Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
40% Of High School Teens Admit They Binge Eat, CDC Data Show
Stat: CDC Survey Reveals 40% Of U.S. Teens Engage In Binge Eating
About 40% of high school students reported binge eating in the past month in a large new government survey, putting a spotlight on how widespread this common form of disordered eating is among young people in the U.S. (Todd, 10/15)
On the spread of measles —
CIDRAP: New CDC Report Details Deadly Toll Of Delayed Measles Complication In Kids
Measles is sometimes dismissed as an unserious disease or ‘just a rash.’ But the highly contagious virus can cause serious illness not just during initial infection but years later, after patients appear to have made a full recovery. This delayed complication, a rare, almost invariably fatal brain disease known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), is highlighted in a new report published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases. (Bergeson, 10/14)
NBC News: Pennsylvania Doctors Surprised By Severe Measles Complications In Previously Healthy Kids
By the time many children with measles are sick enough to be hospitalized, the illness has already swept through entire families, blindsiding parents who had no idea the virus could cause such severe complications. (Edwards, 10/14)
The Hill: Senate Republican Knocks Trump Administration On Measles
The chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), argued the Trump administration is not promoting vaccinations vigorously enough amid a massive measles outbreak that has claimed multiple lives in 2026. “My concern as a physician is that everyone should be vaccinated for measles,” Cassidy told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “And you may think it only affects me. That’s not true because you infect other people.” (Chakraborty, 10/14)
On dementia —
HealthDay: Global Dementia Cases To Double By 2050, Study Warns
Dementia cases are set to double within the next 25 years worldwide, warns a new study. There are expected to be 24.7 million new cases of dementia by 2050, up from 11.4 million in 2023, researchers reported Oct. 12 in the journal JAMA Neurology. (Thompson, 10/14)
News-Medical.net: Epilepsy Linked To Higher Risk Of Young-Onset Dementia
The study used two methods in two countries. In France, a total of 27.3% of those with dementia had received epilepsy medications, compared to 10.3% of those who did not have dementia. Those results were similar to those in Sweden. (10/14)
Newsweek: Condition Affecting Millions Of Women Studied For Possible Dementia Link
A condition that affects millions of American women has been associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. A new review has set out to understand what could be behind the potential connection. Researchers across the U.S. and Iran said that having polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), has been linked with an increased risk of cognitive vulnerability and dementia, and outlined possible mechanisms behind the connection. (Laws, 10/14)
Medical Xpress: Visual Processing Tests Could Help Diagnose Some Common Forms Of Dementia
In the study, researchers worked with 53 people with Lewy body disease and 29 people with Alzheimer's disease. Results showed visual problems were worse for those with Lewy body disease than for those with Alzheimer's disease, and that the two visual processing pathways were affected differently for the two diseases. (10/14)
On avian flu and climate health —
CIDRAP: In Greenland, 4 Polar Bears Test Positive For H5N1 Avian Flu Antibodies
Scientists detected antibodies against the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in four polar bears in East Greenland in 2025, consistent with previous identification of the virus in birds along linked migratory pathways. A team led by University of Inland Norway researchers analyzed heart blood collected from 28 polar bears harvested in subsistence hunts in 2024 and 2025, publishing their findings yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 10/14)
The Washington Post: The Earth’s Vital Signs Are Concerning, A New Report Says
A seventh annual “state of the climate” report, published Wednesday in BioScience, underlines with data what 2026 has felt like: A dangerous and unpredictable climate is here. The study assessed the latest available numbers for 16 major indicators of climate change, such as atmospheric carbon levels, ocean temperature change and amount of land burned in fires. (Wolfson, 10/14)
