Studies

More adults get checkups and report better health after nurse practitioners gain the autonomy to practice primary care without doctor oversight.

Televised local news broadcasts focus more on national politics and slant more to the right at present than in recent years, new research finds. These changes, the paper concludes, are not in response to changing viewer tastes, rather, they stem from the ownership of the media outlets themselves.

While clinical genetic testing is a common medical practice, in the past decade, the introduction of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing has moved the practice out of the doctor’s office and into the home. DTC genetic testing companies such as 23andMe provide genotyping services that reveal the genetic basis of family heritage, physical traits and health conditions.

Lead exposure in childhood is linked to antisocial behavior in adolescence, suggests a new study published in Criminology.

The harms of lead exposure are well established: It can cause renal disease, permanent neurological damage and even death.

Efforts at improving health equity in Oregon have reduced disparities in primary care visits among African American and Native American people.

Death after surgery is more than twice as likely for black children than white children. New models indicate which risk factors are most commonly associated with this outcome for both groups.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh have expressed skepticism over supervised injection sites as an effort to address the state’s ongoing opioid epidemic. Baker suggested that the research on safe injection sites as a “path to treatment” was inconclusive.

An unhealthy economy might portend bad news for physical and mental health.

The issue: When the global economy slumped during the Great Recession of 2007-2009, Americans grappled with effects on their personal finances and employment status. At its peak, unemployment during the Great Recession topped out at 10 percent.