Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Want To Lower Your Risk Of Death? Just Walk 4,000 Steps A Day: Study
NBC News: Just 4,000 Daily Steps May Lower Your Risk Of Death, Study Finds
Walking just 4,000 steps per day is associated with a lower risk of death, according to the analysis published Tuesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The research pooled the results of 17 studies that looked at the health benefits associated with step counts across six countries. The least active people in the studies took around 4,000 steps per day and still saw a reduced risk of death from any cause. The more steps people took, the lower their risk of dying. (Bendix, 8/9)
The Wall Street Journal: Women’s Problem Drinking Is Catching Up To Men’s
Women are closing a gender gap, but it isn’t a good one: They’re catching up to men when it comes to problem drinking. Women’s drinking, on the rise for the past two decades, jumped during the pandemic as women reported more stress. Although men still drink more alcohol than women and have higher alcohol-related mortality rates, doctors and public health experts say women are narrowing that divide. (Reddy, 8/8)
Fox News: Bedbugs Could Transmit MRSA Bacteria That Causes Staph Infections 'In Some Settings,' Study Suggests
Bedbugs may be able to acquire and transmit methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a recent study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. MRSA is a type of bacteria found on people’s skin that can cause serious infections. In some cases, it can lead to sepsis or even death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Rudy, 8/8)
Reuters: Stop Asking Aspiring Lawyers About Their Mental Health, Psychology Group Says
The world’s largest professional psychology group has joined the push to end the required disclosure of personal mental health information by individuals applying to become lawyers. The American Psychological Association said Monday that it approved a policy pledging to work alongside the American Bar Association and state bar associations to remove questions about mental health diagnoses or treatment history from the character and fitness reviews of aspiring attorneys, which jurisdictions conduct before allowing them to practice there. (Sloan, 8/8)
The New York Times: By 5-4 Vote, Supreme Court Revives Biden’s Regulation Of ‘Ghost Guns’
The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily revived the Biden administration’s regulation of “ghost guns” — kits that can be bought online and assembled into untraceable homemade firearms. In defending the rule, a key part of President Biden’s broader effort to address gun violence, administration officials said such weapons had soared in popularity in recent years, particularly among criminals barred from buying ordinary guns. The court’s brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. (Liptak, 8/8)
AP: Mexico Shutters 23 Pharmacies At Caribbean Coast Resorts After US Warned Of Dangerous Pill Sales
Mexico has shuttered 23 pharmacies at Caribbean coast resorts, six months after a research report warned that drug stores in Mexico were offering foreigners pills they passed off as Oxycodone, Percocet and Adderall without prescriptions, authorities said Tuesday. A four-day inspection raid targeted drugstores in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. (8/8)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: The FDA approves the first over-the-counter daily birth control pill, and the nation’s new mental health crisis line turns 1. (8/8)
On cancer —
San Francisco Chronicle: Living Near Wildfire Poses Higher Death Risk For Lung Cancer Patients
People exposed to wildfire within a year after lung cancer surgery have significantly lower chances of survival than people who were not, new research shows — highlighting a grave consequence of climate change on medically vulnerable people with one of the most common types of cancer in the United States. (Ho, 8/8)
KFF Health News: Pioneering Study Links Testicular Cancer Among Military Personnel To ‘Forever Chemicals’
Gary Flook served in the Air Force for 37 years, as a firefighter at the now-closed Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois and the former Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana, where he regularly trained with aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF — a frothy white fire retardant that is highly effective but now known to be toxic. Flook volunteered at his local fire department, where he also used the foam, unaware of the health risks it posed. In 2000, at age 45, he received devastating news: He had testicular cancer, which would require an orchiectomy followed by chemotherapy. (Norman and Kime, 8/9)
