Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor's own financial policy — which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon — can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing. (Katheryn Houghton, )
People across the nation claim cancer-causing emissions from local sterilizing plants are making them sick. It's an example of environmental racism, say residents of one predominantly Black area in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, where life expectancy is much shorter than county and state averages. (Andy Miller, )
In this episode of "An Arm and a Leg," host Dan Weissmann explores what the fallout from a cyberattack says about antitrust concerns in health care. (Dan Weissmann, )
Fort Ord veterans are now fighting on two fronts: disease and red tape.
- Anonymous
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Historically, such tests escaped federal regulation because they were considered low risk. But after the Theranos debacle, and as lab-developed tests become more complex and test for important things like genetic conditions, the FDA will start regulating them more. About 12,000 labs are affected, and legal action challenging the change is expected.
Stat: FDA Finalizes Plan To Regulate Some Lab-Developed Tests The Food and Drug Administration will start actively regulating tests developed in laboratories, with some exemptions, the agency announced on Monday. The agency's action, which is expected to face legal challenges in courts, comes after Congress failed to pass a law to regulate such tests. (Lawrence, 4/29)
On the federal effort to improve cybersecurity —
Stat: Biden Cybersecurity Plan For Hospitals Entails Carrots First, Then Sticks The Biden administration's plan to improve cybersecurity at hospitals starts off with incentives, but eventually hospitals will face penalties for not adopting measures to protect patient data, HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said Monday. (Wilkerson, 4/29)
Bloomberg: UnitedHealth Hack: Lawmakers Probe Change Healthcare Data Breach When a cyberattack on Change Healthcare paralyzed much of the US health-care system, some lawmakers saw it as proof its parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was too big. UnitedHealth Chief Executive Andrew Witty saw it differently. He has said that the company's size kept the hack, which crippled a network that handled $2 trillion in health claims a year, from being more harmful. It was "important for the country that we own Change Healthcare," Witty said earlier this month. (Tozzi, Griffin, and Robertson, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: Change Healthcare Update: CMS, NCQA Delay Quality Reporting The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and National Committee for Quality Assurance are extending insurers' deadlines to submit quality data by two weeks due to "extraordinary circumstances" caused by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare. Health plans will now have until June 28 to report their performance on Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set measures to NCQA and the agency. (Devereaux, 4/29)
The Supreme Court's October term will include a case on veterans' health benefits —
The Washington Post: Supreme Court To Hear Cases On Veterans' Benefits, Pet Food And Visas Next Term In a case that could have significant implications for those who serve in the military, the Supreme Court will weigh a matter involving two veterans who argue they were improperly denied medical benefits for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder related to their service. Joshua Bufkin, who served in the Air Force from 2005 to 2006, and Norman Thornton, who served in the Army on active duty from 1988 to 1991, say they should get care under a benefit-of-the-doubt rule that requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide access to treatment when it is a close call whether the applicant qualifies. Both cases had evidence for and against them receiving benefits. (Jouvenal, 4/29)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled Monday that North Carolina's and West Virginia's denial of health care services for transgender patients by government insurance was discriminatory.
