https://medicalxpress.com/family-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Family medicine Canada's youngest generation is off to a good start for being physically active, but there's also room to grow, according to a first-ever national assessment focused on children under age 5, led by a University of Alberta researcher. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-canada-youngest-generation-healthy-screen.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:20:04 EDT news711795504 We're often told parenting is one of the most rewarding things we'll ever do. But as many parents will attest, it is also full of very difficult moments. And sometimes these moments seem almost constant. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-enjoying-parent-youre-complicated.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:00:24 EDT news711798136 Around half a million Australians use GLP-1 medications for diabetes—and when you add people who use them for obesity and weight-related conditions, the total is much higher. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-glp1-drug-ozempic-mounjaro-nutrition.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:01 EDT news711797176 Obesity is a long-term health challenge that many people face. In fact, the World Health Organization has declared obesity a global epidemic. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-doctor-medication-weight-loss.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 22:40:02 EDT news711732362 GLP-1 medicines such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have transformed the treatment of obesity, but access to them in Australia increasingly depends on something much less medical: whether you can afford them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-subsidizing-weight-loss-drugs-health.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 20:40:01 EDT news711721584 Beginning in January 2027, millions of low-income adults with Medicaid coverage will be required to document at least 80 hours of employment, job training, volunteering or education each month to maintain their insurance coverage. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-medicaid-requirements-law-health-patients.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:10:20 EDT news711717873 In an era where patients and clinicians increasingly turn to artificial intelligence for medical advice, a critical question emerges: Does AI know when not to test or treat? A new joint study from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Clalit Health Services reveals that leading large language models (LLMs) successfully identify when medical interventions are redundant in the vast majority of cases, stumbling primarily in gray areas where medical consensus itself is divided. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-reveals-ai-chatbots-unnecessary-medical.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:00:08 EDT news711720274 You've probably had the experience of going to the pharmacy to pick up a medication and being surprised by how much it costs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-qa-prescription.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:40:17 EDT news711698418 Bone mineral density significantly decreases during and after menopause due to dropping levels of estrogen. Historically, estrogen therapy has been prescribed to help protect bones, but a new study suggests that the addition of testosterone therapy may improve results compared with using estrogen alone. Results of the study were presented at the 2026 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in San Diego Oct. 20–24, 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-combined-estrogen-testosterone-therapy-lumbar.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:20:02 EDT news711697453 Among surveyed U.S. adults aged 45–49, who are eligible for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening per the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations, only about half reported that their doctors had discussed different options for CRC screening with them, and nearly a quarter said they never discussed CRC screening tests with a doctor at all, according to research presented at the 19th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Oct. 18–21 in Atlanta. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-doctors-discuss-screening-options-colorectal.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 13:00:01 EDT news711626891 Training doctors in rural and remote communities and embedding First Nations knowledge and leadership in medical education could be key to strengthening health care access, building a sustainable workforce and improving health outcomes in communities across Australia and beyond. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-rural-medical-key-stronger-health.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 07:40:01 EDT news711613452 An estimated 2.3 million older Australians are being dispensed multiple medicines associated with falls and fractures, while more than 1.2 million are receiving combinations linked to kidney-related side effects, according to new research from Adelaide University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-millions-older-australians-exposed-overlapping.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 07:20:09 EDT news711608051 People who are marginalized or lack access to a primary care provider are at greater risk of early death from newly diagnosed (de novo) metastatic breast cancer, according to research in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-marginalization-lack-primary-early-death.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:10:01 EDT news711354866 Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) could transform diabetes management for millions of Americans with type 2 diabetes who don't take insulin, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-glucose-diabetes-patients-hours-day.html Sat, 17 Oct 2026 15:00:01 EDT news711298343 Starting a walking routine takes very little: comfortable, supportive shoes and your own two feet. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-habit.html Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:40:04 EDT news711283895 People who eat fresh food are healthier than those who don't. That simple fact is the basis of food prescription programs that make fruits, vegetables and other foods free for people who are food insecure. