This could be a stormy hurricane season. If you live in a potentially affected area, you need to be aware of a study that found that in the months following a hurricane, death rates from injuries, infectious and parasitic diseases, respiratory and cardiac diseases, and neuropsychiatric disorders go up by more than 33%.

In the days, weeks, and months after a hurricane, don't ignore feeling "off." Use self-management techniques such as meditation, smart nutrition, exercise, and good sleep habits. And for immediate health concerns, see your doctor or go to the emergency room.

Statins' benefits outweigh risks one more time. A 30-year study looked at 1,768 statin takers and 3,538 nonusers who had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to see how statins affected their risk for cardiovascular disease and at 3,608 users and 7,208 nonusers with RA to see if the statins increased the risk for Type 2 diabetes.

In that first group, there were 63 deaths from CVD among statin takers and 340 in the nonusers. In the second group, 128 of the statin takers developed Type 2 diabetes, while 518 of the nonusers did. The conclusion: The benefits to people with RA from taking statins outweigh the increased risk for diabetes.

Do you feel like your bout with COVID-19 has lingering effects? A study in the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Review found that exercise may lower the chronic inflammation that fuels long COVID-19-induced diabetes and depression. Walking can help. Aim for 30-60 minutes daily, but, say the researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center, do whatever you can.