The Washington Post: Court Says State Health-Care Plans Can't Exclude Gender-Affirming Surgery A federal appellate court in Richmond became the first in the country to rule that state health-care plans must pay for gender-affirming surgeries, a major win for transgender rights amid a nationwide wave of anti-trans activism and legislation. The decision came from a set of cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia, where state officials argued that their policies were based on cost concerns rather than bias. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit rejected that argument, saying the plans were discriminating against trans people in need of treatment. (Weiner, 4/29)
The Hill: Updated Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Guidelines Protect Pronouns, Bathrooms And Abortion The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated the federal workplace guidelines after a quarter of a century to protect pronouns, bathrooms and abortion. The new guidance, released on Monday by the federal agency, fortified transgender employees' rights such as being protected from misgendering and using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Employees not complying with the guidelines are committing unlawful workplace harassment. (Timotija, 4/29)
The Hill: Texas Governor Says State Will Ignore 'Illegal' Biden Title IX Revisions Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Monday his state will not abide by the Biden administration's sweeping new changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at government-funded schools. In a letter to President Biden, Abbott railed against the revised rules — which provide new protections for transgender students — saying they're "illegal" and the result of a "ham-handed effort to impose a leftist belief onto Title IX," which Abbott said "exceeds your authority as President." (Fortinsky, 4/29)
Post and Courier: SC Transgender Families Face Grim Future But Vow To Stay Rebecca and David Bell sat together in the front row, her hand on his knee. They burst into tears as they watched a legislative committee vote to begin ripping away essential therapy from their transgender daughter. They are among dozens, if not hundreds, of families in South Carolina that could be forced to leave the state to continue the care their children rely on as they transition. Their pleas and those of doctors have failed to stop legislation that barreled through the House of Representatives along party lines. It now is poised for debate on the Senate floor starting April 30 — days before the session ends. If passed, all treatment and therapy for transgender youth would be legally barred in South Carolina. (Corwin, 4/30)
In related news —
KFF Health News: Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors In The Driver's Seat Cass Smith-Collins jumped through hoops to get the surgery that would match his chest to his gender. Living in Las Vegas and then 50, he finally felt safe enough to come out as a transgender man. He had his wife's support and a doctor's letter showing he had a long history of gender dysphoria, the psychological distress felt when one's sex assigned at birth and gender identity don't match. (Houghton, 4/30)
With farther to go and travel assistance funds already under strain, urgent abortion care might become out of reach for many women when Florida's abortion ban goes into effect this week. Meanwhile, some cities in Texas and California are throwing up more barriers for abortion care.
The New Republic: Florida's Six-Week Abortion Ban Will Ruin Some People Financially When a new abortion ban goes into effect in Florida this week, it will rob people across the south of one of the last few options they had. Floridians and those in neighboring states will instead have to travel to North Carolina or even farther to get an abortion. Abortion funds were already straining to meet the need of patients. Now, they must raise more money for people traveling longer distances, later in pregnancy when abortions can be more complicated and expensive. This is the post-Dobbs reality: For all the optimism surrounding state ballot measures in November, abortions are increasingly out of reach or financially ruinous for large numbers of people. (Grant, 4/30)
Abortion news from Texas, California, Missouri, and Wisconsin —
The Texas Tribune: Amarillo Activists Gather Signatures For Abortion Travel Ban Anti-abortion activists in Amarillo say they have collected enough signatures — more than 10,000 — to force the City Council to reconsider a policy that would outlaw using local streets to access an abortion in other states. Organizers submitted the petition to the city last week. (Carver, 4/30)
Dallas Morning News: Dallas Church Opens Pregnancy Center With Abortion Resources Leaders of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas cut the ribbon Friday on a new pregnancy resource center that aims to provide comprehensive reproductive health information and to act as a foil for crisis pregnancy centers. The Truth Pregnancy Resource Center is a direct reaction to Texas' strict abortion bans that made the procedure illegal in all cases but those that threaten the life of the mother. Abortion clinics around the state shuttered, limiting access to women's health care providers in regions already known to be maternal care deserts. (Wolf, 4/29)
NPR: Voters Could Support Abortion Rights And Republicans In November Missouri may soon be a barometer for how abortion-related ballot initiatives can affect elections in Republican-led states. If advocates and volunteers turn in enough signatures by May 5, Missourians will vote on an abortion-rights initiative in November. Some Democrats in the state hope it energizes voters enough to help candidates running for key statewide and state legislative posts, but in some respects, having the ability to pick and choose policies through a robust initiative petition process could be a double-edged sword. (Rosenbaum, 4/30)
Kentucky Lantern: Can 14 Strangers From Wisconsin Help America Find Common Ground On Abortion? Fourteen people from around the state have been recruited to find common ground on abortion amid their deeply divergent stances. The Wisconsin Citizen Solutions on Abortion and Family Well Being is an experiment designed by Starts With Us, a nonprofit civic organization whose mission is to try to effect change through citizen solutions and show that people on opposite sides of controversial issues can come to a mutual understanding when they engage in guided mediation. (Resnick, 4/29)
Also —
The 19th: What Is Doxxing? And Why Is A Constant Worry For Reproductive Rights Workers? In November, a study revealed how easily foreign governments could use companies known as data brokers to purchase personal information about U.S. military personnel. In some cases researchers paid less than a quarter per record for information that included home addresses, cell phone numbers and sensitive health data. (Mithani, 4/29)
The Washington Post: An AI Genetic Test Aims To Detect Postpartum Depression Before Symptoms Postpartum depression is a leading cause of maternal death, but its diagnosis and treatment is spotty at best, negligent at worst. Now San Diego-based start-up Dionysus Digital Health is pitching a blood test to check for the condition, even before symptoms appear. The company says it has pinpointed a gene linking a person's moods more closely to hormonal changes. The test uses machine learning to compare epigenetics — how genes are expressed — in your blood sample with benchmarks developed during a decade of research into pregnant people who did and didn't develop postpartum depression. (Hunter, 4/29)
First responders and other eligible groups will receive a generic drug to combat overdoses. Elsewhere, as Colorado contemplates prescription drug cost controls, patients and their caregivers fear a future without the meds they need to survive.
