Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Australia's On Track To Be The First Country To Eliminate Cervical Cancer. Here's How They Did It.
The New York Times: In Australia, Cervical Cancer Could Soon Be Eliminated
Cervical cancer could be eliminated in Australia within the next two decades because of a government program to vaccinate children against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus, according to a new report. The study, published this week in The Lancet Public Health, found that by 2028, fewer than four women in every 100,000 could be diagnosed with cervical cancer annually in Australia — effectively eliminating the disease as a public health problem. And by 2066, the researchers say, less than one woman per year could receive that diagnosis. (Albeck-Ripka, 10/3)
The Associated Press: Proposed Rule Change Worries Some About Radiation Regulation
The EPA is pursuing rule changes that experts say would weaken the way radiation exposure is regulated, turning to scientific outliers who argue that a bit of radiation damage is actually good for you — like a little bit of sunlight. The government’s current, decades-old guidance says that any exposure to harmful radiation is a cancer risk. And critics say the proposed change could lead to higher levels of exposure for workers at nuclear installations and oil and gas drilling sites, medical workers doing X-rays and CT scans, people living next to Superfund sites and any members of the public who one day might find themselves exposed to a radiation release. (Knickmeyer, 10/3)
NPR: Patient Satisfaction Ratings May Be A Factor In Doctor's Prescribing Behavior
When they're sick, it seems Americans know what they want: antibiotics. And if they don't get them, their doctors' reputations may suffer. A study published Monday finds that patients rated themselves happiest with their doctor's visit when they got an antibiotic after seeking care for a respiratory tract infection, such as a common cold, whether they needed it or not. (Cohen, 10/3)
The Associated Press: Study: 1 In 3 US Adults Eat Fast Food Each Day
A government study has found that 1 in 3 U.S. adults eat fast food on any given day. That's about 85 million people. It's the first federal study to look at how often adults eat fast food. An earlier study found a similar proportion of children and adolescents ate it on any given day. (10/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Hershey’s Strategy For A Healthy-Snack World
What does a big snack company do when many consumers say they want to eat healthier, and upstarts are grabbing market share? To find out, The Wall Street Journal’s Annie Gasparro spoke with Michele Buck, president and chief executive officer of Hershey Co., at the Journal’s Global Food Forum conference. (10/2)
The Washington Post: Survival After Cardiac Arrest May Depend On Which EMS Agency Shows Up
Whether you survive a cardiac arrest may depend, at least in part, on which emergency medical services agency shows up to treat you, a new study suggests. Researchers found a wide variation in cardiac arrest survival rates depending on which EMS agency provided initial treatment, according to the study published in JAMA Cardiology. (Carroll, 10/2)
The Wall Street Journal: Is It Ethical To Choose Your Baby’s Eye Color?
Blair and James are trying to start a family. Like many parents, they hope their future offspring will be healthy. They’d also like the baby to have blue eyes. The couple, both 35, describe themselves as type-A personalities who research everything. When they decided to try for a baby, they looked into DNA testing to rule out disease-causing genetic mutations they might pass along to their child. Then they learned about a test that might help predict a future baby’s eye color. (Marcus, 10/2)
The New York Times: To Prevent Urinary Tract Infections, Drink Up
Women are commonly advised to drink extra water to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections, or U.T.I.s, but until now there has been little evidence that it works. Now a randomized trial has found that women who drink more water do indeed get fewer infections. Researchers studied 140 women with recurrent U.T.I.s who habitually drank less than one and a half quarts of water a day, and averaged 3.3 episodes of cystitis the previous year. (Bakalar, 10/2)
WBUR: What We Really Know — And Don't Know — About Obesity
The obesity epidemic is getting worse. But what if presumptions about the causes and consequences of obesity are wrong? (Chakrabarti, 10/3)
The Washington Post: Want To Avoid Stressing-Out Your Infant? Breast-Feeding May Help, Study Says.
Mothers have long been told that “breast is best” when it comes to feeding newborn babies, but a small experiment suggests at least some of the benefits may have nothing to do with the milk itself. Pediatricians recommend that mothers exclusively breast-feed infants until they are at least 6 months old because it can bolster babies’ immune systems and reduce their risk of ear and respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, allergies, obesity and diabetes. (Rapaport, 10/2)
The Washington Post: More Than 250 People Worldwide Have Died Taking Selfies, Study Finds
The next time you’re standing at the edge of a scenic cliff or on top of a waterfall, take care when you have the urge to snap a quick selfie. It could very well be the last thing you do. More than 250 people worldwide have died while taking selfies in the last six years, according to a new study from researchers associated with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a group of public medical colleges based in New Delhi. The findings, which analyzed news reports of the 259 selfie-related deaths from October 2011 to November 2017, were published in the July-August edition of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. (Chiu, 10/3)
The New York Times: We Slow As We Age, But May Not Need To Slow Too Much
Most of us who are older competitive runners are not able to race at anywhere near the same speed as we did when we were 30. But we can perhaps aim to slow down at the same pace as Bernard Lagat, Ed Whitlock and other greats of masters running, according to a timely new analysis by two professors from Yale University. (Reynolds, 10/3)
