A confirmed case of measles in Washington, D.C. is being investigated by health officials after the contagious person visited several locations in the district.

The DC Department of Health warned the public of the potential exposure in a press release shared late Tuesday morning.

TENNESSEE REPORTS FIRST MEASLES CASE AMID U.S. OUTBREAK

According to the release, those who were in the following places in the district at the listed times may have been exposed:

Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 Train (Southbound): March 19, 7:30 p.m. through 1:30 a.m.

Amtrak Concourse, Union Station: March 19, 11:00 p.m. through 1:30 a.m.

MedStar Urgent Care, Adams Morgan: March 22, 7:00 p.m. through 11:00 p.m.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms usually start 7 to 14 days after exposure. Symptoms include a fever over 101°F as well as a cough, runny nose, and red or watery eyes.

The most distinctive symptom of measles, appearing 3 to 5 days after onset of symptoms, is a rash that starts on the face and spreads across the body. Infected people can spread measles four days before the rash appears and up to four days afterward.

MARYLAND CONFIRMS FIRST MEASLES CASE IN TRAVELER AT MAJOR DC AIRPORT

If you have been exposed to measles or were at one of the locations shared by the DC Department of Health during the times listed and are not vaccinated, health officials recommend watching for symptoms until 21 days after exposure. 

If you are in Washington, D.C., health officials also recommend calling a doctor or DC Health at 844-493-2652 for additional guidance. Those exposed to measles are urged to stay home and avoid others if any symptoms appear.

A syringe is pictured ahead of MMR vaccination at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Annie Rice (REUTERS/Annie Rice)

Nearby Maryland experienced its first confirmed case of measles in a traveler at the Baltimore airport on March 10. The virus has swept much of the Northeast this winter.

People who have received two doses of the MMR or measles vaccine or were born before 1957 are considered protected. Those with only one dose of the vaccine are mostly protected but may seek a second shot for full immunity. Measles is considered preventable with the MMR vaccine, which offers lifetime protection with two doses.

A view shows MMR vaccine at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. February 27, 2025. (REUTERS/Annie Rice)

Infants under 12 months old and those who are unvaccinated are considered most at-risk for measles.

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Measles has been on the rise across the nation this cold and flu season, with 327 cases reported in Texas as of Tuesday, March 25. 40 people have been hospitalized from the outbreak so far in the Lone Star State.

The CDC has confirmed a total of 378 cases nationwide as of March 20 in a release.

It’s long been known that certain lifestyle and health factors increase the risk of heart disease — but a new study highlights that they could affect women more than men.

Eight specific habits — diet, sleep, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, blood glucose, lipids and blood pressure — appear to have twice the impact on heart health risk for women compared to men, found researchers at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

The findings will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in Chicago on March 29-31, 2025.

CANNABIS USE ENDANGERS HEART HEALTH FOR CERTAIN GROUP

The study included data from more than 175,000 Canadian adults without existing heart conditions who enrolled in the Ontario Health Study between 2009 and 2017, according to a press release.

The researchers analyzed the participants’ scores for the eight risk factors and then tracked the incidence of seven heart disease outcomes over an 11-year period.

Those outcomes included heart attack, stroke, unstable angina (chest pain that results from restricted blood flow to the heart), peripheral arterial disease (narrowed blood vessels in the arms or legs), heart failure and coronary revascularization (procedures to open blocked arteries) and cardiovascular death, the release stated.

HEART DISEASE COULD BE PREVENTED WITH THIS ONE SIMPLE TEST

Overall, more women were found to have ideal health (9.1% compared to 4.8% of men). They were also less likely to have poor health (21.9% compared to 30.5% of men).

Women who had poor health, however, were shown to have nearly five times the risk of heart disease than women with ideal health, the study found.

“We found that women tend to have better health than men, but the impact on outcomes is different.”

In comparison, men with poor health had 2.5 times the risk of heart disease as men with ideal health. 

Among women with intermediate health, there was a 2.3 times higher risk than for those with ideal health, compared to 1.6 times the risk for men with intermediate health.

Women who had poor health were shown to have nearly five times the risk of heart disease than women with ideal health, the study found. (iStock)

“For the same level of health, our study shows that the increase in risk [related to each factor] is higher in women than in men — it’s not one-size-fits-all,” said lead author Maneesh Sud, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the department of medicine, interventional cardiologist and clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, in the release.