Los Angeles Times: California To Buy An Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug California will provide first responders, universities and other qualifying organizations with a generic version of Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal drug, for free, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. CalRx's Naloxone Access Initiative will buy over-the-counter naloxone for $24 a pack, which is about half the market price, from Amneal Pharmaceuticals, a New Jersey-based manufacturer, according to a news release from Newsom's office. (Lin, 4/29)
The Colorado Sun: A Colorado Board Wants To Lower Prescription Drug Costs. Why Are So Many Patients Opposed? Heather Kluck, who lives in Colorado Springs, calls her 12-year-old daughter, Avery, "my miracle child." When Avery was diagnosed as an infant with a rare genetic condition called Aicardi syndrome, doctors told Heather and her husband that Avery may not survive her first year and would likely never walk or talk. She defied those predictions, though she has significant developmental delays. (Ingold, 4/30)
Reuters: J&J, Bristol Myers Lose Challenges To US Drug Price Negotiation Program A U.S. judge on Monday rejected a challenge by Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson to a law requiring them to negotiate the prices of their blockbuster blood clot prevention drugs with the U.S government's Medicare health insurance program or pay heavy penalties. U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi in Trenton, New Jersey, became the fourth federal judge to uphold the program, one of Democratic President Joe Biden's signature initiatives, against drug industry challenges, rejecting their argument that it was an illegal taking of their property. (Pierson, 4/29)
Today: Man, 60, Dies After He Couldn't Access Chemo Drugs Amid Shortage In 2022, Jeff Bolle, of Milwaukee, learned he had bile duct cancer, which has a dismal long-term survival rate. At the time, doctors hoped that surgery and chemotherapy could prolong his life. He was in good health prior to his diagnosis, which made everyone feel optimistic. He underwent surgery and four rounds of chemotherapy before the chemotherapy shortage stopped his treatment in May 2023 — two rounds short. (Holohan, 4/29)
CBS News: Drug Shortage Management Becomes New Normal For Pittsburgh-Area Hospital Pharmacists Staying ahead of drug shortages is a constant battle for hospital pharmacists. "We definitely feel that. Every year, there are more drug shortages to worry about," said Rebecca Taylor, vice president of UPMC pharmacy services. New American Society of Health-System Pharmacists data shows 323 medications are in short supply across the country, the highest since tracking started in 2001. (Guay, 4/29)
Reuters: One Dose Of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy Back In Supply, FDA Website Shows The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's website showed on Monday one dose of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy as available after being in short supply, while three other doses remained in limited availability due to increased demand. The website listed the 1.7 milligram (mg) dose as available — making that and the 2.4 mg dose of the drug available for supply. But lower doses of 1 mg, 0.5 mg and 0.25 mg were still listed as in shortage. (4/29)
CIDRAP reports on the advisory group meeting earlier this month, where the experts predicted that in the near term, circulating variants of covid will likely be derived from JN.1. Also in the news about infectious disease: a covid booster's impact on odds of long covid; what we're learning about H5N1 bird flu virus infections in cows; and more.
