U.S. adults who reported feeling discriminated against at work had a higher risk for developing high blood pressure than those who reported low discrimination at work, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

According to the 2023 American Heart Association statistics, high blood pressure, which impacts nearly half of U.S. adults, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death among Americans.

As climate change increases coastal flood risks at hundreds of hazardous sites in California, the potential exposure to flood-related contamination falls disproportionately on socially vulnerable and marginalized communities, according to a study released today in Environmental Science & Technology.

“If policies are implemented where they are needed most, there could be a significant decrease in life expectancy disparities across Los Angeles,” Dr.

Pregnant women whose household tap water had higher levels of lithium had a moderately higher risk of their offspring being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, according to a new study led by a UCLA Health researcher.

Most studies of Alzheimer’s disease have looked at environmental exposures perhaps five to 10 years prior to onset, said Dr. Beate Ritz, professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. In Parkinson’s disease, she said, relevant exposures could occur anywhere from 5 to 20 years prior to disease onset.

A report issued by UCLA and the Sierra Club that synthesized existing data came to much the same conclusion … “The association between gas appliance use and health [including furnaces and water heaters] have mixed results, in part due to study design limitations, but also due to a lack of data on quantified exposures,” the paper says. Lead author Dr.

Ten new faculty members have joined the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health this year. “Our school has a long tradition of attracting great talent to UCLA, and our latest group of new faculty is no exception,” said Dr. Ron Brookmeyer, dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Over the past 30 years, progress in early detection and treatment of cancer has helped reduce the overall death rate by more than 30%. Pancreatic cancer, however, has remained difficult to treat. Only 1 in 9 people survive five years after diagnosis, in part because this cancer is protected by biological factors that help it resist treatment.

Past research has shown that pesticide exposure increases the risk of cancer. Now, UCLA-led research has exposed which specific pesticides increase the risk of retinoblastoma — a rare eye tumor — in children.

The study, published in the August International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, found that children prenatally exposed to the chemicals acephate and bromacil had an increased risk of developing unilateral retinoblastoma, or cancer in one eye, and that exposure to pymetrozine and kresoxim-methyl increased the risk of all types of retinoblastoma.

A UCLA-led research team has found apparent links between pesticides and thyroid cancer risk in three Central California counties.