RSV vaccine protects older adults for at least 3 seasons
An RSV vaccine continued to protect adults aged 60 and older against RSV-related hospitalization and emergency department visits for at least 3 seasons after vaccination, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente in Southern California. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common respiratory ...
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Five questions for Dr. Casey Luc
Casey Luc, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist with expertise in HIV epidemiology in underserved communities, is the fifth Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service officer to ...
Five questions for Dr. Kevin Yu
Kevin Yu, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Research & Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. He earned his PhD in health informatics from Northwestern University, ...
Weekly grocery deliveries help lower blood sugar
Managing Type 2 diabetes can be challenging. Food choices matter, but healthy options aren’t always easy to afford or find. A Kaiser Permanente study found that adults with diabetes who were on Medicaid ...
Los Angeles wildfires increased virtual medical visits
November 26, 2025In January 2025, when wildfires swept from the foothills above Los Angeles into the densely populated urban areas below, evacuations ensued and a thick layer of smoke spread across the region. Air quality plummeted. The number of virtual visits soared and in-person visits also increased. Research led by Kaiser Permanente Southern California and the University of ...Read more...Predicting heart issues among breast cancer survivors
November 26, 2025Researchers have developed a new risk calculation model to help predict the risks of heart problems for breast cancer survivors. Their research was published in JAMA Oncology in October 2025. “There is limited information about how breast cancer treatments can affect the development of cardiovascular disease,” said study co-senior author Reina Haque, PhD, MPH, a cancer ...Read more...Diabetes medications vary in ability to reduce heart attacks and strokes
October 28, 2025A new study led by Kaiser Permanente researchers compared how well 4 different types of glucose-lowering medications reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke for patients with type 2 diabetes, providing important new information for these patients and their physicians. The study, published in JAMA Network Open in October, 2025, analyzed data collected on nearly ...Read more...Insomnia increases depression risk for breast cancer survivors
October 24, 2025Breast cancer survivors face a high risk of major depressive disorder, also known as clinical depression, particularly if they also have insomnia, according to findings from a new study of Kaiser Permanente members. “We determined that the risk of major depression disorder was markedly higher in breast cancer survivors than in a matched group of women ...Read more...Some UTIs may be caused by contaminated meat
October 24, 2025Nearly 1 in 5 urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Southern California could be due to E. coli strains transmitted through contaminated meat, according to a new study of Kaiser Permanente Southern California members. The research also found that those living in low-income neighborhoods were at increased risk of these infections. The study was published in mBio ...Read more...Physicians develop program to better control patient blood sugars
October 20, 2025After COVID-19 hit in 2020, some physicians within Kaiser Permanente grew concerned that their patients with diabetes weren’t achieving healthy blood sugar control. Even when they came into the office for a visit, follow-up for getting labs to check on their hemoglobin A1c— a blood test that measures the average blood sugar level over the ...Read more...Young cancer survivors face higher risk of chronic conditions
October 20, 2025Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors face significantly higher risks of developing chronic medical conditions compared to their peers without cancer, a new study showed. The findings were published in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society. “As cancer survival rates improve for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors, their numbers are increasing,” said the study’s ...Read more...Five questions for Dr. Sujatha Murali
October 1, 2025Sujatha Murali, MD, MS is a hematologist and medical oncologist in San Diego and currently serves as the Southern California Breast Cancer Lead and Principal Investigator for breast cancer clinical trials within Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Cancer Clinical Trials Access Program. She joined Kaiser Permanente in 2016 after working at the Winship Cancer Institute of ...Read more...Opioid tapering and risk of overdose
September 8, 2025After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued opioid prescribing guidelines in 2016, the national opioid dispensing rates steadily declined. However, while reducing opioid prescriptions is critically important, abruptly stopping opioids for pain has been shown to possibly raise the risk of overdose for patients. Against this backdrop, Kaiser Permanente was among the first health ...Read more...Five questions for Dr. Talar Habeshian
September 8, 2025Talar Habeshian, PhD, MPH, was appointed as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Division of Epidemiologic Research at the Department of Research & Evaluation in August. She will focus on cancer research initiatives. Prior to her postdoctoral appointment, Dr. Habeshian worked as a research associate in the Division of Health Services Research & Implementation Science for ...Read more...