Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Smoking In Adolescents; Transgender Patients; And Preexisting Conditions
Pediatrics: Adolescent Tobacco Smoke Exposure, Respiratory Symptoms, And Emergency Department Use
Different TSE measures uniquely increased the risk of TSE-related symptoms, but any TSE increased the risk of having a higher number of ED and/or UC visits. The providers at these high-volume settings should offer interventions to adolescents who are exposed to tobacco smoke and their families to decrease these symptoms and related morbidity. (Merianos, 8/31)
Pediatrics: Adolescent E-Cigarette, Hookah, And Conventional Cigarette Use And Subsequent Marijuana Use
Noncigarette tobacco products may confer a risk of marijuana use similar to combustible cigarettes. We examined whether adolescent electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), hookah, or combustible cigarette use is associated with initiating and currently using marijuana as well as using both tobacco and marijuana concurrently. (Audrain-McGovern et al, 8/31)
JAMA Internal Medicine: Acute Clinical Care For Transgender Patients: A Review
Transgender is an umbrella term used to describe individuals whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from assigned sex at birth. There are an estimated 1.4 million transgender adults in the United States, and this number is increasing. Clinicians will increasingly be caring for transgender patients. Topics considered in this narrative review include terminology, how to address transgender patients, obtaining an inclusive history that takes into account gender-affirming surgery, managing hormone therapy and other clinical issues, consideration for hospitalized patients, interpreting laboratory values in the setting of hormone use, legal issues, and considerations for health systems. (Rosendale et al, 8/27)
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: New Analysis Maps Prevalence Of Pre-Existing Conditions By Metro Area
A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis maps rates of pre-existing conditions across 129 metropolitan and micropolitan areas in the U.S., finding that even within the same state, the prevalence of such conditions can vary substantially. For example, 34 percent of residents of Florence, South Carolina have a pre-existing condition, but further south in Charleston and Hilton Head, the rate is 24 percent. The share of non-elderly adults with a pre-existing condition ranges from 41 percent in Kingsport, Tennessee to 20 percent in Logan, Utah and Rochester, Minnesota. (8/28)
Pediatrics: Prescription Medication Use Among Children And Adolescents In The United States
Many US children and adolescents use prescription medications with nearly 1 in 12 concurrent users of prescription medications potentially at risk for a major DDI. Efforts to prevent adverse drug events in children and adolescents should consider the role of interacting drug combinations, especially among adolescent girls. (Qato et al, 8/31)
