https://medicalxpress.com/family-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Family medicine Acute sinusitis leads to more antibiotic prescriptions for U.S. adults than any other condition, but there is no consensus on which antibiotic is preferred for uncomplicated cases. In a retrospective, nationwide study of more than 500,000 patients with acute sinusitis, a research team led by Mass General Brigham investigators found no major differences in measured outcomes between adults who received standard amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate (a more powerful, combination antibiotic). Patients treated with amoxicillin-clavulanate were at slightly higher risk of contracting secondary infections. Results are published in JAMA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-standard-dose-antibiotic-choice-treatment.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 07:30:01 EDT news695634731 A supplier of baby food jars in Austria is recalling a line saying a lethal substance may have been introduced through tampering. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-austria-recalls-baby-food-jars.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 06:18:19 EDT news695711871 New research to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12–15 May) shows that living with obesity in childhood is associated with lower future levels of education, employment, and earnings. The study is by Dr. Lise Bjerregaard, Dr. Elisabeth Andersen, and research group leader Dr. Jennifer Lyn Baker of the Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Copenhagen University Hospital—Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-childhood-obesity-shadow-slashing-pay.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:00:06 EDT news695625471 A new University of Michigan study, published in Injury Prevention, tested a method called the Family Safety Net in Alaska, which shifts suicide prevention away from individual screening and toward household action. This change, researchers say, could help reach people who are often missed by standard tools. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-family-firearm-strategy-screen-curb.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:40:04 EDT news695636822 A routine component of many medical appointments—stepping on the scale to be weighed—may be a stigmatizing experience that raises patients' blood pressure and potentially impacts their health care, according to new research from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Angela Incollingo Rodriguez. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-weight-stigma-doctor-office.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:40:02 EDT news695475182 Nine of 10 adults in the United States report having had a source of usual health care in 2024, according to an April data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-adults-source-usual-health.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:40:03 EDT news695463940 A landmark government policy designed to slash the cost of medicines for millions of Australians is falling well short of its potential because GPs and pharmacists have been slow to adopt it, new research has found. The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, examined uptake of Australia's 60-day dispensing policy for blood pressure medicines in the two years since it launched in September 2023. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-australia-day-prescriptions-millions-patients.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:20:05 EDT news695485382 Adolescents who consume more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have significantly higher odds of being overweight or obese, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Mekuriaw Nibret Aweke of the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ultra-food-intake-sharply-higher.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:11 EDT news695466061 If you watched the Super Bowl in 2026, you likely saw Serena Williams share her weight loss journey on GLP-1 medications in a commercial. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ads-glp1-drugs-internet-safe.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:20:01 EDT news695476442 New Monash University research has found that a free, interactive online tool can help people taking prescription opioids for pain to better understand their risks and adopt safer behaviors, more than doubling requests for naloxone, a medicine that reverses opioid overdose. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-free-online-tool-opioid-safety.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:00:04 EDT news695470261 Northwestern University psychologist Andrea Russell sees older adults with early cognitive impairment riddled with anxiety. Some worry a missed word or forgotten appointment could signal Alzheimer's disease. Others fear making a mistake in public. Some are too afraid to ask their doctor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-alzheimer-patients-blood.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:00:01 EDT news695381641 The widespread use of benzodiazepines—better known as sleeping pills or anxiety medication—among the population has become a serious public health issue. These psychotropic drugs, central nervous system depressants prescribed to treat anxiety and insomnia, carry a high risk of dependence, cognitive impairment and falls, among other consequences. A 2024 study carried out by the Spanish Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) showed that 22% of the Spanish population regularly use this type of medication, in four out of ten cases on a daily basis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-primary-campaign-benzodiazepine-overuse-patient.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:40:01 EDT news695384766 Clinical interviewing is one of the most important skills physicians develop during their training. It forms the foundation for accurate diagnosis and effective patient care. However, evaluating these skills is often time-intensive, requiring repeated observations and detailed feedback from experienced clinicians. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-medical-clinicians.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:20:10 EDT news695389261 A new peer-reviewed study published in DIGITAL HEALTH finds that a substantial share of recent Chinese immigrants in the United States use China-based telehealth applications for medical advice while living in the U.S., often as a response to barriers within the U.S. health care system itself. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-reveals-chinese-immigrants-china-based.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:20:01 EDT news695281262 Adding as little as 1,700 to 5,500 steps per day can offset the risk of a list of chronic diseases—including obesity, diabetes and sleep apnea—according to a new study from a corresponding author with Vanderbilt Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-adding-day-offsets-chronic-disease.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:40:01 EDT news695045821 A multifaceted, team-based care strategy significantly reduced blood pressure (BP) in low-income patients with uncontrolled hypertension, according to a study led by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Their findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, could eventually lead to the widespread use of this strategy at primary care clinics across the country. