Doctor’s offices, friends or social media – does it make a difference where consumers obtain information about food supplements? According to a recent survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), people who obtain information via social media take a greater number of different supplements and rate them more positively overall than people who obtain information from other sources. The study on the use and perception of food supplements in the context of social media is one of numerous articles published as part of the main topic “Micronutrients” in the current issue of the Federal Health Gazette (Bundesgesundheitsblatt). The magazine provides science-based insights into food supplements, among other things, and explains the complex relationships between their benefits and possible risks in an understandable way. “Social media also plays an important role in health communication nowadays, but the information found there is not always technically accurate,” says BfR President Professor Andreas Hensel. “For example, the majority of respondents mistakenly assume that food supplements are over-the-counter medicines, and almost half believe that they are tested for safety before they go on sale.” The special issue summarises the current state of scientific knowledge and provides important guidance in this complex subject area.

The spread of dubious headlines on social media is common across the political spectrum, according to new research from Cornell University.

Families exposed to war and political violence are more likely to behave aggressively toward each other, impacting all areas of children's lives even after the immediate threat of armed conflict has passed, new University of Michigan research shows.

A new study shows that Medicaid coverage itself is associated with employment gains among those least likely to have jobs: people with both low incomes and burdensome health problems.