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Every time your health care team orders a test, you should ask what the test will show, why the test has been ordered, and when you should expect to see the results.

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A little-used medication can help treat alcoholism, an evidence review confirms, when combined with counseling, 12-step programs or other interventions.

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A new study suggests a simple step that might help cut childhood and adolescent obesity down to size: start school sooner.

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Too often, mental health patients have problems accessing or paying for their prescription drugs under Medicaid. The results — longer hospital stays and more emergency room visits — are hard on patients and costly for the entire health care system, a new study finds.

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For many women coping with obesity and depression, new research finds that improving your mood might be the link to losing weight.

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Sound masking therapy, a common component of tinnitus treatment, is of uncertain benefit when used on its own, a new evidence review finds.

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Some adults and children with acute leukemia could benefit from certain transplants of blood stem cells, but the benefits are not equal across all cases of leukemia, according to a new review of 15 studies.

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A large study has found that patients in certain large chain facilities are significantly more likely to die than those treated elsewhere. Mortality was also higher in for-profit than non-profit dialysis centers.

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For patients living with diabetes, reducing the amount of salt in their daily diet is key to warding off serious threats to their health, a new review of studies finds.

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Many people believe that the popular herb ginseng can improve thinking ability and prevent or even treat dementia. However, a comprehensive review of research failed to find convincing evidence of these benefits.

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A new study reveals that sick teens are more isolated than other kids, but they do not necessarily realize it and often think their friendships are stronger than they actually are.

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A new study finds that heat-injury rates are on the rise for all age groups.

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In households with secondhand smoke, adolescents are 1.67 times more prone to have recurrent ear infections compared to adolescents who live in a smoke-free environment, a large new study reveals.

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Depressed smokers want to quit the nicotine habit just as much as non-depressed smokers, but a new study suggests that depression can put a kink in their success.

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Women who suffered sexual or physical abuse as children are more likely to abuse alcohol than are others, according to a new study of 3,680 women.

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Vending machines in public schools influence the diets of school children and can affect overall dietary intake and health, depending on what foods they contain.

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Today, when visiting your doctor’s office, it can be difficult to know with whom you’re speaking and what role they play in your health care.

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Forceps might be a better instrument than a vacuum cup for assisting a successful birth, but new mothers might experience more trauma and complications after a forceps delivery, according to a new review of studies.

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A new study of nearly 70,000 women found a clear association between abuse in childhood and adolescence and the risk of type 2 diabetes in adult women.

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People who cannot afford their housing are more likely to suffer from poor health, according to a new study, which also found that renters consider themselves less healthy than homeowners.

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A new study shows that the Internet might offer communities a low-cost way to motivate their overweight residents to lose pounds.

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Latinos who live the United States are more likely to quit smoking when they take part in an intervention program, finds a systematic review of studies .

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African-Americans are less likely than whites to be screened for colorectal cancer, and the disparity almost certainly contributes to higher mortality. A new review of studies identifies effective strategies for improving the situation, but suggests that work remains to be done.

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Nursing homes that improve their quality of care – and thereby score high on public report cards – might see financial gains.

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A British review suggests that while a newer type of radiation for the treatment of prostate cancer does not help patients live longer compared to an older type – at least when similar doses are given − it does appear to reduce gastrointestinal side effects.

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"What brings you in here today?" It’s not a question to take lightly. Discussing your symptoms with a doctor, nurse, or physician’s assistant can be one of the most important tasks you perform as a patient.

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When they do not have to pay a health insurance deductible, people are more likely to undergo screening for conditions like cancer and high cholesterol.

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A boy who has asthma is less likely to smoke as a teenager, according to a new study from Italy.

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A new study finds that the number of deadly heart attacks in Massachusetts fell by more than 7 percent after the state outlawed smoking in workplaces, a possible sign that the ban contributed to better health.

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On top of all the other hardships they face daily, adolescent students living with a disability or chronic illness are more likely to be victims of bullying from their peers at school, a new French and Irish study finds.

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For many people suffering from migraine headaches, over-the-counter ibuprofen – Advil and Motrin are well-known brands – might be enough to relieve the pain, a new review finds.

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Health care delivered via telephone or Internet might not improve the quality of life for people with mild asthma, but it could keep those with severe asthma out of the hospital, a new evidence review finds.

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In Regensburg, Germany, a two-year intervention campaign resulted in a marked drop in male suicides.

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Teen birth rates in the United State rates have fallen from a high of 62 per 1,000 teens in the early 1990s to about 42 births per 1,000 teens.

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South Asians living in the United States are at much higher risk for type 2 diabetes than are whites and immigrants from other Asian countries, a new small study reveals.

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Young victims of electronic or cyber bullying — which occurs online or by cell phone — are more likely to suffer from depression than their tormentors are, a new study finds.

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Healthier people are more likely to select a high-deductible health plan over a conventional plan, according to data from several employers that first offered the option in 2006.

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A new study suggests that early drinking and smoking might delay onset of puberty in girls — but the operative word is “might.”

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People can choose many paths to find out more about their personal risk(s) of disease, including online risk calculators.

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Personalized post cards or phone calls can be effective in encouraging more seniors to get their annual flu shots, according to a new review of evidence.

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Giving birth in an alternative setting within a hospital − like a bed-free birthing room or one designed to be “homelike”− is just as safe for healthy women as laboring in a traditional hospital bed.

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Nausea and vomiting are common in children undergoing chemotherapy. A class of drugs called 5-HT3 antagonists appear to be the most effective anti-nausea agents.

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A variety of non-hormonal treatments (mostly non-hormonal drugs) can offer women who have had breast cancer some relief from hot flashes.

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In spite of Canada’s universal medical coverage, immigrants to that country have about the same access to certain preventive procedures as immigrants to the United States.

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The older teens get, the more likely they are to pack on pounds, and obesity rates climb sharply between adolescence and young adulthood, finds a new study from Australia.

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Music played through headphones too loud or too long might pose a significant risk to hearing, according to a 24-year study of adolescent girls.

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Amble, stroll or pedal: it’s all good. A new study provides evidence supporting a seemingly obvious − but unproven − link between walking- and cycling-friendly communities and lower levels of obesity.

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Children drinking water with added fluoride helps dental health in adulthood decades later, a new study finds.

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Black patients die from colorectal cancer at much higher rates than whites do and new research points to unequal health care as the cause.

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Latinas participating in an educational intervention program were two-and-a-half times more likely to seek postpartum care than were those who did not have access to a similar program.