The eyes are often called the windows to the soul. However, they also serve as a window to our overall health. One area of study is focusing on the tiny blood vessels in the retina. These vessels might hold clues about two major eye diseases: glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, or AMD. Researchers are looking into how these vessels change over time and if ...

Air pollution is a big deal. It's not just about smoggy skies and bad smells. It's about how it messes with our health, especially our kidneys. This is what a large study in China found out. They tracked over 5, 000 people to see how air pollution affects kidney function over time. They looked at five main pollutants: tiny particles (PM1, PM2. 5, PM10), nitrogen diox...

The link between tough times in childhood and mental health struggles in young adulthood is clear. This connection is often looked at from a transdiagnostic angle. This means focusing on shared symptoms across different mental health issues, rather than just one specific disorder. A recent study dug into this topic. It looked at how various hardships in childhood aff...

In China, a big question is what makes the minds of middle-aged and older adults slow down. A recent study dug into this, using a long-term health survey. This survey, known as CHARLS, tracked many people over time. The goal was to find out what mix of things might be causing memory and thinking problems. The study looked at many different factors. These included mo...

LGBTQ+ individuals who grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often struggle with their identity. They face a tough choice between their faith and their sexual or gender identity. This can lead to some serious mental health issues. A recent study followed 359 LGBTQ+ individuals over two to four years. The goal was to find out what actions today co...

In recent years, childhood overweight and obesity have become a major global health issue. This is not just about how kids look. It's about their health now and in the future. A study focused on Chinese primary school children. It looked at how birth weight might be connected to obesity and central obesity. This is the extra weight around the belly. It can be more ha...

The journey from childhood to teenage years is a tough time for many. It is a period when feelings of sadness can start to appear. This makes it vital to look at the factors that might cause these feelings and how they change over time. A recent study focused on how confidence in different areas of life and feelings of sadness interact during these years. The study ...

The idea that going to church can make you feel better has been around for a while. To test this, researchers looked at data from a large survey of British adults. This survey tracked people's lives over 18 years. The survey asked about mental health and happiness. It also asked how often people went to religious services. The researchers used fancy math to see if t...

The way a person grows up can have a big impact on their adult life. This includes things like where they live and how much money their family has. Past studies have shown that these early experiences can affect health and behaviors later in life. For example, they can influence whether someone develops a disease or struggles with substance abuse. But what about choi...

The connection between religion and mental health has been a hot topic for a long time. However, figuring out if one directly causes the other is tricky. A recent study dug into this question using data from parents in a UK-based research project. The goal was to see if being religious leads to better or worse mental health, if mental health issues push people toward...