At our core, people are social beings. Whether we are a part of a sports team, social group or professional society, we all have the need for some type of social network. These connections give us opportunities to thrive, learn new things and enjoy healthier lives. However, for some older adults these social connections begin to dwindle as they age, and they experience a distancing from social networks or relationships with other people.

White adults in the U.S. reported higher e-cigarette use than all other ethnicities in both 2014 and 2018, though e-cigarette use for all ethnicity groups jumped from 13 percent in 2014 to 15.7 percent in 2018, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published Nov. 29.

About 1 in 4 young people in the U.S. demonstrate problematic cellphone use, which is linked to a higher risk of mental health issues, according to a study published in BMC Psychiatry.

The number of abortions reported in the U.S. decreased by nearly 25 percent between 2007 and 2016, according to new data published Nov. 29 in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Since 1999, child mortality rates have declined nationally — but kids in rural America are dying at higher rates than their urban counterparts, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

People who survive gun injuries face long-term consequences that affect their mental and physical health, according to a study published online in JAMA Surgery.

The U.S. has seen an increasing number of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks occur in recent years, and along with that, there has been a corresponding increase in legislation on childhood vaccinations, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

A recent blog post by Community Hospital Corporation details the nonclinical aspects that are a part of health outcomes and the scientific research supporting those aspects.

More than one-third of children ages 3-5 have never had their eyes checked by a healthcare professional, according to new data from the CDC.

Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health will invest $100 million to address critical health issues in the state, the organization announced Nov. 19.

Children's Wisconsin in Milwaukee has created a plan to address mental and behavioral health needs among the state's children, which would require an estimated $150 million in funding.

The American Heart Association plans to launch a $20 million research initiative focused on studying the effects of youth vaping.

Nearly a third (30 percent) of parents said they did not have time to worry about their children's health unless it was an emergency, according to a Nemours Children's Health System survey. 

Though cigarette smoking among U.S. adults reached an all-time low of 13.7 percent in 2018, nearly 20 percent of adults (49.1 million) used tobacco products, according to the CDC's Nov. 15 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

People who are illiterate have a nearly three times higher risk of experiencing dementia as people who can read and write, according to a study published in Neurology.

Cholesterol levels are decreasing in the U.S., a trend researchers are attributing to a 2013 change in treatment guidelines, according to a Nov. 11 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 

About 7 in 10 adults in the U.S. name healthcare and mass shootings as significant sources of stress, according to the American Psychological Association's 13th annual "Stress in America" survey.  

The gap between preventable deaths rates in rural and urban areas widened for many health conditions between 2010 and 2017, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report published Nov. 8.

CMS approved its first demonstration project to expand behavioral health treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries with serious mental illness living in the District of Columbia, the agency announced Nov. 6.

Millennials' physical and behavioral health is declining faster than the previous generation, Gen-X, which could increase demand for healthcare services and raise costs, according to a Nov. 6 report from Blue Cross Blue Shield and Moody's Analytics.