“We found that women tend to have better health than men, but the impact on outcomes is different. The combination of these factors has a bigger impact in women than it does in men.”

THIS DISEASE KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN ALL CANCERS AND ACCIDENTS COMBINED

This is a new finding that hasn’t been seen in other studies, the researcher added.

Based on the study findings, the researchers concluded that “sex-specific screening or risk assessment approaches” could more accurately predict people’s heart disease risk.

“I think the reason women are being found to be more susceptible to heart disease is because of particular milestone stresses in their lives that men don’t share, which include dramatic hormonal shifts that can bear directly on cardiac function,” one doctor shared. (iStock)

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, was not involved in the study, but shared his comments on the possible reasons for the findings.

“I think the reason women are being found to be more susceptible to heart disease is because of particular milestone stresses in their lives that men don’t share, which include dramatic hormonal shifts that can bear directly on cardiac function,” he shared with Fox News Digital.

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Those milestones may include pregnancy, childbirth and menopause, the doctor noted.

“Keep in mind that estrogen is in some respects cardio-protective, and it drops dramatically with menopause,” Siegel said. “And at the same time, cholesterol (a cardiac risk factor) increases, as may weight.”

“Overall, women tended to have better health than men, with better diets, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure,” the researchers stated. (iStock)

“Overall, women tended to have better health than men, with better diets, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure, but those in intermediate health had a higher risk of heart problems,” he went on.

Due to the study’s limited population, “only certain conclusions can be drawn,” Siegel added.

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Dr. Bradley Serwer, a Maryland-based cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution, an Ingenovis Health company that offers cardiovascular and anesthesiology services to hospitals nationwide, said there has been a need for studies specifically designed to focus on women’s cardiovascular risk. 

“We know that premenopausal women have a lower age-adjusted cardiovascular risk, but this catches up after menopause.” 

“For many years, we have falsely assumed that traditional cardiovascular risk factors affected populations similarly,” Serwer, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. 

“We know that premenopausal women have a lower age-adjusted cardiovascular risk, but this catches up after menopause.” 

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More research is needed to understand the underlying reasons for this phenomenon, the cardiologist noted.

“Is it solely attributable to the protective effects of estrogen, or are there other unrecognized contributors? I commend the authors of this study for their contributions, as they further challenge our conventional approaches to primary prevention in women.”

Obesity has long been established as a risk factor for cancer, particularly when it’s stored in certain areas of the body.

Now, new research suggests that a larger waist circumference is a bigger risk factor than body mass index (BMI) for obesity-related cancers — but only for men, not for women.

The findings, which were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, will be presented in May at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain.

BMI IS WRONG WAY TO MEASURE OBESITY, RESEARCHERS SAY

The study was led by Dr. Ming Sun, Dr. Josef Fritz and Dr. Tanja Stocks from Lund University in Sweden.

The researchers analyzed data from 340,000 Swedish people averaging 51 years of age whose BMI and waist circumference assessments were performed between 1981 and 2019, according to a press release.

They then compared those statistics to cancer diagnoses pulled from the Swedish Cancer Register.

‘HIDDEN’ FAT COULD PREDICT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE UP TO 20 YEARS BEFORE SYMPTOMS, RESEARCH FINDS

Over a period of 14 years, there were 18,185 diagnoses of obesity-related cancers among the patients in the study.

For men, an increase in waist circumference of around 11 cm resulted in a 25% higher risk of obesity-related cancer.

This was a bigger risk factor than having an increased BMI, which increased the chances by 19%.

For men, an increase in waist circumference of around 11 cm resulted in a 25% higher risk of obesity-related cancer. (iStock)

For women, an increase of about 12 cm in waist circumference and an increase in BMI were both linked to a 13% greater cancer risk, the study found.

Obesity-related cancers include cancers of the oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), gastric (cardia), colon, rectum, liver/intrahepatic bile ducts, gallbladder, pancreas, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium, ovary, renal cell carcinoma, meningioma, thyroid and multiple myeloma, the release stated.

“BMI is a measure of body size, but does not provide information on fat distribution, whereas waist circumference is a proxy more closely related to abdominal adiposity.”

Overall, the researchers found waist circumference to be a more accurate cancer predictor than BMI.

“BMI is a measure of body size, but does not provide information on fat distribution, whereas waist circumference is a proxy more closely related to abdominal adiposity,” they wrote. 

