Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fentanyl Made Teen Overdose Rates Double Over 2 Years
Boise State Public Radio News: Teen Overdose Rates Doubled In Two Years Due To Fentanyl
New research in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that teens aren't using more illegal drugs – but they are dying from drug overdoses at twice the rate due to fentanyl. The study, published this week, found that drug use in 14- to 18-year-olds remained stable over the last decade. However, the number (and rate) of overdose deaths more than doubled between 2019 and 2021, reaching 1,146. Nearly 80% of those deaths involved fentanyl. American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents suffered the highest rates, followed by Hispanic teens. (Beck, 4/18)
WQCS: Prescription Crackdown Pushes Opioid Crisis To The Streets, Says Doctor On Treasure Coast Task Force
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more people between the ages of 18 and 45 died from fentanyl overdoses in 2021 than from COVID, car accidents, cancer and suicide, combined. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine, but 50 to 100 times more potent. It’s killing people across the country, in Florida, and along the Treasure Coast. Dr. Kenneth Palestrant, a leading member of the Treasure Coast Opioid Task Force, says this latest drug epidemic is effecting the region, just as it has the rest of the nation. "It’s bad everywhere," said Palestrant, a Port St. Lucie family physician who has lived in the Treasure Coast for 30 years. “Seventy-three percent of the deaths that we’ve seen recently involve fentanyl," he said, citing data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. "That’s a tremendous upsurge.” (Kerrigan, 4/18)
In other public health news —
The Wall Street Journal: Contaminated-Baby-Formula Investigation Turns Murky
A federal investigation into popular baby formulas and serious infant bacterial infections has been complicated by conflicting evidence that could make it difficult to prove or disprove a definitive connection, government officials and food-safety experts say. Federal officials received complaints over four months beginning last September of four babies who were hospitalized with rare bacterial infections after being fed powdered baby formula made at an Abbott Laboratories manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Mich. Two of the babies later died. (Walker, 4/18)
KHN: As Eating Disorders Spike During Pandemic, Rural Treatment Options Lag
Erin Reynolds had battled bulimia since childhood, but the weeks before she entered treatment were among her worst. At 22, she was preparing to leave her home in Helena, Montana, for an inpatient program in New Jersey with round-the-clock medical care. Looking back six years later, Reynolds said seeking help was one of the most difficult parts of the recovery process. “I just kept bingeing and purging because I was so stressed,” she said. “I’m leaving my job that I love, leaving all my friends and my town and saying goodbye to normal life.” (Graf, 4/19)
The Washington Post: A Food Pantry’s Closure Means More Than Lost Meals For Hundreds Of Families
It was Friday, and for more than a decade, Fridays had been when the food deliveries arrived. Around 15,000 pounds of food were expected this morning. Volunteers were hauling the first boxes off a truck. Stacy Downey, 52, was determined, if possible, to treat this day like any other, so she was now standing outside the Little Food Pantry That Could, shoulders hunched against the morning cold, sliding into her familiar workday routine. “How much red?” she asked, leaning over boxes of peppers. “Do we have any yellow? Orange? The greens ones are okay but they are not as popular as the red, yellow or orange.” (Swenson, 4/18)
KUNC: Study: A Gun In The House Doubles Homicide Risk – And Women Are Usually The Victims
The Mountain West has some of the highest gun ownership rates in the nation — and some of the least restrictive gun laws. New research suggests those high rates come with big risks. Those who live in homes with guns are more than twice as likely to die from homicides, according to a new study. Researchers at Stanford University looked at homicides among nearly 18 million Californians over a 12-year period. They also zoomed in on different kinds of homicides, such as people killed by their partners or spouses. They found that people living with handgun owners were seven times more likely to be shot by their spouse or intimate partner. The vast majority of those victims – more than 80% – were women. (Vincent, 4/18)
The New York Times: The Pandemic Has Been Hard On Our Feet
There is no hard data on the increase in foot pain, but Dr. James Christina, the executive director of the American Podiatric Medical Association, said it’s been a clear trend for many of his 12,000 members. Members like Dr. Rock Positano, the co-director of the Non-surgical Foot and Ankle Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, who has seen foot pain increase so much — 20 to 30 percent — that he called the phenomenon “pandemic foot.” (Altman, 4/18)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Why You May Need To Drink More Water In Your 60s
It is estimated that 40% of community-dwelling older adults may be chronically underhydrated. A study published in the Journal of Physiology found older adults should drink more water in order to regulate their body temperature. The researchers studied young and older men’s body temperature when exercising. As you exercise, your body’s temperature regulation adjusts how much you sweat to prevent further water loss and dehydration. However, the study found that as you age, the ability to regulate your body’s temperature decreases, making older adults more susceptible to dehydration. (Ramakrishnan, 4/18)
Also —
CBS News: Safety Sensors On Florida Free Fall Ride Were Manually Adjusted In "Unsafe" Way Before Teen's Fatal Accident, Report Finds
The 14-year-old who died after falling from a thrill ride in Florida last month was in a seat that had previously been manually adjusted in a way that made the ride "unsafe," a report released this week by forensic investigators found. Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis' report found that the adjustment to the seat that Tyre Sampson fell from prevented safety sensors from shutting the ride down, even though the space between the seat and harness harness was too wide. (Jones, 4/18)
CBS News: GE Recall: Refrigerators Sold At Home Depot, Lowe's And Best Buy Recalled After 37 Injuries
GE Appliances is recalling six models of free-standing French door refrigerators sold nationwide because of handles that may detach, posing a fall risk to those trying to pull the freezer doors open. Louisville, Kentucky-based GE has received 71 reports of freezer drawer handles detaching, resulting in 37 injuries, including three serious falls, the company said Thursday in a notice posted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. GE is a division of Chinese multinational Haier Group. (Gibson, 4/18)
