WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More Americans are burdened by chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure, often having more than three at a time, and this has helped fuel a big rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses, a study released on Tuesday showed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans spent $2.2 trillion on healthcare in 2007, or $7,421 per person, according to a U.S. government report released on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Social Security Administration, which pays out $600 billion a year in benefits to retirees, may have underestimated how a decline in smoking will increase life expectancy, two experts reported on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of Americans admit they never use a helmet while bicycling and more than a quarter skip the sunscreen, even when they are in the sun all day, according to Consumer Reports National Research Center.

LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch researchers have built a three-dimensional model of a type of virus that causes SARS in a step that could one day help in the battle against the deadly disease.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A single gene appears to play a crucial role in deadly breast cancers, increasing the chances the cancer will spread and making it resistant to chemotherapy, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with severe asthma who are allergic to fungal organisms benefit substantially from treatment with the anti-fungal drug itraconazole, new research shows.

LONDON (Reuters) - A gene involved in cell division also helps fuel a deadly childhood cancer called neuroblastoma and could offer a new way to develop drugs to treat the disease, German researchers said on Monday.

LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola closed part of its northeastern border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday to stop the contagious Ebola virus from spreading into the oil-rich African nation, the health minister said.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The practice of transcendental meditation may help children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder manage their symptoms, research suggests.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with early-stage breast cancer may live longer if they maintain a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy, a new study suggests.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A test performed in early pregnancy to check for genetic defects such as Down's syndrome in the fetus appears to be linked to increased chances that the baby will be born with a birthmark, or "infantile hemangioma," researchers report.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic, which has killed more than 1,600 people, could get worse as the rainy season peaks, its health minister said on Monday.

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Health and veterinary workers culled poultry in a densely populated eastern Indian state on Saturday after a fresh outbreak of H5N1 bird flu, officials said.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Infecting mosquitoes with a common bacteria can cut their lives short and reduce the likelihood they will transmit dengue and other diseases, Australian researchers reported on Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A type of mind-body treatment popular in Europe known as Mensendieck somatocognitive therapy can help ease chronic pelvic pain in women, with effects lasting several months after treatment ends, Norwegian researchers report.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study is investigating whether a tea tree oil body wash can prevent the drug-resistant super bug MRSA in critically ill hospitalized adults.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who are breast fed for at least 4 months may have better lung function than children who are breast fed for shorter periods of time and children who are bottle fed, a new study suggests.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents' own chronic health problems may influence their perceptions of their asthmatic children's well-being, a new study suggests.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adolescents who go to school within a half-mile of a fast-food restaurant are more likely to be overweight or obese than kids whose schools are further away, new research suggests.