Most Emailed Health News

WASHINGTON - Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian health officials said on Friday that a death and reported outbreak of flu-like symptoms aboard a cross-Canada train were not due to an infectious disease and in fact were likely not related at all.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new 2 liter bowel cleansing solution for colonoscopy appears to work as well as the standard 4 liter solution and is more acceptable to patients, researchers report.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Positioning child safety seats in the center of the back seat could cut infants' and toddlers' injury risks by nearly half, a new study suggests.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adult women who were breast-fed as infants may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who were not breast-fed, unless they were first-born, study findings suggest.

CHICAGO - There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own. An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year — a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact figures are hard to come by.

ATLANTA - More than half of U.S. adults with diabetes also have arthritis, raising a serious obstacle for diabetic patients urged to exercise, according to a government study.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Prostate cancer deaths fell substantially in the decade after one Austrian state began free PSA screening tests for all men ages 45 to 75, according to a new study.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that firefighters face higher-than-average risks of several types of cancer, adding to evidence that the job carries hazards beyond the fires themselves.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who suffer from "dysfunctional voiding" -- like having to urinate often and having difficulty voiding -- experience a greater degree of depression and anxiety compared to women without these symptoms, research suggests.

ATLANTA - People who sleep fewer than six hours a night — or more than nine — are more likely to be obese, according to a new government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies.

CHICAGO - Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die.

(HealthDay News) -- About 15 of every 100 adults suffer from depression, according to AARP.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Incontinence and other disorders of the pelvic organs can take a toll on a woman's sex life, a new study suggests.

WASHINGTON - Agents selling private health insurance plans to the elderly and disabled would be barred from cold-calling, door-to-door solicitations and pitching their products outside hospital waiting rooms or pharmacies, under a federal rule proposed Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exposure to certain maternal infections in the womb increases the odds of epilepsy in childhood, according to an analysis of data from a Danish study. Among the infections cited were cystitis (inflammation of the bladder), pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidney and upper urinary tract), and vaginal yeast infection.

WEDNESDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- New treatments for a type of depression in the elderly related to blood vessels -- called vascular depression -- are under development, and researchers have discovered why some patients with this condition fail to respond to current medications.

CHICAGO - The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior. The new guidelines mention the psychiatric risks but also say the popular Pfizer Inc. drug is the most effective at helping people get off cigarettes.

FRIDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Consuming large amounts of acrylamide, a chemical commonly found in French fries, cakes, snacks and even coffee, appears to raise the risk of kidney cancer, especially in smokers, Dutch researchers report.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men and women who were assaulted before entering military service are more than twice as likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after combat deployment, Navy researchers report.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who experience leg pain caused by narrowed arteries in their legs -- a condition called intermittent claudication -- can find some relief by taking the drug naftidrofuryl, a review of published studies indicates.

ATLANTA - Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to make a record number of doses for next flu season despite concerns that demand may drop because this year's vaccine was largely ineffective.

THURSDAY, May 8 (HealthDay News) -- The use of a computer-assisted training program, in addition to traditional counseling, helped drug abusers stay abstinent longer than counseling alone, a Yale University School of Medicine study found.

FRIDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Flavonoids, compounds found in many fruits and vegetables, may be able to battle the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests.