Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
PFAS Levels In New Moms Might Be Linked To Shorter Breastfeeding
New Hampshire Bulletin: Study Examines Link Between PFAS Levels And Breastfeeding
A recent study of New Hampshire mothers led by a Dartmouth researcher found that mothers with higher PFAS levels were at greater risk of stopping exclusive breastfeeding early. Experts recommend infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months because of a number of health benefits. (Sullivan, 8/13)
On the environment and the military —
MIlitary.com: Air Force Bucks EPA Order To Clean Up 'Forever Chemicals' In Arizona, Citing Supreme Court Ruling
Air Force lawyers are fighting an emergency order from the Environmental Protection Agency requiring the service to clean contaminated drinking water in Arizona, pointing to a recent Supreme Court ruling that restricts regulatory agencies as a justification to dodge the mandate. In a letter last month, lawyers for the Air Force argued that a landmark June decision by the court in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo – which reduced regulatory agencies' power by pushing authority to the courts to interpret ambiguous laws, referred to as "Chevron deference" – makes the EPA's order asking the service to clean contaminated water from the Tucson International Airport moot. (Novelly, 8/13)
Military.Com: VA Takes Steps To Expedite Claims For K2 Veterans With Chronic Illnesses
Veterans who served at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan after Sept. 11, 2001, and have a chronic illness that isn't easily diagnosed are now eligible for expedited disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA announced Friday that those who served at the installation, known as K2, and have symptoms similar to Gulf War Illness, which the VA calls "medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness," have a presumptive condition that will make it easier for them to apply for disability compensation. (Kime, 8/13)
On extreme heat —
The New York Times: Hot Summer Threatens Efficacy Of Mail-Order Medications
Melted capsules. Cloudy insulin. Pills that may no longer work. Doctors and pharmacists say the scorching temperatures enveloping the country could be endangering people’s health in an unexpected way: by overheating their medications. Millions of Americans now receive their prescription medications through mail-order shipments, either for convenience or because their health plans require it. But the temperatures inside the cargo areas of delivery trucks can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, according to drivers — far exceeding the range of 68 to 77 degrees recommended by the national organization that sets standards for drug handling. (Baumgaertner, 8/13)
The Texas Tribune and Inside Climate News: Texas Likely Undercounting Heat-Related Deaths
On a scorching May 2020 day that topped out at 95 degrees, Austin resident José Mario Calles reported to his landscaping job. A lawsuit later filed by Calles’ family recounted what happened next: The 51-year-old, who financially supported his wife and kids in El Salvador, fainted. He was rushed to the hospital and spent two nights being treated for a heart condition and diabetes, both known to make people more vulnerable to heat. (Foxhall, Martinez, Schumacher, Baddour and Pskowski, 8/14)
Bloomberg: 500 Million Children See More Hot Days Than Their Grandparents, UN Says
Almost 500 million children will experience double the number of extremely hot days than their grandparents’ generation, the United Nations said, with harmful consequences for their health. Extremely hot days with temperatures exceeding 35C degrees (95F degrees) are increasing for nearly one-in-five children globally, many of whom lack access to infrastructure or services that would help them to cope, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund said in a statement on Wednesday. (Hoije, 8/14)
How does climate change affect mental health? —
The New York Times: Are We Thinking About the Youth Mental Health Crisis All Wrong?
The mental health of adolescents and young adults has been on the decline and it’s partly because of “harmful megatrends” like financial inequality, according to a new report published on Tuesday in the scientific journal The Lancet Psychiatry. The global trends affecting younger generations also include wage theft, unregulated social media, job insecurity and climate change, all of which are creating “a bleak present and future for young people in many countries,” according to the authors. The authors argue that mental health is not merely an individual issue to be tackled after someone becomes unwell; it is also necessary to focus collectively on the environmental, social, economic, political and technological changes that contribute to mental distress. (Caron, 8/13)
