With many communities experiencing flooding caused by heavy rainfall in recent months, the American Lung Association (ALA) is reminding people that property damage isn’t the only thing to worry about. In addition to containing dangerous substances like sewage, oil and gas, floodwaters can cause mold, which may affect your respiratory health long after the water has receded.

A vast majority of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, consider access to health care in rural communities an important issue, according to a new poll released by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and the American Heart Association (AHA). At the same time, people in rural communities say they have difficulty getting quality health care due to a lack of available facilities, a shortage of doctors and other factors.

New cases of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. decreased by 35 percent since a peak in 2009 – the first sign that efforts to stop the nation’s diabetes epidemic are working, CDC researchers report. New cases have declined from 1.7 million new cases per year in 2008 to 1.3 million new cases in 2017. And there’s more good news: The number of people living with diagnosed diabetes in the United States has remained stable during the past 8 years.

Just in time for World No Tobacco Day - which is today - the World Health Organization (WHO) has unleashed a barrage of statistics on the toll tobacco takes on lung health. For starters, tobacco kills at least eight million people a year across the globe. That’s according to WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who noted that millions more live with lung cancer, tuberculosis, asthma or chronic lung disease caused by tobacco.

Early-onset colorectal cancer –cancer occurring before age 50—is rising most rapidly in Western states, where healthy behaviors are prominent, according to a new study. The authors of the study, which appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, say the findings indicate the need for further etiologic studies to explore early-life colorectal carcinogenesis.

Activity trackers and mobile phone apps are all the rage, but do they really help users increase and maintain physical activity? A new study has found that one mobile phone app designed for inactive women does help - when combined with an activity tracker and personal counseling.

Improved air quality in the Los Angeles region is linked to roughly 20 percent fewer new asthma cases in children, according to a USC study that tracked Southern California children over a 20-year period. The research expands on the landmark USC Children’s Health Study, which found that children’s lungs had grown stronger in the previous two decades and rates of bronchitic symptoms decreased as pollution declined throughout the region.

A federal judge has ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acted illegally when it delayed a required review of the public health impact of e-cigarettes – a delay that allowed the products to stay on the market until 2022. Cigar makers were given until 2021. In what health experts are calling a major victory for children’s and teen’s health, U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that the FDA had exceeded its legal authority in giving e-cigarette manufacturers more time to sell their products before applying for FDA authorization.

People can reduce their risk of dementia by getting regular exercise, not smoking, avoiding harmful use of alcohol, controlling their weight, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, according to new guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).