While all Americans could benefit from proposed new limits on what's called PM2.5 air pollution, new research indicates the change has the potential to benefit Black and low-income Americans the most.

The limits being considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could cut death rates in those more vulnerable groups by up to 7%, according to researchers from Harvard T.H. C...

Ordering special heart scans before a major surgery to gauge risks may be unnecessary, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that surgeons can instead estimate patients' risk of heart attack or death by reviewing existing images of the chest captured months earlier during screening for lung issues, such as pneumonia or cancer.

This could avoid surgery delays and increased costs, w...

Children in Sweden's capital can breathe a little easier.

As Stockholm's air has gotten cleaner, young people's lungs have gotten stronger, new research shows. The findings could have implications for cities worldwide.

While the adverse impact of air pollutants on kids' lung health is well-documented, the impact of changes in air quality on lung development is less studied, research...

Older people have vaccines available to prevent severe influenza and COVID-19, but there's been nothing to protect against the third respiratory virus that contributed to this season's wretched "triple-demic."

Until now.

Two major pharmaceutical companies published clinical trial results this week that pave the way for an RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine to be available for...

As colds, flu and COVID continue to circulate this winter, a new U.S. government study finds that young children infected with COVID plus a second virus tend to become sicker.

While severe COVID is rare among children, kids can and do fall ill enough to end up in the hospital.

During the pandemic's first two years, young U.S. children who were hospitalized with COVID tended to be mo...

Going into the holiday season, many public health experts feared a "tripledemic"of flu, COVID-19 and RSV cases.

New government data now shows that didn't happen.

Reports of flu-like illness are down for the sixth straight week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Res...

Public health experts have been warning of a "tripledemic"of respiratory viruses this fall and winter, so the American Lung Association has some tips for breathing easier this holiday season.

Flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 are all spreading throughout the United States, overwhelming health care systems.

One way to make holiday or seasonal gatherings safer is to...

Unos investigadores han descubierto otro peligro para la salud asociado con vapear.

Inhalar los productos de vapeo podría dañar a una capa esencial de los pulmones, llamada surfactante. El surfactante está hecho de lípidos y proteínas, y posibilita que se respire con un esfuerzo mínimo al reducir la tensión superficial. Los investigadores afirman que la respiración...

Researchers have uncovered another health hazard associated with vaping.

Inhaling vape products may damage a critical layer of the lungs called surfactant. Made of lipids and proteins, surfactant makes it possible to breathe with minimal effort by reducing surface tension. Researchers say breathing would require more effort and possibly mechanical help without this layer.

"Vaping c...

As three highly contagious respiratory viruses spread across the United States, straining hospitals and triggering drug shortages, health officials in some major cities and states are calling for a return to indoor masking.

Over the past few weeks, COVID-19, the flu and RSV have made millions of Americans ill, and indoor masking is seen as one way to slow the spread of the viruses.

...

An early surge in cold and flu cases has created shortages in key antiviral and antibiotic drugs needed for the annual "sick season,"pharmacists report.

The antiviral flu drug Tamiflu is in short supply for both adults and children, in both its brand name formulation as well as the generic version, said Michael G...

Pediatricians' offices, children's hospitals, urgent care centers and emergency rooms across the United States are being overwhelmed by an early, heavy surge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among infants and young children.

Reported cases of RSV started rising dramatically in September, and by mid-October were at their ...

People hospitalized for COVID-19 are not necessarily out of the woods once they're discharged: Many land in the hospital again in the months afterward, a large U.K. study finds.

The researchers found that in the 10 months after leaving the hospital, COVID-19 patients were more than twice as likely to be hospitalized or die, compared to the general population. And even compared with people...

Secondhand vapor from electronic cigarettes is harmful to others, causing bronchitis symptoms and shortness of breath in young bystanders, a new study reports.

Secondhand exposure to vapor increased teens' risk of bronchitis symptoms by 40% and shortness of breath by 53%, according to findings published online Jan. 10 in the journal