Viewpoints: Climate Change Is Revving Up Allergies; Maybe Transgender Care Should Be Reassessed After NHS Report
Editorial writers tackle seasonal allergies, transgender care, weight-loss drugs, and AI in health care.
Bloomberg:
Seasonal Allergies Are Getting Worse Because Of Global Warming
If you’ve sensed that your allergies are getting worse each year, it’s not your imagination: Allergy season in the US is getting longer and more intense. You can thank climate change for your misery. And yet we’re not doing enough — to slow down climate change, of course, but to recognize and respond to its very clear health effects. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/18)
The New York Times:
The Courage To Follow The Evidence On Transgender Care
Hilary Cass is the kind of hero the world needs today. She has entered one of the most toxic debates in our culture: how the medical community should respond to the growing numbers of young people who seek gender transition through medical treatments, including puberty blockers and hormone therapies. (David Brooks, 4/18)
The Washington Post:
The Cass Review Prompts Rethinking Gender Transition Treatment For The Young
A comprehensive review commissioned by England’s National Health Service, released last week, found that gender transition medical treatment for children and young people has been built on “shaky foundations,” with “remarkably weak” evidence. (Paul Garcia-Ryan, 4/18)
Stat:
Drug Development For Obesity Needs To Take A More Holistic View
Every so often, the conversations that people in health care have become so pervasive that they dominate the zeitgeist, intersecting with mainstream media and popular culture. Oprah Winfrey’s recent ABC special “Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution” is a good example of this. (Jonathan Isaacsohn, 4/19)
Stat:
How AI Can Help Satisfy FDA's Drug, Device Diversity Requirements
The Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2022 (FDORA), which was passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, will encourage greater diversity in clinical trials and help ensure new medications and treatments are developed with more representative populations in mind. But FDORA represents a paradigm shift for life sciences companies in the way individuals will be identified for clinical trials and enrolled in them, requiring companies to look closely at and rethink their current trial strategies. (Wendy Cheng, 4/19)
