Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vaccination Exemptions For Kids Are Causing Pockets Of Vulnerability To Spread Across U.S.
The Washington Post: Kids In These U.S. Hot Spots At Higher Risk Because Parents Opt Out Of Vaccinations
Public health officials have long known that the United States has pockets of vulnerability where the risk of measles and other vaccine-preventable childhood diseases is higher because parents hesitate or refuse to get their children immunized. Eighteen states allow parents to opt their children out of school immunization requirements for nonmedical reasons, with exemptions for religious or philosophical beliefs. And in two-thirds of those states, a comprehensive new analysis finds a rising number of kindergartners who have not been vaccinated. (Sun, 6/12)
The New York Times: A Crispr Conundrum: How Cells Fend Off Gene Editing
Human cells resist gene editing by turning on defenses against cancer, ceasing reproduction and sometimes dying, two teams of scientists have found. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, at first appeared to cast doubt on the viability of the most widely used form of gene editing, known as Crispr-Cas9 or simply Crispr, sending the stocks of some biotech companies into decline on Monday. (Zimmer, 6/12)
The New York Times: High Blood Pressure At Age 50 Tied To Dementia Risk
Elevated blood pressure at age 50 is linked to an increased risk for dementia in later years, a new study reports. The research, published in the European Heart Journal, found that systolic blood pressure (the top number) as low as 130 increased the risk, even though 140 is the usual level at which treatment with blood pressure medication is recommended. (Bakalar, 6/12)
The Wall Street Journal: The Great Egg Debate: Are They Healthy Or Not?
Are eggs good for you or not? It’s never been more confusing for consumers to answer that seemingly simple question. Vilified for years for their high cholesterol content, eggs more recently have broken back into dietary fashion. Nutrition experts today are touting eggs’ high levels of protein, essential vitamins and nutrients like brain-booster choline. (Byron, 6/12)
The New York Times: C-Sections Not Tied To Overweight Children
Several studies have suggested that babies born by cesarean section are at higher risk for obesity in childhood than those born vaginally, perhaps because of differences in the babies’ microbiomes. But a new analysis suggests that mode of birth has no effect on body mass index in children. The new study, in JAMA Pediatrics, used a large clinical database to study 16,140 siblings born between 1987 and 2003 and their 8,070 mothers. Of these, there were 2,052 siblings of whom one was delivered vaginally and one by cesarean section. Looking at these sibling pairs eliminates most other variables that could affect childhood B.M.I., such as socioeconomic factors, the health and weight of the mother, race and ethnicity, so that the effect of mode of delivery alone can be determined. (Bakalar, 6/12)
The Associated Press: What Goes Into A Go-Bag? How To Prepare An Emergency Kit
Heather Kretzer, a health consultant for the Florida Department of Health in Panama City, lives near the water. But the most recent call for an evacuation in her area wasn't because of a hurricane but because of an active shooter. The incident, which did not result in any bystanders being injured but did lead to the temporary evacuation of an apartment complex, drove home to Kretzer the need for all families to have a survival bag they can grab in an emergency. (6/12)
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Free Snacks At Work Could Be Detrimental To Health, Study Suggests
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently conducted a study, presented at a American Society for Nutrition meeting, to determine how many unhealthy foods employees consume while on the job. ... After analyzing the results, they found that nearly a quarter of the participants received food from work at least once a week averaging almost 1,300 calories. (Parker, 6/12)
Los Angeles Times: What Causes ‘Chemobrain’? It’s Time For Neuroscientists To Get Serious About Finding Out, Experts Say
At some point in their treatment for cancer, somewhere between 17% and 75% of patients with malignancies that don’t affect the central nervous system report the sensation that a mental fog has set in. For months or years after their hair has grown back, the exhaustion has lifted and the medical appointments taper off, the “new normal” for these patients includes problems with concentration, word-finding, short-term memory and multitasking. (Healy, 6/13)
NPR: Electrocardiograms Not Worth It For Low-Risk Patients
Doctors shouldn't routinely perform electrocardiograms on patients at low risk for heart disease, an influential federal panel is recommending. While an ECG test of the heart's electrical activity is safe and inexpensive, the benefits for patients at low risk of heart disease are very low and the results can trigger possibly dangerous, unnecessary follow-up testing and treatment, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (Stein, 6/12)
The New York Times: Exercise Vs. Standing? You Probably Need To Do Both
Exercise alone is probably not enough for us to achieve and maintain good health. We must also try to sit less, according to a fascinating new study of the separate physiological effects that exercise and light, almost-incidental activities, such as standing up, can have on our bodies. By now, we all know that regular exercise is good for us. The United States national exercise guidelines, which are based on a wealth of scientific evidence, recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week in order to lengthen our life spans and reduce our risks of a variety of diseases. (Reynolds, 6/13)
Reuters: 'We Are Still At War' With Ebola: WHO Chief
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday cautioned against declaring victory too early in Congo's Ebola epidemic, despite encouraging signs that it may be brought under control. "The outbreak is stabilising, but still the outbreak is not over," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists on a visit to Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa. "We are still at war, and we need to continue to strengthen our surveillance and ... be very vigilant." (Nyemba, 6/12)
The New York Times: He Had No Symptoms — Except He Felt Nauseated All The Time.
“Dad, you have to come home, right away,” the woman said calmly but insistently on the phone to her 73-year-old father. He and her mother had just embarked on a two-week European vacation with close friends, but he told his daughter that he had never felt this sick. It frightened her that this man, who was in excellent health, competed in triathlons and whose stoicism was a family joke, felt bad enough to call her from France to tell her how the very smell of food nauseated him. Eating, he said, was even worse. For days, he hadn’t been able to do much more than nibble the bread and sip the water and try to pretend that he was having a good time. He and his wife had been looking forward to this post-retirement trip for so long that he couldn’t bear to ruin it. But he wasn’t sure he could make it to the end. (Sanders, 6/13)
The New York Times: Can’t Sleep? Let Bob Ross Help You Find Some Happy Little Zzzs
For years, insomniacs have been lulled to sleep by the dulcet voice of Bob Ross, the bushy-haired painter whose PBS show, “The Joy of Painting,” rose to popularity in the 1990s and has lately enjoyed a second life on YouTube. Now, the maker of a popular meditation app hopes Mr. Ross will put everyone else to sleep, too. Calm.com, which produces meditation products, is recasting classic episodes of “The Joy of Painting” into “Sleep Stories,” an audio series designed for restless adults to ease the burden of slumber. It is the first time the company that manages Mr. Ross’s estate has agreed to license audio of the show that turned Mr. Ross into a celebrity and, after his death in 1995, a pop culture favorite. (Holson, 6/12)
