Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
There's No Link Between Ultraprocessed Food And Colorectal Cancer In Older Adults, Lengthy Study Finds
NBC News: Study Finds No Link Between Ultra-Processed Food And Colorectal Cancer
A large study released Thursday found no link between colorectal cancer and ultra-processed food, raising questions about what role these foods play, if any, in rising rates of the cancer among younger people. (Bendix, 10/15)
On the health effects of plastic —
Chicago Tribune: Water Could Be Responsible For Making Plastic Harmful, Study Says
Plain old water could be responsible for making plastics harmful to people, according to a new study that portends significant consequences for human health. The study, published Thursday in the prominent scientific journal Nature, found chemical reactions between water and six types of fossil fuel-based plastic created particles that damaged red blood cells and proteins in laboratory tests. (Hawthorne, 10/15)
NBC News: How Exactly Do Microplastics Damage The Body? Study Offers An Answer
Scientists have linked the particles to health risks but did not know how they were causing harm. A new study challenges long-held assumptions. (Bush, 10/14)
On gun violence and mental health —
AP: Teen Shooter Kills 4 At Bend, Oregon, Elementary School, Police Say
A 16-year-old shot his way through locked doors to get into an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher. He was then shot by a person at the scene who followed him inside, authorities said. The suspect was found dead inside the school minutes after the shooting was first reported, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said. The three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11. Another child, 7, and a teacher, 54, were injured and taken to the hospital in critical condition, he said. The attacker used a pump-action shotgun that was purchased by his mother, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting. (Durkin Richer, Tucker and Johnson, 10/16)
The New York Times: Trump Cancels Planned Livestream Of Fort Hood Shooter’s Execution
President Trump on Thursday canceled the Pentagon’s planned livestream of the execution of the Army officer who was convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting. Pentagon officials said last week that the execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, would be broadcast via livestream, a decision Mr. Trump initially said he supported. Mr. Trump added that only immediate families of Mr. Hasan’s victims could watch the execution in person. (Rogers, Pager, Ismay and Jaffe, 10/15)
In other health and wellness news —
The New York Times: Why So Many People Still Are Not Screened For Lung Cancer
Doctors have an excellent tool for catching lung cancer in the early stages, when it’s most treatable: low-dose CT scans. But only about one in five people who are eligible for lung cancer screening in the United States receives it, meaning thousands of deaths each year could be prevented. (Agrawal, 10/14)
The Washington Post: 110 Years Ago Today, Margaret Sanger Opened The First U.S. Birth Control Clinic
When Margaret Sanger opened the United States’ first birth control clinic 110 years ago Friday, women weren’t yet guaranteed the right to vote, and sharing information on contraception was a crime. Sanger’s mother, weakened by 11 births and seven miscarriages, had died at 50 of tuberculosis. Watching her mother suffer, and her own experience as a nurse, motivated Sanger to travel to Europe to study birth control methods and bring what she learned back home. (Westfall, 10/16)
The New York Times: Mexico Bans Violent Content On Social Media For Children
Mexico banned violent and sexual content on social media for children and teenagers on Wednesday, joining a global movement on regulating technology but drawing questions about the government’s approach and legality. (Wagner, 10/14)
