Aging Population, Delay In Couples Having Kids Take Toll On US Growth

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: U.S.' Population Growth Lowest Since '30s At 7.4%
U.S. population growth has slowed to the lowest rate since the Great Depression, the Census Bureau said Monday, as Americans continued their march to the South and West and one-time engines of growth, New York and California, lost political influence. Altogether, the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281 last year, the Census Bureau said, a 7.4% increase that was the second-slowest ever. Experts say that pace reflects the combination of an aging population, slowing immigration and the scars of the Great Recession more than a decade ago, which led many young adults to delay marriage and families. (4/27)

In other public health news —

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Real Water Linked To More Hepatitis Cases
The Southern Nevada Health District has linked at least six additional cases of severe liver disease to the Las Vegas-based Real Water brand alkaline water, the district announced Monday. Those six probable cases of acute non-viral hepatitis make for a total of 11, the district said in a news release. A 12th case “meets the clinical criteria” but remains under investigation. All 12 cases resulted in hospitalization; the patients have since been released. None was so ill as to need a liver transplant, the district said. (Hynes and Ferrara, 4/26)

Fox News: VA's Implant Tests Could Help Paralyzed Veterans To Walk Again
Medical professionals at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Virginia are using the latest technology to try to turn paralyzed service members into "cyborgs" – an electrical implant in the spine is designed to stimulate the body's sensorimotor networks, allowing the vets to walk again. Dr. Ashraf Gorgey, chief of spinal cord injury research at Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, said a study will try to see if epidural stimulators can help paralyzed vets improve motor activity and operate their cardiovascular and bladder functions. (Miles, 4/26)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Some Find Agoraphobia Is Worse After A Year Of Staying Home: Relearning How To Enjoy Life
While reluctance to break free of the dispiriting, yearlong safety protocols is Greek to some, it’s very real for people who suffer from agoraphobia and lament returning to the workplace or resuming other rhythms of normal life. Clinicians are gearing up for what they are calling FOGO (fear of going out), a post-pandemic syndrome likely to impact those with preexisting anxiety issues. FOGO is the antithesis of another, more familiar acronym — FOMO, or fear of missing out. (Chatelain, 4/27)

The Washington Post: College Graduation Ceremony Safety: Virtual And In-Person 
College graduation-day ceremonies have never felt so up in the air. Last year, the vast majority of schools held only virtual graduations, so students knew they wouldn’t be able to walk across a stage to cheers from their families. But this year, with just weeks to go, some schools are still determining whether they will be able to hold an in-person commencement. And if they can, who will be able to attend? And where will it be held? And what will it look like? (Heim, Andersona nd Strauss, 4/26)

The New York Times: Crohn’s Disease Is On The Rise 
Crohn’s disease was first described in 1932 by Dr. Burrill B. Crohn and colleagues and is one of two chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis is the other) that have no specific cause. Together, they afflict about three million people in the United States. Crohn’s in adults starts on average at age 30, with peak incidence between ages 20 and 30 and a second peak around age 50. The disease tends to run in families, but the genetic risk is not large. One in 10 to one in four patients have a close family member who is affected, and only half of identical twin pairs get it. (Brody, 4/26)

Georgia Health News: Autism In The Pandemic: How People Cope 
Michael Goodroe isn’t the type who worries easily or is quickly scared. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, “I was a little sad,” he says as he sits down in his parents’ Roswell bungalow, his hands neatly folded on the large wooden dining room table. “Because I felt that the life I knew was over, that I wouldn’t be able to be with my friends and other family members anymore.” (Ridderbusch, 4/26)

The Washington Post: You Can Get The Abortion Pill By Mail For Now, The FDA Ruled. But It’s Still An Ongoing Legal Battle. 
Last week, Jamie Phifer, a Seattle-based family physician, did something she has done regularly for the past decade: She had an appointment with a patient seeking an abortion. But this appointment was different from many of the others that came before, because it was virtual. The woman was in another state, sitting in her car in her driveway, while her kids were inside on virtual school, Phifer said. The two spoke by video call. About 36 hours later, abortion pills arrived at the woman’s doorstep. (McShane, 4/26)

CNN: Call For New Approach To End Silence Over Miscarriage 
Miscarriages are common. Some 23 million pregnancies worldwide end in miscarriage every year -- that's 15% of all pregnancies or 44 each minute, according to new estimates published in The Lancet medical journal on Monday. However, existing care and support for women and couples is "inconsistent and poorly organized" and amounts to little more than patients being told to "just try again," said the authors of three new studies on the causes, treatment and scale of miscarriage around the world. A new system is needed to ensure miscarriages are better recognized by health care practitioners and women are given the physical and mental health support they need, the researchers said. (Hunt, 4/26)