Atkinson Family Practice

11/28/2025

Hope you and your family have an enjoyable long weekend.
We will see you on Monday Dec 1st!!

11/23/2025

A beloved patient preserved this dragonfly for Dr Kate

11/22/2025

We are hiring!!
Know someone with a Bachelor’s degree who plans to apply for medical or PA school?
Our Clinical Assistants have hands-on patient care experience and most of them go on to competitive medical programs.
Send resume to:
Katkinsonatdoctorkate.net

11/21/2025

Massachusetts Dept of Public Health has a strong statement—vaccines do not cause autism

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11/21/2025

Even occasional smoking increases heart disease risk

a study found that “even occasional or low-intensity smoking significantly increases cardiovascular and mortality risks.” The research team observed that “compared with never-smokers, participants with two to five ci******es per day (CPD) showed substantially elevated cardiovascular risks, including for atrial fibrillation and heart failure and for increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and all-cause mortality. Risk was even higher for smoking 11 to 15 CPD and all-cause mortality. Even steeper risk was seen for the initial 20 pack-years and 20 CPD.” They also noted the “first 10 years after smoking cessation were associated with the most substantial reduction in risk across all outcomes, although the progressive risk reduction continued over extended time periods. Former smokers showed 80% lower relative risk versus current smokers within 20 years of cessation.” The study was published in PLOS Medicine

https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004561

Using data from 22 prospective cohort studies, Erfan Tasdighi and colleagues investigate the relationships among smoking burden, intensity, and cessation duration across multiple cardiovascular outcomes.

11/21/2025

11/21/2025

Sandy and Suzie hard at work

11/21/2025

Mary embracing the season

11/20/2025

Get Moving!!

Higher Physical Activity During Midlife, Late-Life Associated With Reduced Dementia Risk

The study found that “physical activity in both midlife and late-life was linked to substantially less dementia risk.” Researchers observed that “compared with the lowest quintile of midlife physical activity, the top two quintiles were associated with 40% lower all-cause dementia risk over 26 years.” Likewise, they noted the “top two quintiles of late-life physical activity were linked with 36% to 45% less dementia risk over 15 years.” Overall, the findings “suggest that higher midlife and late-life physical activity are both associated with similar reductions in all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s dementia risk.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

This cohort study uses data from the Framingham Heart Study to evaluate whether higher physical activity levels in early adult life, midlife, or late life are associated with lower risk of all-cause or Alzheimer disease dementia.

11/20/2025

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1220797763246206&set=a.647162930609695&type=3

The longstanding public health practice of adding fluoride to community drinking water is facing heavy scrutiny in the United States over questions about whether the benefits outweigh the potential risks.

But new research challenges recent claims about the risks of fluoride to in drinking water — and instead suggests that it may have additional positive effects. https://cnn.it/3LKt27v

11/20/2025

This is a sound article about our current understanding of many food allergies

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AswpNWf3V/?mibextid=wwXIfr

In our latest Substack, we partnered with the Food Allergy Science Initiative FASI to unpack a major shift in how scientists understand food allergies. Spoiler: they may begin in the skin, not the stomach. We break down what this means for parents—especially those navigating eczema, early food introduction, and allergy prevention.

Please follow FASI on IG, LI, BlueSky, and FB (they are INCREDIBLE!)

🔗https://theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/p/plot-twist-food-allergies-might-not

11/20/2025

AFP Alumni dinner.
We are so proud of these future doctors and PAs!!