Harvard Health Content API

A 2024 research review suggested that drinking more water can help people stave off a variety of health problems as well as promote weight loss.

A 2024 study suggested that older adults who undergo cataract surgery to improve vision may have a lower risk of developing dementia.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects two to three times as many women as men. Scientists are uncovering RA’s potential genetic and hormonal underpinnings, which point to potential reasons why women are more vulnerable. The newest treatments, called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, resulted from research that has teased out delicate differences in immune system pathways. They block numerous proteins that ramp up inflammation fundamental to RA. The wide array of drug options now available for RA help doctors personalize therapies to each patient.

Although a clinical trial showed daily aspirin use didn’t help women with breast cancer avoid recurrence or improve survival, other evidence-backed measures might. Exercise, weight control, and a healthy diet are linked with lower recurrence and longer survival, but alcohol use, smoking, and supplement use are not. While it’s not always clear how lifestyle approaches help lower the odds of recurrence or death from breast cancer, healthy measures can improve women’s ability to keep other conditions at bay or manage them more effectively.

A large 2024 study of more than 112,000 people found that those who ate at least five ounces of dark chocolate each week had a 21% lower risk of developing diabetes within 30 years, compared with those who rarely or never ate chocolate.

A 2024 study involving more than 72,000 healthy people ages 40 to 79 found that those whose sleep and wake times fluctuated most had a 26% higher risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or similar problem, compared with those whose sleep patterns fluctuated least.

In a large 2024 study, people who ate more plant-based proteins than animal proteins had the lowest risks of developing cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease, compared with those who ate more animal proteins than plant-based proteins.

Use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) system to treat sleep apnea must be monitored regularly by a doctor. This might require numerous doctor visits initially, and then annual visits afterward to make sure the therapy is still working effectively. The clinician needs to review data collected by the machine, gather information from the patient, and determine if new health conditions, including weight gain or other sleep issues, require adjustments to the CPAP machine settings.

Climate change is causing longer, more intense allergy seasons, with increased amounts of pollen. This might make it harder for people to predict when their allergies might crank up, when to begin preparing for them, and how to discern the difference between allergy symptoms and upper respiratory illness. Strategies to cope include noting daily pollen counts, staying indoors when counts are high, checking with a doctor about new or worsening symptoms, and wearing a mask when outside for more than a few minutes.

Overhead reaches become more challenging with age. This is due to reduced range of motion, declining balance, and weak muscles. As a result, simply reaching up for an object can lead to shoulder injuries, neck injuries, or falls. Avoiding these injuries requires extra care when reaching up: estimating if something is too heavy before lifting it, using a step stool to reduce the reach, finding something to hold on to while reaching, and determining in advance where to set down an object.