Latest KFF Health News Stories
Suicide Rates Rise, Spotlighting Pandemic’s Mental Health Toll
After two years of decline, U.S. suicide rates rose 4% in 2021 over the previous year. Among 15- to 24-year-olds, the increase was 8%. Experts say the numbers are part of an escalating national mental health crisis exacerbated by the covid pandemic.
FDA Authorizes Contentious ALS Drug That May Slow Disease Decline
The drug manufactured by Amylyx Pharmaceuticals has been shown in a small study to slow the progression of ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative condition also known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” Patients and disease advocates have been lobbying the FDA to approve the therapy — the first new one 5 years — but some scientists question if enough study has been done.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Who Should Get The Bivalent Booster?; It’s Possible To Eradicate Human Rabies Deaths
Editorial writers weigh in on these public health topics.
Research Roundup: Covid; UTIs; Flu; Tick-Borne Illnesses; Diabetes; C. Diff
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
San Francisco Plans To Cut Drug Overdoses 15% By 2025
The plan, a “first of its kind,” was released Wednesday by the Department of Public Health. It also includes goals for reducing racial disparities in overdose deaths. Separately, reports say it’s impossible to tell how many people seeking abortions are actually traveling to California.
Teens Are Ditching Drinking But Taking Up Toking: Study
USA Today reports that part of the reason that a new study is showing marijuana use up among teens, one scientist thinks, is that the risk perception of the drug is dropping. Also: improving access to cancer care, Katie Couric’s cancer diagnosis, mammograms, a rise in STI diagnoses, and more.
Telehealth Startup Cerebral In Spotlight For Treating Minors
The telehealth service had systems in place to verify customer IDs, but was not using them to check details such as age, a report in the Wall Street Journal states, leading to minors being treated without parental consent. Meanwhile, in Oregon, hospitals sue the state over alleged mental health care failures.
Worker Shortage Pushes Hospitals To Boost Low-Earners’ Benefits
The ongoing staff shortage is pressuring health systems to address concerns of some of their lower-earning staff, Modern Healthcare reports. Axios, meanwhile, highlights the “vague” language some nonprofit hospital systems use for charity care.
New Alzheimer’s Drug Under Scrutiny For Cost, Patient Benefits
The first “clearly successful clinical trial for a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment in two decades,” Stat notes, has brought intense scrutiny to the drug and Japanese maker Eisai. Renewed concerns over treatment costs, an investor “bonanza,” and worries if it will really impact patients’ lives are reported.
Automated Insulin Delivery System Shows Promise In Clinical Trial
Trials of Beta Bionics’ iLet “bionic pancreas” device showed that the math needed to manage Type 1 diabetes can be reliably taken on by an automated system, which could lead to better blood glucose control for patients. The cost of insulin, and other drugs, is also in the news again.
People’s Personalities Were Changed By Pandemic, Researchers Find
Other “collective stress events” haven’t been linked to personality change, The Guardian reports, but now psychologists find the peculiar combination of long-term duress and social isolation seem to have led to changes in the minds of young adults: more anxiety, for one.
Emergence Of Viruses Like Monkeypox, Covid Linked To Climate, Experts Say
Researchers studying zoonotic diseases expect the spread of such viruses to increase as more animal habitats are destroyed and the planet continues to warm. In related news, data on the monkeypox vaccine shows encouraging signs of efficacy.
Hurricane Ian An Unwelcome Visitor At Many Southern Hospitals
The storm swamped HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, forcing the four-floor hospital to cram patients into just two floors. Meanwhile, as Ian trudged north toward Georgia and South Carolina, hospitals there prepared for potential impacts.
White House Aims To Modernize Decades-Old Federal Food Programs
At a White House summit Wednesday, President Joe Biden engaged public and private sector representatives to tackle hunger and food insecurity in the U.S. Among the targets discussed are updates to federal food assistance programs like WIC and SNAP, which have not been overhauled since their 1969 inception.
What Food Can Be Labeled ‘Healthy’? FDA Proposes Update To Rules
The Food and Drug Administration issued proposed rules that would only allow food packaging to bill the products as “healthy” — and use a new symbol — under more limited federal criteria. The measure is part of the Biden administration’s stepped-up efforts to combat diet-based diseases like diabetes.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Type 2 Diabetes Has Skyrocketed In Children; The Nursing Shortage Is At Crisis Level
Editorial writers examine these public health issues.
Perspectives: It’s Time To End Animal Drug Testing; Could More Covid Vaccine Options Ease Hesitancy?
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Researchers Find Possible Drug For Treating Glioblastoma
The small-molecule drug can target proteins involved in circadian processes and may prove useful against the most common cancerous brain tumor in adults. Conversely, other research finds that poor reporting on harms caused by cancer screenings could potentially expose patients to hazards.
