Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Links Teenage Mononucleosis Infection With Multiple Sclerosis Risks
Fox News: 'Kissing Disease’ Among Teenagers May Trigger Multiple Sclerosis: Report
Infectious mononucleosis – also known as "mono" or "the kissing disease" – in childhood or adolescence is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as an adult, according to a new study. In order to reach these conclusions, researchers from Sweden and the United Kingdom used data from nearly 2.5 million Swedish people. In the population-based cohort study, published earlier this month in the journal JAMA Network Open. the authors wrote that they had used the Swedish Total Population Register to identify Swedish-born individuals from Jan. 1, 1958, to Dec. 31, 1994, who reached 25 years of age from Jan. 1, 1990, to Dec. 31, 2019, with both parents alive in 1990, in order to aid in the identification of all first-degree relatives as well as MS diagnoses in parents. (Musto, 10/26)
In other public health news —
Axios: "Alarming" Trend In Colorectal Cancer Cases Under 35
Young adults with colon cancer are just as likely to die from the disease as older people — in some cases, maybe even less likely — according to a study to be published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Colorectal cancer is among the fastest-growing cancers among people younger than 50, and researchers aren't sure why. (Reed, 10/27)
Axios: First-Of-Its-Kind Study To Test Preventative Breast Cancer Vaccine
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have launched a first-of-its-kind study for a vaccine aimed at preventing lethal breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer is considered one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer because it does not typically respond to hormonal or targeted therapies, researchers say. (Chen, 10/26)
Axios: FTC Data: Annual Cigarette Sales Increased For First Time In 20 Years
The number of annual cigarette sales increased in 2020 for the first time in two decades, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. The number of cigarettes sold by the largest cigarette companies in the U.S. increased from 202.9 billion in 2019 to 203.7 billion in 2020, according to the most recent FTC Cigarette Report. (Doherty, 10/26)