CIDRAP: WHO COVID Vaccine Advisers Recommend Switch To JN.1 Strain The World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition, which meets about every 6 months to assess if any changes are needed, has recommended that the next COVID vaccine formulations use a monovalent (single-strain) JN.1 lineage. The group met in the middle of April to review the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2, with an eye toward vaccine composition implications. (Schnirring, 4/29)
CIDRAP: COVID Booster Linked To 25% Lower Odds Of Long COVID A new cross-sectional study published in Vaccine of US adults demonstrates that people who received the COVID-19 booster vaccine had 25% lower odds of having long COVID than their unvaccinated counterparts. (Soucheray, 4/29)
CIDRAP: X's Crowdsourced Tool To Counter COVID Untruths Mainly Accurate, Credible, Researchers Say Community Notes, a crowdsourced COVID-19 vaccine misinformation countermeasure on X (formerly Twitter), generally corrected false posts accurately and pointed readers to more credible sources, according to researchers who evaluated the posts. The University of California at San Diego (UCSD)-led team assessed the accuracy and credibility of a random sample of 205 Community Notes on COVID-19 vaccines from the year after the tool's December 2022 launch. The reviewers included an infectious-disease doctor and a virologist. The results were published last week in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 4/29)
CBS News: Seller Of Fraudulent N95 Face Masks To Refund $1.1 Million To Customers A company alleged to have fraudulently sold a face mask as N95-grade must refund more than $1.1 million to customers nationwide, the Federal Trade Commission announced Monday. Razer and its affiliates advertised the Zephyr mask as N95-grade despite never submitting it for testing or certification by the Food and Drug Administration or National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the agency said. (Gibson, 4/29)
AP: Chinese Scientist Who First Published COVID Sequence Protests After Being Locked Out Of His Lab he first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China was staging a sit-in protest after authorities locked him out of his lab. Virologist Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post Monday that he and his team had been suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since Zhang published the sequence in January 2020 without state approval. The move shows how the Chinese state continues to pressure and control scientists conducting research on the coronavirus. (Kang, 4/30)
On the spread of bird flu —
CIDRAP: Analysis Of Cow, Cat H5N1 Avian Flu Samples Raises Concerns About Spread To Other Animals Microbiological examination of cow, milk, and cat samples early in the investigation of H5N1 avian flu in some of the first affected states found that the cats died shortly after they were fed raw colostrum from sick cows, highlighting the risk of spread from cows to other animals through contaminated milk. (Schnirring, 4/29)
Stat: H5N1 Bird Flu: What We're Starting To Learn About Infection In Cows The H5N1 bird flu virus has been around for decades, and the damage it wreaks on chickens and other poultry is well documented. But the recent discovery that the virus has jumped into dairy cattle — whose udders seem to be where the virus either infects or migrates to — has dumbfounded scientists and agricultural authorities. (Branswell and Molteni, 4/30)
While the White House would like to see Medicaid enrollees not having to wait so long to see a physician, the industry and officials say it's not realistic. Meanwhile, CMS' effort to enforce ratios of nursing home staff to residents may end up in court.
Axios: Biden's Plan To Reduce Medicaid Wait Times Faces Pushback The Biden administration wants to make sure Medicaid enrollees don't have to wait too long to see a doctor, but state officials and health insurers that administer the program argue a new plan to speed up appointment wait times is unrealistic. (Goldman, 4/30)
Modern Healthcare: How The Nursing Home Staffing Rule Could End Up In Court A nursing home staffing mandate could face court challenges and congressional action as skilled nursing facilities prepare for the first phase of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule to go into effect this summer. Hours after CMS finalized the rule last week, nursing home trade group the American Health Care Association said it would "vigorously defend nursing home members by any means necessary and is exploring all options." (Eastabrook, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: Medicare Home Health Pay Lawsuit Against HHS Dismissed A federal court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against the Health and Human Services Department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over Medicare home healthcare payment calculations. