newberry, South Carolina, announced the...
Hundreds of thousands in Pa. could lose Medicaid, SNAP benefits under Trump bill, Shapiro says
More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians could lose Medicaid coverage if the Senate-approved version of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill passes the House, while nearly 150,000 people who receive SNAP benefits could lose access to food assistance, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday. “Every member of Congress who votes for this reconciliation...
Can supermarkets like Giant Eagle fill void left by ailing pharmacy industry?
As chain pharmacies decline, grocery stores are picking up the slack. Rite Aid’s descent into bankruptcy — and the dash to carve up its assets — is the latest example. Rival drugstores CVS and Walgreens have snapped up millions of potential customers by way of their prescription files, but supermarkets...
How to protect yourself from ticks year-roundVideo
WASHINGTON — Ticks can be active in any season and it’s important to check for and remove the bloodsuckers as quickly as possible — especially after you’ve been outside hiking, gardening or enjoying nature. “Humans are outside more in summer so we hear about more tick infections,” said Sam Telford,...
Many forget the damage done by diseases like whooping cough, measles and rubella. Not these families
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — In the time before widespread vaccination, death often came early. Devastating infectious diseases ran rampant in America, killing millions of children and leaving others with lifelong health problems. These illnesses were the main reason why nearly one in five children in 1900 never made it to...
Deal struck to preserve Cigna members’ access to AHN facilities
Thousands of Cigna Healthcare insurance members will keep full, in-network access to Allegheny Health Network following a contract agreement between the organizations. The deal was reached Friday after a monthslong dispute, the second in the past two years. It ensures more than 20,000 Cigna members in the region can continue...
What do new flu vaccine standards mean?
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) upheld recommendations for the fall flu vaccination to be administered to anyone 6 months and older, as long as the shots are completely mercury-free. While some Western Pennsylvania doctors say the new recommendations won’t change...
Supreme Court preserves key part of Obamacare coverage requirements
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court preserved a key part of the Affordable Care Act’s preventive health care coverage requirements on Friday, rejecting a challenge from Christian employers to the provision that affects some 150 million Americans. The 6-3 ruling comes in a lawsuit over how the government decides which health...
Steelers neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon honored with prestigious award
As Dr. Joseph Maroon stood in Ellis Island’s Great Hall in New York City, his thoughts went to his grandparents, who walked the same location 125 years earlier when they ventured to America from Poland and Lebanon. Maroon, of Sewickley, along with other leaders in business, education, entertainment, public service,...
Kennedy’s new vaccine panel alarms pediatricians with inquiries into long-settled questions
ATLANTA — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers alarmed pediatricians Wednesday by announcing inquiries into some long-settled questions about children’s shots. Opening the first meeting of Kennedy’s handpicked seven-member panel, committee chairman Martin Kulldorff said he was appointing a work group to evaluate the “cumulative effect”...
Giant Eagle buys prescription files from another 15 Rite Aid stores, completing buying spree
Giant Eagle has purchased prescription files from another 15 Rite Aid stores as part of a fourth and final wave of transfers from the bankrupt pharmacy chain to the Cranberry-based grocer. Altogether, Giant Eagle has bought files from 83 Rite Aid stores across Pennsylvania and Ohio since late May. The...
