Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With More Women Drinking, Health Officials Warn Of Damaging Effects Of Alcohol
Stateline: As More Women Drink, Some States Take Action
As the holidays approach, state and local governments are gearing up for a predictable surge in drunken driving and emergency room visits related to binge drinking. Little has changed when it comes to America’s alcohol problem, with one exception: substantially more women are drinking compared to a decade ago, and a higher percentage of them are binge drinking. Because women are more vulnerable to the damaging health effects of alcohol than men, and because drinking during pregnancy can have devastating effects on a fetus, the federal government and some states have made the growing trend a top public health priority. (Vestal, 12/19)
NPR: When Genetic Tests Disagree About Best Option For Cancer Treatment
Two widely used tests to analyze the genetics of tumors often don't come to the same conclusions, according to head-to-head analyses. Authors of two recent studies comparing these tests say doctors need to be careful not to assume that these tests are providing a complete picture of a tumor's genetic variants, when using them to select treatments for cancer patients. (Harris, 12/16)
The New York Times: Cancer Patient Awaits Day She Can Return To The Kitchen
Stuffed inside cookie tins and between the pages of books in Diane Fields’s kitchen are multitudes of recipes. Ms. Fields has clipped them from newspapers and kept them for years, intent on preparing and sampling them all. But for the past year, a cancer diagnosis has cast those aspirations in doubt. (Otis, 12/18)
WBUR: Concerns About Cancer-Causing Asbestos Rise Amid Mass. Renovation Boom
Asbestos embedded in old buildings is creating a new wave of danger for laborers as renovation work soars -- even as the use of the carcinogenic mineral in new construction has been sharply curbed. Regulators found more than 300 asbestos safety violations resulting in fines in Massachusetts in the last five years ending in June 2016, the majority of them on job sites, state data show. (Daley, Bebinger and Burdick, 12/19)
Denver Post: Can Denver Quash AIDS By 2030? The City Is Ahead On International Health Goals
Denver — along with many other cities across the world — pledged to meet three measures by 2020: 90 percent of people with HIV know they have it, 90 percent of those diagnosed are receiving care and 90 percent of those in care have, thanks to medication, no detectable virus in their blood. Denver is two-thirds of the way there, officially reaching a 90 percent diagnosis rate earlier this year and, this fall, achieving the “viral suppression” benchmark. (Brown, 12/18)
Bloomberg: Mapping The Growth Of Disability Claims In America
If you’ve paid into Social Security, become injured or sick, and can no longer earn more than $1,130 a month, you can get a monthly subsidy from Social Security’s Disability Insurance Trust Fund. In 1990 fewer than 2.5 percent of working-age Americans were “on the check.” By 2015 the number stood at 5.2 percent. That growth has left the fund in periodic need of rescues by Congress—most recently in 2015, when the Bipartisan Budget Act shifted money from Social Security’s old-age survivors’ fund to extend the solvency of the disability fund to 2023. (Greeley, 12/16)
Sun-Sentinel.com: Senior Loneliness, Isolation In The Spotlight, Just In Time For The Holidays
Too often considered just a fact of life for seniors, the issue of isolation and loneliness is a big one for the AARP Foundation and other advocacy groups. In fact, the foundation is kicking off an initiative this month, during what can be a difficult holiday season for seniors, to confront what it says is an isolation epidemic affecting 8 million older adults nationwide. (Lade, 12/16)
And more on children's dolls and baby teething products —
NPR: More Dolls With Disabilities By Mainstream Toymakers Hitting Store Shelves
When Dominika Tamley chose "Isebelle," her American Girl doll, she picked a toy whose hair and eye color matched her own. But the 10-year-old is quick to point out that's not the only way the doll resembles the real child who plays with her. "She's like a mini-me," Tamley explained with pride. "Because she has a hearing aid and I have a hearing aid." (Ulaby, 12/18)
Reuters: Some Baby Teething Toys May Contain Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals
Some baby teething toys marketed as nontoxic may contain chemicals that could interfere with hormones involved in normal growth and development, a study suggests. Fifty-nine water-filled, solid or gel-filled teethers were purchased online and tested for 26 compounds that are called endocrine-disrupting chemicals. (12/18)