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled the National Association for Home Care and Hospice failed to exhaust all possible administrative fixes before filing a lawsuit, since it skipped an agency process for seeking expedited review of a new reimbursement method. (Eastabrook, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: MultiPlan, Cigna, Aetna, Others Face Allegiance Health Lawsuit A rural health system sued technology company MultiPlan and eight of the country's largest insurance companies over alleged schemes to strongarm providers into accepting low out-of-network rates. At issue in the proposed class-action suit are MultiPlan's repricing tools, which allegedly rely on insurers' data to deflate their out-of-network reimbursement payments. (Tepper, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: Amazon One Medical's Trent Green Sees Expansion, Not More Layoffs One Medical CEO Trent Green isn't sold on the term "disruption." The primary care provider was acquired by Amazon, one of the healthcare industry's biggest disruptors, in a $3.9 billion deal in early 2023. But Green said One Medical wants to work with, not replace, traditional healthcare providers to improve care delivery. One Medical has pursued partnerships with health systems and has more in the pipeline, he said. (Hudson, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: Talkspace, Charlie Health, Others Partner On Specialty Care Talkspace is partnering with three other behavioral health providers to broaden in-network access to specialty care and treatment programs. The consortium, which includes Charlie Health, Ria Health, and Bicycle Health, will increase options for specialty behavioral health services for alcoholism, substance abuse and eating disorders, the company said. Talkspace will refer insured members to the other providers. (DeSilva, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: Why Nashville Is Becoming A Healthcare Headquarters Hub Nashville, Tennessee's reputation as an epicenter of the nation's healthcare industry got a boost last week with Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison's announcement that he will relocate the company's world headquarters to the city. Technology giant Oracle, based in Austin, Texas, is making a big push into healthcare. Ellison, who is also the company's chief technology officer, called Nashville "the center of the industry we're most concerned about." (DeSilva, 4/29)
USA Today reminds us that Philips has had to recall over 15 million CPAP breathing devices since 2021 over concerns of health injuries from inhaling eroded foam inserts in the machines. Also in the news: the FDA grants full approval of Pfizer's cervical cancer drug Tivdak.
USA Today: Philips CPAP Machine Settlement: Company To Pay $1.1B After Recall Medical device company Philips reached a settlement Monday to shell out $1.1 billion to cover hundreds of personal injury lawsuits linked to its respiration and sleep apnea machines. The manufacturer has recalled more than 15 million breathing devices since 2021, primarily due to health hazards caused by the breakdown of foam materials that users could inhale, according to the Food and Drug Administration. (Walrath-Holdridge, 4/29)
And in cancer news —
Reuters: US FDA Grants Full Approval For Pfizer's Cervical Cancer Drug The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval for Pfizer's drug for treating cervical cancer patients whose disease had progressed on or after chemotherapy, the agency said on Monday. The treatment, Tivdak - an antibody-drug conjugate co-developed by Genmab A/S and Seagen - received the FDA's accelerated approval for the same indication in 2021. (4/29)
Stat: Ono Pharmaceutical To Acquire Deciphera Pharma, Maker Of Cancer Drugs, For $2.4 Billion Ono Pharmaceutical of Japan said Monday it will acquire Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based maker of cancer drugs, for $2.4 billion. Deciphera markets a drug called Qinlock for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GIST, a type of cancer that begins in the digestive system. Sales last year were $160 million. The company is developing a second drug to treat tenosynovial giant cell tumor, with regulatory filings in the U.S. and Europe expected this year. (Feuerstein, 4/29)
Fox News: Cancer Immunity Gets A Boost From One Common Nutrient, Study Finds: 'Intrigue And Optimism' Vitamin D could be a surprise weapon against cancer, new research suggests. A study of mice published in the journal Science last week found that eating a diet rich in vitamin D changed the gut microbiome in a way that boosted cancer immunity. The micronutrient increased levels of the bacterium Bacteroides fragilis, which has been shown to improve cancer immune response. (Rudy, 4/29)
Politico: Beating Cancer Used To Be Bipartisan. What Happened? President Joe Biden is scrambling to fund his cancer moonshot and its ambitious goal of cutting the death rate by half — an aim close to his heart that's no longer a bipartisan priority. Lawmakers backed the initiative during the final days of Barack Obama's presidency, passing the 21st Century Cures Act, and allotting $1.8 billion to the cause, nearly unanimously. Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called it "the most significant legislation passed by this Congress." (Schumaker, 4/29)
The bill includes more oversight of home care work, speeding up Medicaid access, and a new registry to make finding caregivers easier. In other health news across the country, addiction treatment in Massachusetts, autism support efforts in Florida, toxic gas in Memphis, and more.
