Tap Water, Mood, and Mammograms: Your Health News for Sept 14

Key Takeaways

• ✦A study published in JAMA Network Open found that certain common drinking water contaminants are associated with higher uterine cancer risk — the mechanism appears tied to disrupting hormone signaling.
• ✦A retrospective study in the NAMS journal Menopause found that systemic hormone therapy improved mood symptoms in midlife women, with the strongest effect in those who started with more severe symptoms — and the benefit held up even when researchers accounted for antidepressant use and prior mental health history.
• ✦AI analysis of routine mammogram images successfully identified women with coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke history — raising the possibility that a screening women already get could do double duty for cardiovascular risk.
• ✦Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women and is frequently underdiagnosed — which makes tools that can flag risk during existing screenings worth taking seriously.
• ✦If you're on well water or in an older municipality, checking your local water quality report is a practical, free first step — the EPA requires public water systems to publish annual reports.