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-food-prescription-insecure-older-adults.html Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:00:24 EDT news711291398 Need treatment fast? Many people now turn to Google before consulting a health care professional. From checking symptoms online to buying medicines online and taking advice from social media influencers, health care is increasingly becoming a do-it-yourself activity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-diy-health-dangerous.html Thu, 15 Oct 2026 11:00:01 EDT news711275592 Staying active is key to staying healthy, and fitness trackers and smartwatches have become popular tools for tracking activity. But just how many steps does someone need to take each day to lose weight? Experts say there's no one-size-fits-all answer. The number 10,000 is repeated often, but research shows anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 steps per day can still provide health benefits. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-daily-weight.html Wed, 14 Oct 2026 20:40:01 EDT news711191032 The rapid expansion of private testosterone prescribing risks extending treatment beyond men with clearly defined need to people with nonspecific symptoms and borderline test results, for whom the balance of benefit and long-term risk is less certain, warn experts in The BMJ. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-private-testosterone-overtreatment-strain-nhs.html Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:30:13 EDT news711194281 Within the medical ecosystem, health guidelines aim for timely diagnosis and regular follow-up of chronic illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, to ensure that no patient gets left behind. However, two studies by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst show that a patient's actual care experience can vary, and not just along the typical demographic lines that research usually investigates. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-primary-resources-health-outcomes-diabetes.html Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:20:01 EDT news711200333 Scientists have discovered that the drug losartan, commonly prescribed for high blood pressure, boosts brown adipose tissue activity in mice, enhancing their metabolism. This indicates that repurposing losartan—an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) with a well-known safety profile—may be a clinically viable method of stimulating brown fat, which has been linked to improved cardiovascular health and, reported for the first time in this study, psychiatric health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-commonly-blood-pressure-drug-healthy.html Wed, 14 Oct 2026 11:00:08 EDT news711190407 Researchers from the University of Alberta have found that opioids are best used for acute pain relief for four weeks or less and may cause more harm than good when used for chronic pain for more than 12 weeks. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-opioids-short-term-pain-relief.html Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:20:01 EDT news711184258 In 2018, Arizona lawmakers began requiring clinicians who prescribe high doses of opioids to also prescribe naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication commonly known by the brand name Narcan. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-arizona-substances-law.html Tue, 13 Oct 2026 14:20:01 EDT news711113417 "Do you smoke cigarettes?" I asked my patient during a recent clinic appointment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-nicotine-pouches-vaping-cigarettes-product.html Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:20:01 EDT news711106348 In a new Annals "Beyond the Guidelines" feature, a primary care physician and an obstetrician-gynecologist discuss the optimal approach to cervical cancer screening in a healthy young woman. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-experts-debate-cervical-cancer-screening.html Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:20:02 EDT news711089821 While U.S. adults report a high level of awareness of the term "ultraprocessed foods," most do not fully understand what the term refers to, according to recent public opinion research commissioned by the American Heart Association. The findings reinforce the need for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to release the long-awaited federal definition of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-consumer-polling-limited-familiarity-ultraprocessed.html Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:40:06 EDT news711027182 There's been a shift in how some medicines and therapeutic products are accessed and used. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-people-power-business-medicine.html Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:20:02 EDT news711017881 No amount of lead exposure is considered safe for children. Even low levels of lead in a child's blood can cause serious health problems and developmental delays. But data on lead exposure are sparse at the neighborhood level in the United States, leaving significant gaps in knowledge about where lead exposure may be occurring. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-childhood-exposure-neighborhood.html Sun, 11 Oct 2026 14:00:02 EDT news710685957 Poorer people, on average, live shorter lives. This pattern can be seen even in wealthy countries with extensive welfare systems. In Norway, for example, 40-year-old men in the richest 1% could expect to live almost 14 years longer than those in the poorest 1%. In the U.S., the equivalent gap is nearly 15 years. A 2025 World Health Organization report warned that international targets for reducing health inequalities by 2040 are likely to be missed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-circumstances-linked.html Sat, 10 Oct 2026 11:40:01 EDT news710603436 The aging population, workforce changes and patients' increasingly complex medical needs are all factors straining primary care systems around the world. Artificial intelligence tools have emerged as a potential means of extending the capabilities of health care workers, including in primary care settings. Large language models (LLMs), also known as chatbots, have performed extremely well in simulations. However, little is known about how these systems perform with real patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-real-world-safety-quality-patient.html Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:20:17 EDT news710759399