The CT Mirror: CT Elder Care Reform Bill Passes House Acknowledging Connecticut's substantial and increasing older adult population, the House of Representatives on Monday passed sweeping legislation overhauling the state's elder care system, including requiring more oversight of home care workers, creating a speedier process for accessing Medicaid, and launching a registry to make it easier for consumers to find caregivers. (Carlesso and Altimari, 4/29)
The Boston Globe: 15 Mass. Hospitals To Launch Or Expand Addiction Treatment Each year, hundreds of people addicted to drugs and alcohol show up at Massachusetts hospitals suffering agonizing withdrawal symptoms such as violent shaking and vomiting. Often, they are sent on their way with a list of numbers for local treatment programs. Yet when Dan arrived last spring at Massachusetts General Hospital with a fever of 105 and the ultra-lethal opioid fentanyl in his system, he was treated to a much different response. (Serres, 4/26)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Court Filings Hint At New Operator For St. Louis Hospital Eight months after its sudden closure, change may be coming to South City Hospital, the Dutchtown facility formerly known as St. Alexius. Daniel Wiggins, the court-appointed receiver who has managed the hospital for the past year, said in an email Monday that the company's lease will end Wednesday, allowing for a new "business occupant" in the facility. (Merrilees, 4/29)
Chicago Tribune: Couples From Markham, Orland Park Share Their Lives, Kidneys Phil Allen's 25th anniversary present to his wife, Meghan, will be hard to top — he gave her one of his kidneys. "It was a happy coincidence that it happened on our wedding anniversary," Phil said. "It made it easy for me not to buy her an anniversary present." (Moore, 4/29)
KFF Health News: Toxic Gas Adds To A Long History Of Pollution In Southwest Memphis For many years, Rose Sims had no idea what was going on inside a nondescript brick building on Florida Street a couple of miles from her modest one-story home on the southwestern side of town. Like other residents, she got an unwelcome surprise in October 2022 at a public forum held by the Environmental Protection Agency at the historic Monumental Baptist Church, known for its role in the civil rights movement. (Miller, 4/30)
Researchers have found a troubling link between teens who frequently vape and levels of potentially toxic metals in their urine. Separately, a study links e-cigarettes to a higher risk of heart failure — with just one vaping experience having a significant influence on risk.
ScienceAlert: Concerning Levels Of Uranium And Lead Found In The Urine Of Teens Who Frequently Vape Teenagers who regularly puff away on their vape throughout the day could be exposing their bodies to potentially toxic metals. A new study led by researchers from the University of Nebraska has found that regular vapers between the ages of 13 and 17, who report using an e-cigarette at least eight times a day, have 30 percent more lead and twice as much uranium in their urine compared to their peers who only occasionally vape. (Cassella, 4/30)
CBS News: Could Vaping One Time Put You At A Higher Risk Of Heart Failure? Could vaping just one time put you at higher risk of heart failure? More research is pointing to the dangers of e-cigarettes. A new study presented at a recent American College of Cardiology scientific session followed more than 175,000 participants for nearly four years. They found that those who used electronic cigarettes at any point in their lives had a 19 percent higher risk of heart failure compared to never users. (Marshall, 4/29)
Stat: Supporters See A Long Fight Ahead For A Menthol Cigarette Ban Advocates of a federal ban on menthol cigarettes have spent the better part of the last decade trying everything — from federal lawsuits to holding mock funerals outside the White House — to convince Washington policymakers to remove the minty substance from cigarettes. Now, it seems, advocates may just have to sit around and wait. (Florko, 4/30)
On the spread of tuberculosis, Powassan, and CWD —
USA Today: Powassan Virus Detected In Massachusetts: Symptoms, What To Know A Massachusetts town has confirmed its first case of Powassan virus, a tick-borne disease that has become increasingly more common in humans. A confirmed case of the disease has been reported in Sharon, Massachusetts, according to a release posted by the town on April 25, and the Sharon Health Department is warning residents to take precautions against contracting the disease. (DeLetter, 4/29)
USA Today: 'Zombie Deer Disease' Is Now In Indiana. Hunters Warned About Game Zombie deer disease, also known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), continues to spread across the U.S., threatening at-risk white-tailed deer – and potentially the hunters who kill and eat them. Indiana is the 33rd and latest state to report its first case of the disease. ... As the disease becomes more widespread, a new study from the University of Texas that examined the deaths of two hunters suggests, but does not prove, that it may be possible for zombie deer disease to be transmitted from animals to humans. (Loehrke and Petras, 4/29)
A new study shows that living a healthy lifestyle can significantly battle increased risk of early death due to genetic predisposition — nearly 2 in 3 people with risky genes can mitigate the risk. Separately, a study links physical fitness to better mental health in young people.
