Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Active TB Case Reported In A Missouri Middle School
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Active Case Of Tuberculosis Diagnosed In St. Charles Middle School
An individual at Hollenbeck Middle School has been diagnosed with a case of active tuberculosis, the county's Department of Public Health said Monday. Health officials said there is no reason for the public to be concerned, and that everyone identified as a close contact to the affected individual is being notified and will be tested. Students must have parent permission to be tested. The health department did not indicate whether the infected person is a student, staff member or someone else. The school is part of the Francis Howell School District. (5/23)
In other health news —
CIDRAP: Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Jif Peanut Butter Sickens 14 In 12 States
In epidemiologic investigations, all five case-patients interviewed reported eating peanut butter before they got sick, and four of them (80%) reported eating different types of Jif peanut butter. Texas and Georgia each reported two cases, while Washington, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, and Massachusetts each reported a single case. (5/23)
Press Association: Take Breaks And Watch Less TV To Slash Heart Disease Risk, Experts Say
More than one in 10 cases of heart disease could be prevented if people slashed the amount of time they spent in front of the TV, a new study suggests. Experts at the University of Cambridge said sitting around after a large evening meal - and snacking in front of the TV - all increase the risk of ill health. They suggest that more than one in 10 cases of coronary heart disease could be prevented if people watched less than an hour of TV a day. (Kirby, 5/24)
Stat: Are Smartphones Making Us Miserable? A Google Study Aims To Find Out
Google is teaming up with researchers to investigate how the mobile devices glued to our hands may be affecting our minds. Conducted with researchers from the University of Oregon, the effort will be the second study to launch through the Google Health Studies app, the company’s nascent platform for conducting health research on its Android operating system. Like a similar program run by its competitor Apple, Google Health Studies aims to beef up the company’s health bona fides among consumers, researchers, and care providers. (Aguilar, 5/23)
Axios: America Needs Sleep
Three factors determine 80%+ of our longevity — diet, exercise and sleep. Of those, sleep is by far the easiest to get right. We aren't. 1 in 3 American adults don’t get enough sleep — defined as 7 or more hours a night — per a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. The average American adult slept 7.9 hours a night in the 1940s. That has dropped to 6.8 hours a night. Over time, operating without enough sleep can dramatically increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer, Francesco Cappuccio, a heart health and sleep expert at the University of Warwick tells us. (Pandey, 5/23)
KHN: To Shed Bias, Doctors Get Schooled To Look Beyond Obesity
When Melissa Boughton complained to her OB-GYN about dull pelvic pain, the doctor responded by asking about her diet and exercise habits. The question seemed irrelevant, considering the type of pain she was having, Boughton thought at the time. But it wasn’t unusual coming from this doctor. “Every time I was in there, she’d talk about diet and exercise,” said Boughton, who is 34 and lives in Durham, North Carolina. On this occasion, three years ago, the OB-GYN told Boughton that losing weight would likely resolve the pelvic pain. (Sausser, 5/24)
On gun violence —
Reuters: FBI Counts 61 'Active Shooter' Incidents Last Year, Up 52% From 2020
The United States experienced 61 "active shooter" incidents last year, up sharply in the sheer number of attacks, casualties and geographic distribution from 2021 and the highest tally in over 20 years, the FBI reported on Monday. The 2021 total, spread over 30 states, was 52% higher than 2020 and about double each of the three previous years, according to the FBI. (Gorman, 5/23)
