Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Red Meat Consumption Has Health Consequences; Why Are Young People Getting So Sick?
The health case against regularly eating red meat keeps getting stronger. At what point is the data convincing enough for Americans to change their diets? One recent study found that eating red meat increases the risk of type 2 diabetes; another paper finds a diet low in meat, sugar and salt but rich in vegetables and legumes is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer鈥檚. (Lisa Jarvis, 10/25)
America's labor force is facing a crisis, and no one knows exactly why. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of American adults considered unable to work grew by more than 3.5 million since January 2020, with 1.5 million added just in the first nine months of this year. That's a concerning 12 percent hike. But among the labor force, in particular, the disability number grew an astonishing 33 percent since January 2020. (Pierre Kory and Mary Beth Pfeiffer, 10/26)
Needing an abortion for different reasons showed me that reproductive health care is not a one-size-fits-all concept, and we can鈥檛 see it as one. (Torrey DeVitto, 10/26)
ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence widely available, including for doctors. Other types of medical AI and algorithms are getting smarter. And with new FDA efforts underway to evaluate many algorithms, higher quality ones will increasingly enter routine clinical use, aiding in the detection of heart attacks to treatment decisions for cancer. (Katherine Goodman and Daniel Morgan, 10/26)
As hospitals focus more on whole person care, population health, and preventive care to keep people healthy and out of the hospital, more services are being offered by hospitals in community settings that increase convenience and access for patients. (Paul Kidwell, 10/26)
In addition to being stigmatized and vulnerable, with an average life expectancy of about 20 years less than that of the general population in the United States,1 people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are undercounted in U.S. public health surveillance and underrepresented in medical research.2 And so, when treatment decisions have to be made, there is often little or no guidance from the medical literature. (Anna Reisman, M.D., 10/26)
