So, Just How Accurate Will New Apple Watch Be When It Comes To Catching Irregular Heart Rhythms?
Experts weigh in on the studies that were done on the new product, which Apple launched this week. In other public health news: alcohol research, birth control, transgender suicide, egg nutrition, and more.
Stat:
Here’s The Data Behind The New Apple Watch EKG App
When the new Apple Watch heart monitoring app can get a reading, it can accurately detect that a person has an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation 99 percent of the time, according to a study of the new device that Apple submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. ...In one study, Apple tested the watch in more than 580 people, half of whom had atrial fibrillation. The app couldn’t read about 10 percent of the heart rhythm recordings in the study. When it looked at the rest, though, the app was very accurate: It caught more than 98 percent of people with atrial fibrillation, and correctly told people that they didn’t have the condition 99.6 percent of the time. (Sheridan, 9/13)
Stat:
Researcher Calls On NIH To Retract Statement About Alcohol And Cancer Risk
A public health expert is calling on the National Institutes of Health to change information on one of its websites to more accurately reflect scientific findings about the risk of alcohol. In a letter sent to NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins on Thursday, alcohol researcher Dr. Michael Siegel of Boston University School of Public Health called on NIH to retract and apologize for a statement on the website of NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism that says, “Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of developing certain cancers,” especially as it regards breast cancer. (Begley, 9/13)
The Associated Press:
Swedish Regulator Ends Investigation Of Birth Control App
Swedish regulators have closed their investigation of a birth control app after finding that the rate of unwanted pregnancies, which had gained media attention, was actually in line with clinical data. The Swedish Medical Products Agency said Thursday a review found about 7 percent of women using the Natural Cycles app got pregnant in the first half of the year, equal to the "typical use" failure rate in the clinical study submitted for its European certification. (9/13)
The Washington Post:
More Than Half Of Transgender Male Adolescents Attempt Suicide, Study Says
She picked up the phone and repeated these words, which had grown familiar, like a refrain in a song she never wanted to sing: “We’re listening. We hear you. We’ve gone through similar things. ”The person on the other end of the line, she said, “had typically just come out to themselves and really wanted to talk to someone.” Isolation in that moment, said Greta Gustava Martela, can be dire. She would know. Martela, a transgender woman, has been hospitalized five times for “suicidality,” a term that encompasses suicidal ideation, planning, gestures, attempts and completed suicide. The first time was in 1995, said Martela, who is now 49. (Stanley-Becker, 9/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
Are Eggs Bad For You? Two Scientists Square Off
For years, eggs were synonymous with a healthy breakfast. Then the tables turned. Doctors and nutritionists started saying not to eat eggs, particularly if you wanted to avoid heart disease. The problem: Eggs contain unwanted cholesterol, and diners ingest more saturated fat when they consume eggs prepared in typical ways. But eggs also are rich in protein and other important nutrients, leading some scientists to argue that the benefits of eating eggs outweigh the risks. (9/13)
NPR:
CLARITY-BPA Study In Rats Finds No Harm At Typical Doses
Government scientists have presented new evidence that the plastic additive BPA isn't a health threat. Low doses of the chemical given to hundreds of rats, "did not elicit clear, biologically plausible adverse effects," said K. Barry Delclos, a research pharmacologist at the Food and Drug Administration's National Center for Toxicological Research. (Hamilton, 9/13)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Here's Why Marijuana Use Is On The Rise Among Baby Boomers, Study Says
Previous studies have shown marijuana use is on the rise among young adults, but it’s also becoming more prevalent with a group on the other end of the age spectrum, according to a new report. (Parker, 9/13)
NPR:
Update: A Leukemia Patient And CAR-T Study At NIH
It's early in the morning and 20-year-old Aaron Reid looks like he's sleepwalking. His head nods forward and he shuffles a bit as he heads toward the pediatric clinic at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Reid, who has been fighting leukemia since he was 9-years old, is experiencing intense pain. (Davis and Stein, 9/14)
Kaiser Health News:
Discreetly Tracking Down Sex Partners To Stop A Surge In STDs
The U.S. is in the middle of a steep and sustained increase in sexually transmitted diseases.So how are public health officials responding? In northwest Oregon’s Clackamas County, health officials have decided to ask anyone who comes in with an STD who their sexual partners are — and then track those partners down. (Foden-Vencil, 9/14)
Kaiser Health News:
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ A Detour On A Smoking Off-Ramp
The Food and Drug Administration declared Wednesday that vaping among teenagers has reached “an epidemic proportion.” The agency told five major e-cigarette manufacturers that they had 60 days to find ways to keep their products away from minors. “I use the word epidemic with great care,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a Wednesday news release. “E-cigs have become an almost ubiquitous — and dangerous — trend among teens.” Yet, as the panel discusses, health advocates warned that the actions may not be strong enough. (Tribble, 9/13)