“This distinction is crucial because visceral fat, which accumulates around the abdominal organs, is more metabolically active and has been implicated in adverse health outcomes, including insulin resistance, inflammation and abnormal blood fat levels. Consequently, individuals with similar BMIs may have distinct cancer risks due to differences in fat distribution.”

Why the difference between men and women?

One potential reason for the gender discrepancy, according to the researchers, is that men are more likely to store fat viscerally (in the belly), while women generally accumulate more subcutaneous fat (under the skin) and peripheral fat (in the arms and legs). 

ALZHEIMER’S AND PARKINSON’S RISK IS HIGHER FOR PEOPLE WITH BODY FAT IN TWO SPECIFIC AREAS

“Consequently, waist circumference is a more accurate measure of visceral fat in men than in women,” the researchers wrote.

“This may make waist circumference a stronger risk factor of cancer in men, and explain why waist circumference adds risk information beyond that conveyed by BMI in men, but not women.”

The researchers suggested that combining hip circumference with waist circumference in women could give a more accurate estimation of visceral fat. (iStock)

Excess body fat is also linked to higher insulin levels in men than in women, the researchers noted, which could be a factor in waist circumference being more strongly linked to men’s cancer risk.

“The divergence in how waist circumference and BMI relate to cancer risk between men and women underscores the complexity of the impact of adiposity (excess body fat) on cancer development,” the researchers wrote. 

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“It suggests that considering biological and physiological differences between the sexes might be helpful when assessing cancer risk. Further research is needed to explore these sex differences.”

They also suggested that combining hip circumference with waist circumference in women could give a more accurate estimation of visceral fat.

“Waist circumference is a more accurate measure of visceral fat in men than in women,” the researchers wrote. (iStock)

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, was not involved in the study, but reinforced that BMI is a “good indicator of obesity, but is not the only one.”

“Belly fat contains a lot of the inflammatory chemicals that act as carcinogens.”

“Obesity leads to inflammation, and inflammation correlates with many kinds of cancer, including breast and prostate and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract,” he told Fox News Digital.

“It is not surprising that waist circumference in men could be a more precise indicator if measured properly, because belly fat contains a lot of the inflammatory chemicals that act as carcinogens,” the doctor noted.

Obesity-related cancers include cancers of the oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), gastric (cardia), colon, rectum, liver/intrahepatic bile ducts, gallbladder, pancreas, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium, ovary, renal cell carcinoma, meningioma, thyroid and multiple myeloma. (American Cancer Society/Getty Images)

For women, where fat distribution is somewhat different, Siegel agrees that it “makes sense” to consider both waist and hip circumference, as the Swedish study suggests. 

“The study looks at over 300,000 people and is an important new reference, but it is observational, so it shows an association, but not proof,” the doctor added.

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Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert, also detailed the different ways in which men and women store fat.

“While women accumulate more subcutaneous fat — on the hips, thighs and buttocks — men pack it around the waist, deep inside the abdomen,” Osborn, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. 

“This is visceral fat, and it’s metabolically toxic. It’s not just sitting there. It’s active, like a gland, secreting inflammatory chemicals (cytokines), raising insulin levels, disrupting hormones and laying the groundwork for cancer cell growth.”

Strength training three times per week is ideal, one doctor advised, adding, “Resistance training reduces visceral fat and inflammation.” (iStock)

Osborn reiterated that BMI is limited in its ability to accurately measure excess fat.

“First, BMI doesn’t factor in muscle mass, so a short, stocky individual with a low body fat percentage may be categorized as overweight or obese, when in fact quite the opposite is true,” he said.

“Second, BMI doesn’t tell you where the body fat is, and as it turns out, that’s what’s critical — at least in men.”

Minimizing risk

To reduce cancer risk, Osborn recommends that men measure their waistlines to ensure they’re in a healthy range. People can also track their visceral fat score on a medical-grade anthropometry scale, he said. 

“Understand that belly fat isn’t just cosmetic — it’s carcinogenic.”

“Anything above 40 inches (102 cm) is a red flag,” he told Fox News Digital.

Strength training three times per week is ideal, the doctor advised, adding, “Resistance training reduces visceral fat and inflammation.”

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Proper nutrition is also important, he said. “Eat like your life depends on it — because it does. Stop feeding your cancer risk.”

“Understand that belly fat isn’t just cosmetic — it’s carcinogenic,” Osborn added. “You may not feel it now, but the clock is ticking. Visceral fat is silent, aggressive and deadly — and it’s doing damage even if your BMI is ‘normal.’”