Family medicine https://medicalxpress.com/family-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Family medicine A new plan for healthy aging starts before we're born Most of us would like to hang around on the planet for as long as possible, and thankfully, lifespans in many countries are increasing. Scientists are also developing a new field known as longevity medicine, which aims to help people stay healthier for longer as they age. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-healthy-aging-born.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:40:02 EDT news703763143 New body index aims to move beyond BMI and works for babies too Body Mass Index (BMI) has long been used in public health and clinical settings as a simple tool to classify an individual's physical status based on their height and weight. Originally developed in the 1830s by Belgian mathematician Adolphe Quetelet, BMI was designed to describe the characteristics of the average man rather than to assess an individual's health, and it did not account for age, sex, ethnicity or body composition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-body-index-aims-bmi-babies.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 07:50:02 EDT news703491612 Patients whose physicians scored higher in LKA less likely to receive low-value care Patients whose physicians scored higher in the first year of the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Internal Medicine Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA) were significantly less likely to receive low-value health care services, which cumulatively cost the U.S. health care system an estimated $100 billion each year. The authors say the findings, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, highlight an association between greater physician knowledge and lower use of tests and interventions that provide little to no benefit to patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-patients-physicians-scored-higher-lka.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:00:08 EDT news703143557 Health apps and feeds reshape doctor visits, surveys of US adults show Researchers at Yale School of Medicine recently published two new studies in JAMA Network Open and JAMA that offer new insights into how people interact with wearable devices and health-related content on social media. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-health-apps-reshape-doctor-surveys.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 11:40:06 EDT news702724195 Globally, youth are not eating enough healthy plant-based foods, analysis concludes Healthy plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes are the foundation of a healthy diet for anyone, no matter how old they are. But that's especially true for children, for whom these foods are rich in essential nutrients that support normal growth, learning, mood and long-term health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-globally-youth-healthy-based-foods.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:00:01 EDT news702626903 Editing AI mistakes can cost doctors time when writing to patients Errors and irrelevant details mean physicians may spend more time editing AI-drafted responses than it would take to write them, a large study of an online patient portal shows. Artificial intelligence is spreading rapidly in health care, with the goal of streamlining critical but onerous clerical tasks such as note-taking and charting so physicians and nurses can devote more time to patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-ai-doctors-patients.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:03 EDT news702223917 Analysis indicates Latinos in U.S. are indispensable to nation's prosperity, health, future The conventional narrative that Latinos are taking more from the United States than they contribute is not just wrong—it is dangerous. In a new "Medicine and Society" analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) at John Hopkins University School of Nursing report that Latinos are among the nation's most important contributors to economic growth, workforce participation, and population health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-analysis-latinos-indispensable-nation-prosperity.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:04 EDT news702287326 Researchers to teens: Get to bed—it's good for your blood sugar If you're 18, getting a bit more sleep could matter more than you think. New research from the University of Copenhagen and COPSAC shows that even in healthy young people, longer nights of sleep are linked to more stable blood sugar levels the next day. What's more, the relationship appears to go both ways. The findings suggest that sleep may play an important role in our metabolism long before conditions such as diabetes develop. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-teens-bed-good-blood-sugar.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:40:01 EDT news702117142