https://medicalxpress.com/common-illnesses-prevention-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Common Illnesses & Prevention Europe must act now to strengthen maternal vaccination during pregnancy and ensure all women and babies can benefit from a new generation of vaccines to protect against serious infections. That is according to a new Lancet Regional Health - Europe series led by Professor Asma Khalil at City St George's, University of London, which is being launched and presented at the 2026 Global Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Congress in Utrecht. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-maternal-vaccines-babies-infections-unequal.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:00:09 EDT news710692321 A team has developed a new self-disinfecting cotton fabric capable of eliminating bacteria, fungi and viruses in hospital settings using visible light. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-disinfecting-fabric-bacteria-fungi-viruses.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:00:19 EDT news710696761 The hip joint is a well-known point of failure in the human body, especially as we age. It's no wonder the problem is familiar: In the U.S. alone, someone fractures a hip roughly twice every minute; it happens 27 times a minute worldwide. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-endocrinologist-discusses-life-death-stakes.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:00:04 EDT news710684425 The pathogen Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is naturally present in the intestines of many people. When present in small numbers, it usually causes no symptoms. Treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics can severely disrupt the balance of the healthy gut microbiome, allowing the bacterium to multiply unchecked. The result is acute intestinal inflammation, which can also become chronic. Such infections with C. difficile (CDI) are among the leading causes of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Since the bacteria release toxins that can lead to dangerous, sometimes life-threatening intestinal inflammation with high relapse rates, new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-natural-compound-difficile-largely-healthy.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:20:04 EDT news710693581 Amid the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), a team led by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has conducted what they describe as the most extensive systematic evaluation to date of associations between ADRD and nearly 200 environmental exposures—from pollution to diet to social connections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-environmental-exposures-alzheimer-disease-dementias.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:40:20 EDT news710679722 Gold has a reputation for being chemically untouchable. But according to Western University chemist Yolanda Hedberg, that reputation is a little misleading—gold is not unreactive so much as selective about what it reacts with. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-allergic-gold-jewelry-lab-reveal.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:20:19 EDT news710685713 Men in England diagnosed with incurable advanced prostate cancer are more likely to survive for at least three years than they were a decade ago, according to an analysis by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and partners. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-men-longer-incurable-prostate-cancer.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:00:16 EDT news710675582 Public health officials and law enforcement agents are facing a growing challenge in combating the fentanyl epidemic: They lack detailed and timely information on the harmful and potentially deadly substances, including anesthetics, industrial chemicals, veterinary sedatives and other adulterants, that drug suppliers increasingly mix into the illicit fentanyl supply. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-toxic-substances-fentanyl-vary.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:20:17 EDT news710674622 Andrea Romanos-Nanclares, Ph.D., of the Channing Division of Network Medicine within the Department of Medicine at Mass General Brigham, is the lead author of a paper published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health titled "The Nurses' Health Studies: a half-century of discovery in women's health." A. Heather Eliassen, ScD, of Mass General Brigham and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is the senior author. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-women-health-reveal-lessons-disease.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:40:18 EDT news710673663 It took the better part of a century for maternal mortality to be recognized, forgotten and finally recognized again as an urgent public health crisis in the United States. In contrast, research shows fathers—particularly men in their 20s through early 40s—die disproportionately from preventable causes such as suicide, overdose, homicide and accidental injury. Yet paternal mortality is rarely examined in connection with the transition to parenthood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-dads-dying-kids-born-tracking.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:40:07 EDT news710670660 Osteoporosis weakens bones and makes them more likely to break. The disease affects about 10 million Americans over age 50, including one in five women. And those numbers are expected to rise as the share of Americans 65 and older climbs from 18.9% to 23.4% by 2060. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-qa-fda-decision-osteoporosis-drugs.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:20:01 EDT news710667481 Vaccine-hesitant adults were more likely to consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine when public health messages acknowledged distrust of government and affirmed values such as personal liberty, a new study found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-aligned-messages-covid-vaccination-intentions.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:00:06 EDT news710664361 More than 1.5 million Australians live with diabetes—a relentless, demanding condition with day-to-day challenges that can affect their emotional well-being. Yet people living with diabetes demonstrate remarkable strengths, resilience and adaptability every day. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-wrong-strong-exploring-personal-strengths.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:20:34 EDT news710661062 People with type 2 diabetes who sleep longer may have an increased risk of developing or worsening diabetic kidney disease, according to a study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-longer-linked-higher-kidney-disease.