Sugar Health Warnings Attacked In New Study. But Authors Have Ties To Sugar Industry.
Other public health news stories cover developments related to a rise in mumps, a link between sleep apnea and heart failure, and fallopian tubes' role in ovarian cancer.
The New York Times:
Study Tied To Food Industry Tries To Discredit Sugar Guidelines
A prominent medical journal on Monday published a scathing attack on global health advice to eat less sugar. Warnings to cut sugar, the study argued, are based on weak evidence and cannot be trusted. But the review, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, quickly elicited sharp criticism from public health experts because the authors have ties to the food and sugar industries. (O'Connor, 12/19)
NPR:
Mumps On Rise, But Vaccine Makes Cases Milder
There's a bump in the number of cases of the mumps this year in the United States. This highly infectious disease is much less hazardous than it was decades ago, but health officials are still reacting strongly to several big outbreaks. (Harris, 12/20)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
In The Hospital For Heart Failure? Get Tested For Sleep Apnea
Physicians have warned for years about the connection between sleep apnea and heart failure — two dangerous conditions that can contribute to each other. But one of the two, sleep apnea, often goes undiagnosed. Sunil Sharma, a sleep medicine specialist at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, has a possible solution: When patients are in the hospital with heart failure, screen them for the sleep disorder. In a new study, Sharma and colleagues found that heart patients whose apnea was identified in the hospital were just as likely to stick with a treatment plan as those who were diagnosed with the sleep problem on an outpatient basis. (Avril, 12/20)
Kaiser Health News:
In Battle Against Ovarian Cancer, A New Focus On Fallopian Tubes
Two thin tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus have assumed an outsize role in the battle against ovarian cancer. Research increasingly points to the likelihood that some of the most aggressive ovarian cancers originate in the fallopian tubes. Most doctors now believe there is little to lose by removing the tubes of women who are done bearing children — and potentially much to gain in terms of cancer prevention. (Wiener, 12/21)
