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Five billion people are at risk of developing heart disease from trans fat due to a lack of action from some governments to curb the use of the harmful substance in food products, according to the World Health Organization. (Pham, 1/23)

Nine military officers who had worked decades ago at a nuclear missile base in Montana have been diagnosed with blood cancer and there are “indications” the disease may be linked to their service, according to military briefing slides obtained by The Associated Press. One of the officers has died. All of the officers, known as missileers, were assigned as many as 25 years ago to Malmstrom Air Force Base, home to a vast field of 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile silos. The nine officers were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a January briefing by U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Daniel Sebeck. (Copp, 1/23)

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is known to cause skin damage, including skin cancer. Now, new research has raised questions about the safety of nail dryers, which use UV light to dry and cure gel nail polish. The study shows long wavelengths of ultraviolet light (UVA) from UV nail dryers can damage DNA and cause mutations in human cells that increase risk for skin cancer. (Bever and Cimons, 1/20)

Black Americans are 40% more likely to have asthma than white Americans. Black children are five times more likely to be hospitalized for the chronic lung condition. And while asthma-related deaths are decreasing overall, they remain most common among Black Americans. (Snipe, 1/22)

The nation rallied around Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin some three weeks ago when his heart stopped after a tackle during a game and he collapsed on the field. Hamlin, now recovering at home, still faces a lengthy rehabilitation. Yet if there is any good to have come from the medical scare, it may be a renewed attention on keeping student athletes safe, experts say. (Castor, 1/22)

With egg prices rising, more people may be shopping for their own backyard chicken flock. But before you build a coop and subscribe to Chicken Whisperer, health experts have a warning: Caring for backyard chickens is not as easy as bringing home a cute new kitten, and keeping chickens can come with a handful of serious health risks, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Christensen, 1/19)

KHN: Journalists Follow Up On Radon Mine Health Spas, Open Enrollment, And Health Fraud 

KHN Montana correspondent Katheryn Houghton discussed Montana’s radon mine health spas on Montana Public Radio’s “The Big Why” podcast on Jan. 18. ... KHN correspondent Julie Appleby discussed this year’s open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health plans on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” on Jan. 15. ... KHN senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble discussed gaps in the government system that bans bad actors from federal health programs on America’s Heroes Group on Jan. 7. (1/21)

Jessica Bradshaw found out that her 15-year-old identified as transgender at school after she glimpsed a homework assignment with an unfamiliar name scrawled at the top. When she asked about the name, the teenager acknowledged that, at his request, teachers and administrators at his high school in Southern California had for six months been letting him use the boy’s bathroom and calling him by male pronouns. Mrs. Bradshaw was confused: Didn’t the school need her permission, or at least need to tell her? (Baker, 1/22)

KHN: Transgender People In Rural America Struggle To Find Doctors Willing Or Able To Provide Care

For Tammy Rainey, finding a health care provider who knows about gender-affirming care has been a challenge in the rural northern Mississippi town where she lives. As a transgender woman, Rainey needs the hormone estrogen, which allows her to physically transition by developing more feminine features. But when she asked her doctor for an estrogen prescription, he said he couldn’t provide that type of care. (Santoro, 1/23)