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-multifaceted-clinic-strategy-income-patients.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:40:01 EDT news694957022 Breastfeeding not only affects your weight while you are breastfeeding—women gain up to 6.5 kilos less on average later in life if they breastfeed for at least three months, according to a new study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-breastfeeding-months-weight-gain-decades.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:20:01 EDT news694946402 Treating chronic diseases can involve intensive programs designed to change people's diet, exercise and other health behaviors. But a typical program, while packed with information and advice, may overlook a fundamental reality: People's lives can contain a variety of barriers to behaviors that can improve their health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-health-personalization-tool.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:40:02 EDT news694945922 New research from Macquarie University has used strong evidence from Mongolia to show how a combination of higher prices, graphic health warnings and less prominent supermarket placement can work to reduce the consumption of unhealthy sugary drinks by consumers by up to 30%. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-sugary-simple-policy.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:10:01 EDT news694936202 Self-employed Hispanic women report less high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, poor health, and binge drinking compared to Hispanic women working for salary or wages, new research suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-employed-hispanic-women-cardiovascular-disease.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:00:01 EDT news694929302 A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior examined the impact of a Food is Medicine (FIM) and food literacy education program on rural, uninsured adults with type 2 diabetes. Findings suggest that even when educational programs are effective overall, additional cultural tailoring may be needed to ensure that all participants benefit equally. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-food-literacy-rural-uninsured-patients.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:30:02 EDT news694870543 A recent study from UBC Okanagan suggests that results depend less on how you exercise and more on how long you keep moving—especially for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-minutes-blood-sugar.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:40:01 EDT news694887541 As millions of women enter menopause each year, gaps in clinician education continue to limit access to effective care. A new study evaluating a menopause-focused educational program for primary care clinicians has found that targeted, case-based learning significantly improved provider confidence and identified critical unmet educational needs. Results of the study are published in Menopause. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-tailored-menopause-clinician-confidence-quality.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:50:01 EDT news694881241 Long-term opioid prescribing has fallen in the United States over the last decade, but millions of patients still received opioids for 90 days or longer in 2023, according to a new research letter in JAMA led by University of Michigan researchers. The team analyzed U.S. trends in long-term opioid therapy, a pattern of opioid dispensing often used for chronic pain but associated with risks, including overdose and addiction. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-term-opioid-fallen-millions-therapy.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:40:04 EDT news694880701 A new study from the University of Toronto shows that where a mother lives in an Indian city—in a slum or a non-slum neighborhood—is linked to how she breastfeeds her baby. Breastfeeding within one hour of birth helps newborns fight infection and lowers the risk of death, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Giving babies only breastmilk (no water or other foods) for about the first six months protects them from diarrhea, pneumonia, and poor growth and supports their brain development. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-breastfeeding-patterns-differ-india-slums.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:00:06 EDT news694863121 A retrospective study of outpatient visits found that use of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) G2211 add-on code has grown steadily since inception in 2024 but remains well below federal expectations. By mid-2025, the code appeared on about 27% of outpatient Medicare evaluation and management visits, short of early projections that more than one-third of such encounters would qualify. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-uptake-medicare-g2211-code-slower.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:10:07 EDT news694773422 As the COVID-19 pandemic upended virtually every aspect of people's lives, one critical question loomed large for millions of low-income and underserved health care patients: Would they still be able to see their own doctor? Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the OCHIN nonprofit consultancy conducted a comprehensive, nationwide study of community-based health centers—the frontline primary care providers serving millions of America's most vulnerable patients. The goal: to assess how consistently patients were able to see their primary care provider before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-health-struggled-covid-community-clinics.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:30:01 EDT news694787222 Older hospitalized patients who struggled with taking their medications correctly were 10% less likely to need to return to the hospital if they had a pharmacist's help at discharge, according to a new multisite clinical trial based at Cedars-Sinai. But the findings, published in JAMA Network Open, found the extra help didn't significantly reduce unplanned hospital visits for the rest of those 55 and older. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hospital-discharge-day-trial-pharmacist.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:00:05 EDT news694684501 When your head is splitting, your nose is running nonstop, your eyes are itching and you're coughing, coughing, coughing, what's the best way to fight back? That depends on what's causing your symptoms, said Dr. Ian Tullberg, an urgent care and family medicine provider at UCHealth in Colorado Springs, Colorado. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-symptoms-owe-allergy-cold.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:30:44 EDT news694672198 First it was protein, now it's fiber: the "maxxing" mindset has permeated social media, as wellness influencers insist that loading up on certain nutrients is the key to vitality and a life-changing gut glow-up. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-online-maxxing-era-fiber-protein.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 07:00:02 EDT news694589630