CNN: A Healthy Lifestyle Can Mitigate Genetic Risk For Early Death By 62%, Study Suggests Even if your genetics put you at greater risk for early death, a healthy lifestyle could help you significantly combat it, according to a new study. That risk could be mitigated by about 62% in people with a genetic predisposition, said lead author Dr. Xue Li, dean of the School of Public Health at Zhejian Univeristy School of Medicine in China. (Holcombe, 4/29)
The New York Times: Physical Fitness Can Improve Mental Health In Children And Adolescents, Study Suggests Physical fitness among children and adolescents may protect against developing depressive symptoms, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. The study also found that better performance in cardiovascular activities, strength and muscular endurance were each associated with greater protection against such mental health conditions. The researchers deemed this linkage "dose-dependent", suggesting that a child or adolescent who is more fit may be accordingly less likely to experience the onset of a mental health disorder. (Richtel, 4/29)
NPR: Climbing Stairs Is Linked To A Longevity Boost. How Many Flights Is Enough? At a time when less than half of adults in the U.S. get the recommended amount of exercise, there is new evidence that climbing stairs can reduce the risk of heart disease and help people live longer. A new meta-analysis presented at a European Society of Cardiology conference finds that people in the habit of climbing stairs had about a 39% lower likelihood of death from heart disease, compared to those who didn't climb stairs. They also had a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes. (Aubrey, 4/29)
CBS News: Eating More Avocados Could Lower Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes In Women, Study Says Eating more avocados could help women stave off Type 2 diabetes, a new study found. ... In this study, a team of researchers, including two who work for the Avocado Nutrition Center, analyzed dietary information on more than 25,000 Mexican adults. They found that women who ate avocados showed a 22 percent to 29 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The same protective effect was not observed in men, and it's not clear why. though hormonal shifts over a woman's lifespan may contribute. (Marshall, 4/29)
The New York Times: A Peek Inside The Brains Of 'Super-Agers' A paper published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience helps shed light on what's so special about the brains of super-agers. The biggest takeaway, in combination with a companion study that came out last year on the same group of individuals, is that their brains have less atrophy than their peers' do. (Smith, 4/29)
Editorial writers discuss organ transplants, mental health in kids, reproductive health care, and more,
Bloomberg: Pig Kidney Advancements Could Shorten The Organ Transplant Wait-List Xenotransplantation, the futuristic sounding field of animal-to-human organ transplants, is suddenly a lot closer to reality. The first two gene-edited pig kidneys have been transplanted into humans—and, so far, seem to be working beautifully. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/29)
The Boston Globe: Is Focusing Too Much On Mental Health Making Our Kids More Neurotic? According to a KFF study, 1 in 5 teens surveyed reported feeling anxious or depressed in 2021 and 2022. Why this is remains an issue of considerable debate. Some politicians and scholars have argued this is due to social media and smartphones, but evidence for this belief remains weak. Perhaps other issues are at play. (Chris Ferguson, 4/29)
USA Today: Oklahoma Gave Me My STEM Education. Women's Health Should Be Focus Too One major factor in my decision to move away from Oklahoma was the way the state seemed to downplay women, especially the health issues we face. It seemed especially clear in the state's efforts to deny access to comprehensive, evidence-based education about sexual health and reproduction. (Lauren Jones, 4/27)
Stat: Include Pregnant People And Their Children In Research Imagine having to make this decision: Your health care provider recommends that you take a specific medicine for an illness or condition but then tells you it hasn't been tested in people like you. Do you take the medication, or refuse it? That's the position the 3.5 million women who give birth each year in the U.S. are in when being counseled about taking medicines. (Alexander M. Capron and Anna Mastroianni, 4/30)
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