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A large study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has found that veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan had a 55 percent higher risk of developing asthma from dust and burn pit exposure than veterans who were not deployed to those countries. (Damask, 11/9)

More health and wellness news —

Federal health officials are investigating a multistate outbreak of infant botulism linked to ByHeart baby formula, prompting the company to recall two batches of one of its products. Thirteen babies in 10 states have been hospitalized as a result of the outbreak, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. No deaths have been reported. ByHeart recalled two batches — 206VABP/251261P2 and 206VABP/251131P2, both with a “Use by” date of Dec. 1 — of its Whole Nutrition Infant Formula, the FDA said in a statement Saturday. (Hassan, 11/9)

Many woman across America are sharing breast milk informally, suggesting that more support for mothers may be needed. Factors contributing to the practice likely include limited paid parental leave, inadequate breastfeeding support and not enough systems for parents to safely access mother’s own milk alternatives, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the RAND Corporation. (Millington, 11/9)

One of the largest studies ever conducted on the link between the shingles vaccine and brain health offers insight into how the disease increases dementia risk. People who experienced multiple episodes of shingles had a higher risk of dementia for several years after the second outbreak, the study found, compared with those who had it only once. (Johnson, 11/9)

Drinking coffee may protect people against irregular heartbeats, despite the conventional wisdom to the contrary, according to a new study. The Does Eliminating Coffee Avoid Fibrillation (Decaf) clinical trial found 200 patients with persistent irregular heartbeats had a “significantly” lower risk of the condition recurring if they belonged to the study group that was allocated coffee consumption rather than the one abstaining from it – 47% to 64%. (Antonio Vargas, 11/10)

People in certain states in America appear to be more likely than others to develop devastating neurological diseases, a new study has indicated. Lou Gehrig's disease—also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) both develop in people across gender, race, wealth and levels of access to healthcare. (O'Connor, 11/9)

Walking for at least 10 or 15 minutes at a time might do more for your health and longevity than spreading your steps out into shorter walks throughout the day, a large-scale new study suggests. The study, published in October, looked at the effects of how people gather their steps each day, as well as how many steps they take and the associations that these patterns of daily activity might have with risks for heart disease and premature death. (Reynolds, 11/10)