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:08 EDT news710588101 A study of almost 9,000 injury patients across Africa and South Asia has found that nearly half were dead or disabled after three months—highlighting the need for smarter, locally tailored trauma-care systems. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-global-injury-crisis-highlights-urgent.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:20:12 EDT news710655121 Three of four leading artificial intelligence (AI) search tools accurately identified home blood pressure monitors that met validated clinical standards only 63–83% of the time, according to preliminary research being presented at the American Heart Association's Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2026, held in Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 7–11. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-ai-tools-unreliable-home-blood.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:00:01 EDT news710587982 Patients treated at for-profit hospitals experienced higher mortality and readmission rates, while nurses working in those hospitals reported less safe staffing and substantially worse working conditions, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn Nursing's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-profit-hospitals-linked-worse-patient.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 07:20:02 EDT news710653561 Oxidized lipids—fats structurally altered by enzymes, oxygen or free radicals—are double-edged swords that can both quell and ignite systemic inflammation, according to a new comprehensive review aimed at sharpening the overall understanding of an intricate class of highly reactive molecules. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-rogue-lipids-routine-cellular-stress.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 06:40:01 EDT news710594139 The plague, the rare bacterial infection infamously known for killing tens of millions in 14th-century Europe, never went away. It is now easily treated with antibiotics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-plague-cases-africa-year.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 05:20:01 EDT news710652837 A top official with the World Health Organization said Wednesday it doesn't know how a lab worker in Siberia died, and she urged Russia to provide more information about a case that prompted global concerns about suspected pneumonic plague. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-health-agency-russia-pneumonic-plague.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 04:33:41 EDT news710652780 A common bacterium found in the mouth and airways may help the lungs better defend themselves against pneumonia, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-common-airway-bacterium-lungs-pneumonia.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:40:16 EDT news710611441 Heart failure deaths are increasing steadily in the U.S., fueled by a rise in deaths among young and middle-aged adults, a new report says. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-heart-failure-deaths-younger-middle.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:40:11 EDT news710592046 Vaccination against a common respiratory virus during pregnancy lowers the risk of severe disease in babies by 74%, but uptake in many countries remains low, a new review suggests. The report also reveals evidence of lower uptake of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine among some socioeconomic and ethnic groups, those with reduced access to health care and younger mothers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-global-stark-differences-maternal-rsv.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:30:18 EDT news710592421 Receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine before pregnancy is associated with a lower risk of major pregnancy complications, including preterm birth, with a greater reduction in risk seen among women vaccinated at an earlier age, according to a large Swedish study published by The BMJ. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hpv-vaccination-pregnancy-linked-preterm.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:30:07 EDT news710588281 Sometimes you can solve a mystery with a fish but not a mouse. Sometimes you can see a biochemical process happening, but you can't study it in detail until you identify the underlying players. Sometimes separate streams of inquiry turn out to be part of the same story. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-mice-zebrafish-scientists-decades-mystery.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:50:01 EDT news710612161 Genetic information may play an increasingly important role in the personalized preventive medicine of the future. Whole-genome sequencing could open up new possibilities for identifying susceptibility to and risk of specific diseases even before symptoms appear, emphasizes Dr. Gyula Richárd Nagy, a clinical geneticist at Semmelweis University. However, to achieve this, we must first accurately "read" our genome—that is, the billions of DNA letters—with increasing precision. We must also ensure that the reference we are comparing it to is appropriate. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-properly-genome.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:00:22 EDT news710610121 Flu season may be getting a head start this year, and experts say that's a good reason not to put off your flu shot. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-flu-season-early-experts-vaccinated.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:40:09 EDT news710594412 For millions of years, parasitic worms have had to survive inside animals without being destroyed by their hosts' immune systems. To do that, they have evolved remarkably effective ways of dampening the immune response. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-parasitic-worms-key-immune-diseases.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:20:04 EDT news710596981 A laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, Russia, has died just days after falling ill with an undisclosed illness. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-russian-plague-expert-panic.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:40:10 EDT news710596862 These findings were generated by the largest-ever study of "pooled" tuberculosis (TB) testing, carried out by Start4All, a partnership led by LSTM with the Stop TB Partnership and research partners in seven countries with a high TB burden. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-rapid-diagnosis-tuberculosis-millions.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:20:18 EDT news710595181