A swirl of color, music, costumes, and crowds, Mardi Gras is the last day before the start of Lent. This year it falls on February 21, 2012. Each of the countries that celebrates Mardi Gras does it in an inimitable way, blending its culture and traditions into the event's parades and revelry. In many places Mardi Gras (literally "Fat Tuesday") is part of an extended celebration known as Carnival.
Is there something inherently unhealthy about living in certain parts of the country? You might think that if you looked at epidemiological reports that track rates of certain diseases by locations where they are most common. Back in the 1960s, researchers found that people in certain southeastern states had the highest risk of stroke; those states became known as the "stroke belt." Now, a new study finds that people in many of those same states are also more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.
Here's a statistic that may surprise you: Hispanics in the U.S. can expect to live longer than any other ethnic group, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The report says that in 2006, the life expectancy at birth for Hispanic was 80.6 years, compared to 77.7 for all Americans. The biggest difference was between Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks, who had an average life expectancy of 72.9 years at birth in 2006. For non-Hispanic whites, the average was 78.1 years.
If you're among the one in five men who have erectile dysfunction (ED), you may want to hit the gym. Studies show that physical exercise and being fit are associated with a lower risk of having ED.
Erectile dysfunction is a common condition in which a man is unable to hold an erection long enough to have intercourse with his partner.
Depression is one of the most common illnesses, particularly at midlife, and also one of the least likely to be treated, according to a recent study from the Archives of General Psychiatry. In a national survey of 15,762 people, researchers from UCLA and Wayne State University in Detroit found that only half of all people with depression received some therapy and only 21 on those were receiving treatment that fell within guidelines set by the American Psychiatric Association.