Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Eating Just One Serving Of Fish Could Endanger Your Health, Study Suggests
The Hill: Study Suggests US Freshwater Fish Highly Contaminated With ‘Forever Chemicals’
Eating just one serving of freshwater fish each year could have the same effect as drinking water heavily polluted with “forever chemicals” for an entire month, a new study finds. The equivalent month-long amount of water would be contaminated at levels 2,400 times greater than what’s recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) drinking water health advisories, according to the study, published Tuesday in Environmental Research. (Udasin, 1/17)
In other health and wellness news —
CNN: Enjoying Nature May Lessen Need For Some Medications, Study Finds
Going for a walk in a park or along a lake or a tree-lined space may reduce the need for medication for anxiety, asthma, depression, high blood pressure or insomnia, a new study found. (LaMotte, 1/16)
CBS News: Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Rising Among Young People
Jessica Dueñas was leading a double life. Named Kentucky's teacher of the year in 2019, she had also developed a heavy drinking problem. "The day that I won my award, I was in withdrawals," she said. "I could not wait to go home so that I could drink." (Chen, 1/16)
CBS News: MDMA-Assisted Therapy For PTSD Shows Promising Results
Devastated by post-traumatic stress disorder, Jonathan Lubecky tried to take his own life in 2006. "I put a loaded nine-millimeter to my temple, and I pulled the trigger," he said. "That was the first suicide attempt that I had. I've had a total of five." (Lapook, 1/13)
The Boston Globe: He Collapsed From Cardiac Arrest. The Next Four Minutes Would Determine If He Would Live
Massachusetts doesn’t track statewide cardiac arrest survival rates, but some municipalities do, and their data shows that survival varies widely. In Boston, 11.2 percent of people who experienced a cardiac arrest in 2021 survived, but in Worcester, one recent study found those rates were between 3 and 4 percent. (Bartlett, 1/14)
KHN: Rural Seniors Benefit From Pandemic-Driven Remote Fitness Boom
Eight women, all 73 or older, paced the fellowship hall at Malmo Evangelical Free Church to a rendition of Daniel O’Donnell’s “Rivers of Babylon” as they warmed up for an hourlong fitness class. The women, who live near or on the eastern shore of Mille Lacs Lake, had a variety of reasons for showing up despite fresh snow and slippery roads. One came to reduce the effects of osteoporosis; another, to maintain mobility after a stroke. (Saint Louis, 1/17)
KHN: Will Your Smartphone Be The Next Doctor’s Office?
The same devices used to take selfies and type out tweets are being repurposed and commercialized for quick access to information needed for monitoring a patient’s health. A fingertip pressed against a phone’s camera lens can measure a heart rate. The microphone, kept by the bedside, can screen for sleep apnea. Even the speaker is being tapped, to monitor breathing using sonar technology. In the best of this new world, the data is conveyed remotely to a medical professional for the convenience and comfort of the patient or, in some cases, to support a clinician without the need for costly hardware. (Norman, 1/17)
Also —
The Washington Post: ‘The Last Of Us’ Zombie Fungus Is Real, And It’s Found In Health Supplements
The zombie apocalypse depicted in the popular video game series and newly adapted HBO series “The Last of Us” derives from a mutation to a type of fungus called cordyceps. Surprise! Cordyceps is real, and some 600 variations of it can be found around the world, primarily in Southeast Asia. (Hume, 1/15)
