A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that parents/caregivers who received the CTC were less likely to experience anxiety, food insecurity, and unstable housing, as those who were previously behind on rent were more likely to be able to resume payments. Previous studies have demonstrated a connection among the expanded CTC, food security, and housing stability during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this longitudinal study of more than 5,800 parent-child dyads assessed families’ health and economic circumstances over time—before and during the pandemic—focusing on caregivers with very young children. The majority of children of caregivers in the study group were under two years old before the pandemic, and the rest of the children were under four years old, compared to the under-18 age group assessed in similar research. 

Chronic inflammation occurs when the immune system is stuck in attack-mode, sending cell after cell to defend and repair the body for months or even years. Diseases associated with chronic inflammation, like arthritis or cancer or autoimmune disorders, weigh heavily on human health—and experts anticipate their incidence is on the rise. A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham identified a protein called WSTF that could be targeted to block chronic inflammation. Crucially, this strategy would not interfere with acute inflammation, allowing the immune system to continue responding appropriately to short-term threats, such as viral or bacterial infection. Results are published in Nature.

A groundbreaking study by researchers at Rutgers Health has uncovered a way to precisely identify and target trauma sites in the body within minutes of injury. The findings, published in the journal Med (Cell Press), could revolutionize emergency care by enabling real-time diagnostics and site-specific treatments delivered within minutes of injury.

In this cohort study of younger acute myocardial infarction survivors with universal health care, living in marginalized neighborhoods was associated with adverse outcomes. The observed differences in health service utilization among marginalized patients warrant further investigation to better understand the underlying structural and systemic factors. 

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, have found that fine-particulate air pollution, which includes pollution from vehicles and industry, was strongly associated with increased genomic changes in lung cancer tumors among people who have never smoked. By assembling the largest-ever whole-genome analysis of lung cancer in individuals who have never smoked, researchers were able to link air pollution exposure to increased cancer-driving and cancer-promoting genetic mutations. This could potentially lead to more prevention strategies for never-smokers.