Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Finds Surprising Link Between Eating Fish And Skin Cancer Risk
A large study published Wednesday found a surprising link between fish consumption and developing melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. But while the finding raises questions about possible links between diet and melanoma, the studys lead author and other experts cautioned that its not a reason to avoid eating fish. It also doesnt change the most important advice for reducing melanoma risk: Limit your exposure to UV rays from the sun or tanning beds. The new study, published in the journal Cancer Causes & Control, evaluated data from more than 490,000 adults in the United States between the ages of 50 and 71 who were enrolled in the N.I.H.-A.A.R.P. Diet and Health Study. (Callahan, 6/8)
In other public health news
Meta Platforms Inc. is now a leader in another social media trend -- lawsuits claiming the company built algorithms in its platforms that lure young people into destructive addiction. Eight complaints filed in courthouses across the US over the last week allege that excessive exposure to platforms including Facebook and Instagram has led to attempted or actual suicides, eating disorders and sleeplessness, among other issues. These applications could have been designed to minimize potential harm, but instead, a decision was made to aggressively addict adolescents in the name of corporate profits, attorney Andy Birchfield, a principal at Beasley Allen, the law firm that drafted the suits, said in a statement Wednesday. (Nayak, 6/8)
The latest householdsupply shortage? Tampons.The sanitary protection product hasbeen harder to findformonths, especially popular brands, shoppers tell USA TODAY. You wouldnt think that tampons would be a hot commodity but apparently theyre flying off the shelves, if theyre even getting onto the shelves, said Santa Cefalu, an underwriter from Arizona. Cefalu says she started to notice the shortage in March when she couldnt find her favorite tampon. Now, the only ones that are left at the stores are the ones that nobody likes, she said.(Guynn, 6/8)
Cupertino, California-based tech giant Apple announced Monday it would add a medication tracking service through its native Health app. The app includes medication reminders and scheduling, the ability to scan drugs or manually add them into the app and in the U.S., it notifies people on critical drug interactions. It will be available on iPhones and Apple Watch devices in the iOS 16 operating system on phones and the watchOS 9 operating system for the Apple Watches. Apple is partnering with drug database solutions company Elsevier to identify and categorize the severity of potential interactions. (Turner, 6/7)
KHN: Childrens Vision Problems Often Go Undetected, Despite Calls For Regular Screening
Jessica Oberoi, 13, cant exactly remember when her eyesight started getting blurry. All she knows is that she had to squint to see the whiteboard at school. It wasnt until last fall when her eighth grade class in Bloomington, Indiana, got vision screenings that Jessicas extreme nearsightedness and amblyopia, or lazy eye, were discovered. ... Jessica is one of the countless students falling through the cracks of the nations fractured efforts to catch and treat vision problems among children. (DeGuzman, 6/9)
KHN: A Deep Dive Into The Widening Mortality Gap Across The Political Aisle
New research indicates politics may be a matter of life or death. A study published June 7 by the BMJ examined mortality rates and voting patterns in the past five presidential elections, and found that people who lived in jurisdictions that consistently voted Democratic fared better than those that voted Republican. We all aspire to live in and exist in a sort of system where politics and health dont intersect, said Dr. Haider Warraich, the studys lead author. But what this paper actually shows is that politics and health, especially in the United States, are deeply intertwined. (DeGuzman, 6/8)
And Social Security benefits will rise
An official with the Social Security Administration said seniors and others who rely on the benefits program are likely to receive a cost-of-living adjustment "closer to 8%" at the end of 2022 due to the current rate of inflation, which is the highest in four decades.That increase would represent the biggest-cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, since 1981. The average monthly Social Security check is about $1,658, which means beneficiaries could see an increase of $132.64 per month in early 2023, bringing the average check to about $1,790. (Picchi, 6/8)
