There is increasing evidence that implicit bias – non-conscious attitudes toward specific groups – is a source of racial inequities in certain aspects of health care, and lawmakers are taking note.

Since the tragic murder of George Floyd in May 2020, wherein a Black man was killed by police, several U.S. federal and state ...Read more

Myopia, or the need for corrected vision to focus or see objects at a distance, has become a lot more common in recent decades. Some even consider myopia, also known as nearsightedness, an epidemic.

Optometry researchers estimate that about half of the global population will need corrective lenses to offset myopia by 2050 if current ...Read more

Kava is a compound (extracted from a plant member of the pepper family called Piper methysticum) native to islands of the western Pacific.

Overview

The root of the plant is emulsified into a beverage or it can be dried and incorporated into dietary supplement form. Kava may also be called kava-kava, kavain, yaqona, and more.

Historically, ...Read more

Nitrates in cured meats, such as bacon, hot dogs and cold cuts, have long had a bad rap, but more recently there’s been a lot of talk about the health benefits of nitrates in beets and other vegetables. Confusing? Yes. But we’ll straighten it all out for you.

What are nitrates?

Nitrates are compounds made up of nitrogen and oxygen. Most ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My son is in his 20s and has had epilepsy for years. He had undergone extensive evaluation over a decade ago. Lately, his medication hasn’t been effectively preventing seizures. What are some of the innovations available to provide him the chance of seizure freedom and improve his quality of life?

ANSWER: An epilepsy ...Read more

Dermatologists advise their patients to avoid harmful ultraviolet light, which can cause skin damage, photoaging and skin cancer. But they also may prescribe light therapy to treat certain skin conditions. Light therapy is a treatment that uses different wavelengths of light to treat various skin conditions.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Dawn...Read more

This is the second half of a two-part series on making decisions about driving as we age.

It’s a simple but unfortunate fact: Driving skills can wane over time.

Eventually, driving can become unsafe for an older driver, their passengers, and others on the road. If you notice a decline in driving abilities in a loved one, or in yourself, what...Read more

New Jersey is proposing new rules to better protect patients from sexual misconduct in doctors' offices.

The rules would require doctors to confirm that patients have read and understood their right to have another licensed medical professional present as an observer before proceeding with a sensitive examination, including breast, pelvic, ...Read more

A rise in invasive serogroup Y meningococcal disease has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a health advisory for health care providers.

"Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. About 1 in 10 people are natural carriers of the bacteria, and it can spread to others by sharing...Read more

Within the last century, researchers’ understanding of genetics has undergone a profound transformation.

Genes, regions of DNA that are largely responsible for our physical characteristics, were considered unchanging under the original model of genetics pioneered by biologist Gregor Mendel in 1865. That is, genes were thought to be ...Read more

No one can predict the future, but putting together an advance directive can bring you peace of mind and a plan for your medical care during an emergency or end of life.

Dr. Maisha Robinson, chair of the Palliative Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic in Florida, advises people to have these conversations with family members and loved ones.

"An ...Read more

Carrie Lester looks forward to the phone call every Thursday from her doctors’ medical assistant, who asks how she’s doing and if she needs prescription refills. The assistant counsels her on dealing with anxiety and her other health issues.

Lester credits the chats for keeping her out of the hospital and reducing the need for clinic visits...Read more

Eventually, most adults reach a point where we realize we are out of touch with those much younger than us.

Perhaps it is a pop culture reference that sparks the realization. For me, this moment happened when I was in my late 20s and working with adolescents in school settings to help them quit smoking. When other drugs would ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The American Heart Association calls them "game changers."

Oprah Winfrey says they're "a gift."

Science magazine anointed them the "2023 Breakthrough of the Year."

Americans are most familiar with their brand names: Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound. They are the medications that have revolutionized weight loss and raised ...Read more

If it’s true that you are what you eat, then most beef-eating Americans consist of a smattering of poultry feathers, urine, feces, wood chips and chicken saliva, among other food items.

As epidemiologists scramble to figure out how dairy cows throughout the Midwest became infected with a strain of highly pathogenic avian flu— a disease ...Read more

HISLE, S.D. — Katherine Goodlow is only 20, but she has experienced enough to know that people around her are dying too young.

Goodlow, a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, said she’s lost six friends and acquaintances to suicide, two to car crashes, and one to appendicitis. Four of her relatives died in their 30s or 40s, from causes ...Read more

Are you concerned about the time your child spends on digital devices? If so, you're hardly alone. Many parents and caregivers worry that screen time is taking over their child's day (and night), crowding out other activities they need for good health.

It helps to create a family media plan to set healthy digital habits. You may decide you want...Read more

Millions of Americans have become informal family caregivers: people who provide family members or friends with unpaid assistance in accomplishing daily tasks such as bathing, eating, transportation and managing medications.

Driven in part by a preference for home-based care rather than long-term care options such as assisted living ...Read more

Most of us are all too familiar with the consequences of a poor night’s sleep – be it interrupted sleep or simply too little of it. If you’re a parent with kids at home, it often leaves you and your children on edge.

Children with neurodiverse conditions, such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, are ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Donning one of her favorite unicorn-themed nightgowns and perched comfortably in an extra large beanbag chair, Alyssa Tracy watches videos on her tablet.

It’s a quiet, early April morning at the Lakeside, California, home where the 10-year-old lives with her parents, Dustin and Debra Tracy, and older sister Grace Tracy, age 12.

...Read more