Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sweet News? Dangers To Children During Halloween Rarely, If Ever, Come From Strangers Tampering With Candy
The New York Times: It’s Halloween. Beware Urban Legends (And Cars).
American children are more likely to be hit by cars on Halloween than on any other night of the year. But many of the concerns expressed each October — in the news media and among family and friends — are instead about the danger from candy poisoning by strangers. Almost all such cases have been found to be hoaxes or scares that lack substantiation. Some health centers even offer to X-ray treats to see if they’ve been tampered with. Studies have failed to show this does any good. If anything, the tests may provide a false sense of security. (Carroll, 10/28)
NPR: Sleepless In The U.S.: Rising Numbers Of Workers Not Getting Enough Sleep
If you often hit that mid-afternoon slump and feel drowsy at your desk, you're not alone. The number of working Americans who get less than seven hours of sleep a night is on the rise. And the people hardest hit when it comes to sleep deprivation are those we depend on the most for our health and safety: police and health care workers, along with those in the transportation field, like truck drivers. (Neighmond, 10/28)
The Washington Post: Filmmaker Asks How Adults Can Help Digitally Obsessed Teens Tackle Mental Health Challenges
Teens are more connected than ever. So why are they so depressed, anxious and stressed? Delaney Ruston, a physician, worried about her own teens’ mental well-being. Her 2016 documentary, “Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age,” focused on how screentime affects young people. Now, she took her quest a step further, asking how adults can help teens tackle mental health challenges. (Blakemore, 10/26)
The Wall Street Journal: With No Boutique Gyms, She Gets Creative At The YMCA
Katie Gibson’s phone was getting in the way of her workouts. Looking to spend more time with her two children, she left her job as a speech pathologist and launched a skin-care company six years ago from home. The downside: She lived on her screen, even at the gym. “When my endorphins would start going, I’d get ideas and pull out Notes or start emailing,” she says. “I had a hard time compartmentalizing work and personal time. Plus, my workout felt stale, so I was easily distracted.” (Murphy, 10/27)
CNN: Sunday Sadness Is Real. Here's How To Battle The Pre-Workweek Blues
Many of us begin to groan and moan as our precious weekend comes to an end. It's not just the interruption of fun with friends and family that triggers the Sunday blues, or what some call the Sunday scaries. It's also anxiety and dread about the workweek to come. One study found 81% of more than 1,000 respondents said they became progressively more anxious as their restful Sunday came to a close. Psychologists call it "anticipatory anxiety." (LaMotte, 10/27)
The New York Times: These Apps Say You May Have A Health Disorder. What If They’re Wrong?
Flo and Clue, two popular period-tracking apps, recently introduced health tools that evaluate a woman’s risk for the hormonal imbalance known as polycystic ovary syndrome. In September alone, more than 636,000 women completed the Flo health assessments, said the app’s developer, Flo Health. The app then recommended that 240,000 of those women, or about 38 percent, ask their doctors about the hormonal disorder. (Singer, 10/27)
Miami Herald: Mylan Recalls Xanax That Might Have A ‘Foreign Substance’
One lot of Alprazolam, the prescription anti-anxiety drug sold as name brand Xanax, has been recalled nationwide because of “the potential presence of a foreign substance.” That’s according to the Mylan Pharmaceuticals-written, FDA-posted recall notice. (Neal, 10/27)
PBS NewsHour: Even If Your Drinking Water Gets A ‘Passing Grade,’ It May Not Be Safe
There are no federal limits on half of the contaminants detected in drinking water, according to the report, and establishing such regulations takes years. Regulating chlorate, a disinfection by-product that has been linked to thyroid problems when consumed in high doses, was proposed in 2011, but has gone nowhere, said Sydney Evans, science analyst for the Environmental Working Group. (Santhanam, 10/25)
ABC News: Woman Who Underwent Chemo During Pregnancy Kisses Her Miracle Baby After Giving Birth
A woman who underwent cancer treatment during pregnancy is celebrating the birth of her healthy baby boy. Jade Devis of Rancho Cucamonga, California, welcomed a son, Bradley, after two months of chemotherapy to fight Stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer--one of the rarest forms of breast cancer. (Pelletiere, 10/28)
The Washington Post: Many First Responders Struggle With PTSD
Certain smells can put Ken Dillon in a dark hole. When Dillon, a Connecticut state trooper, smells pizza, for example, his mind rewinds to Dec. 14, 2012 — pizza Friday — at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 26 people, including 20 first-graders, were shot dead by a young man who then took his own life. “When everything happened, big trays of pizza were left out on the counter in the cafeteria,” Dillon explained. “Over the next week while we processed the scene it began to rot and smell really bad, and it blended with the other unfortunate smells, like blood just down the hallway — the smell of evil. After that, anytime I’d smell pizza, it would take me back to that time.” (Ebersole, 10/26)
The New York Times: Fiber In Fruits And Grains Protects Against Diverticulitis
About a decade ago, Michael Valenti of Woodstock, N.Y., suddenly developed severe pain in the lower right side of his abdomen. He had a slight fever and thought he had appendicitis. So did his doctor, who sent him to the emergency room, where an M.R.I. revealed not appendicitis but diverticulitis, an infection in an outpouching of his colon he never knew he had. (Brody, 10/28)
Stat: A Serial Entrepreneur Wants His Portable MRI To Transform Medicine
Usually an MRI machine requires a giant, powerful magnet and must be encased in its own copper-shielded room. It is why the behemoths cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. But this device, from a startup called Hyperfine, is about the size of a luggage cart. It could be wheeled from one bed to another. (Herper, 10/25)
NPR: Dog People Rejoice: Owning A Pup Is Good For Your Cardiovascular Health
Hugging a dog is one life's greatest joys. Getting to see fur on four legs and a wagging tail is like experiencing a love drug — quite literally. Dogs and humans that interact with one another get a jolt of oxytocin, the so-called "cuddle hormone." And, if you get to look at dogs and hug them every day, you just might live longer than people who don't have to clean animal hair off their clothes, according to a pair of studies out this month. (Chen, 10/26)
The Washington Post: ‘This Baby Was Meant To Be Ours’: A Gay Couple’s Journey To Become Parents
When Kraig Wiedenfeld and Bill Johnson decided they were ready to start a family and wanted a baby biologically related to one of them, they did what a small but growing number of gay couples with their desire do: They found a surrogate to help them. As chronicled in The Washington Post last year, the two men, then married for four years, embarked on a journey both complicated and expensive that required: sperm from Weidenfeld, an anonymous egg donor and a young woman to carry the baby. (Page, 10/26)
