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☆ STIs are on the rise in the US. A pill taken after sex could help slow them down
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Yet recent research suggests that one pill of the drug can be effective in preventing such infections among men who have sex with men if taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. He added that any guidance from the CDC will help “fill gaps,” provide direction to clinics and offer a framework for using doxyPEP for STI prevention. “Drug resistance when taking doxyPEP is currently being studied in people using this treatment for STI prevention. “There are still many STI prevention and treatment gaps left to fill. “In STI prevention, we’ve been relying on tools that are decades, sometimes centuries old.

Persons: Dr, Jonathan Mermin, ”, doxyPEP, Stephanie Cohen, “, “ We’re, ” Cohen, ” David C, Harvey, ” Harvey, DoxyPEP, someone’s, Annie Luetkemeyer, gonorrhea, ” Luetkemeyer, Connie Celum, Kenya Medical Research Institute —, Jenell Stewart, Stewart, ” Stewart, Suneer Chander, Wisp, ” Chander, Sanjay Gupta, Mermin, Deidre McPhillips Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC’s National Center, HIV, CDC, San Francisco Department of Public Health, California Department of Public Health, San Francisco Department of Public, National Coalition, STD, “, New England, of Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF, University of Washington, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Hennepin Healthcare, University of Minnesota, PEP, Food and Drug Administration, CNN Health Locations: United States, San Francisco, Seattle, King County, Washington, Kenya, Hennepin

☆ The 12 states where smoking is 50% more common than in the rest of the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

About 19% of adults smoke in this group of states, compared with about 13% of adults in other states. About 11% of adults under 25 in these states smoke, compared with less than 8% in other states. Smoking prevalence has been consistently higher than average among these 12 states since Truth Initiative’s first report on the topic five years ago. The latest report from Truth Initiative, published last week, also shows that people in these 12 states who smoke tend to do so significantly more than smokers in other states. Life expectancy is about three years lower in the 12 states where smoking is more common than it is in the rest of the country, according to the new report – about 76 years compared with 79 years.

Persons: Initiative’s, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, ”, Barbara Schillo, “, ” Schillo Organizations: CNN —, Truth, Tobacco, US Centers for Disease Control, CNN, CNN Health, Truth Initiative, “ Tobacco, ‘ Tobacco Locations: South, Midwest, United States, Alabama , Arkansas , Indiana , Kentucky, Louisiana , Michigan , Mississippi , Missouri , Ohio , Oklahoma , Tennessee, West Virginia

☆ This could be the peak of tick season – and tick-borne diseases are on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An especially bad tick season in the United States is probably hitting its peak, and experts are stressing the importance of taking personal precautions to protect against rising cases of tick-borne disease. Cases of the tick-borne disease – which can cause fever, muscle and joint pain and headache, and which can be fatal – grew 25% from 2011 to 2019. A variety of factors are raising the risk for tick-borne disease, experts say. The deer tick is spreading to the north and west, farther into the Northeast and Midwest. Increased awareness of tick-borne disease could also account for some of the rise in Lyme diagnoses, but experts encourage both doctors and patients to pay close attention to their symptoms.

Persons: ”, Emily Mader, Lyme, Robert Smith, ” Mader, –, ATtrY7YFoS, “ It’s, it’s, ” Smith, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Northeast Regional Center, Excellence, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, The, Star, Tufts University, — CDC, Get CNN, CNN Health Locations: United States, athenahealth, Lyme, Midwest, Pacific Coast

☆ Mysterious Covid-19 lineages in US sewers could offer clues to chronic infections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

One possible explanation for these “cryptic lineages” is that they can be traced back to people who have been living with a chronic – and serious – Covid-19 infection for years. In a recent preprint study, about two dozen researchers set out to understand the origin of these cryptic lineages by closely examining the evolution of one from Wisconsin. Right now, the cryptic lineages do not pose a public health threat, she said. Wastewater surveillance is inherently messy, and lots of factors can interfere with interpretation of the data, she said. Johnson says that people with chronic infections that could be behind these cryptic lineages might have unexplained symptoms.

Persons: Marc Johnson, Johnson, it’s, ”, Amy Kirby, ” Kirby, ” Johnson, We’ve, IE2GB6CwPO — Marc Johnson, “ Don’t, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, University of Missouri, US Centers for Disease Control, Surveillance, Kirby, Washington Court House Locations: United States, Wisconsin, Ohio, Columbus, Washington

☆ ChatGPT’s responses to suicide, addiction, sexual assault crises raise questions in new study
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And regulators could help monitor that such responses offer accurate and reliable information and resources. They’re underutilized already,” said John Ayers, an author of the study and a behavioral scientist at the University of California, San Diego. He said that now, while ChatGPT is still in development, is the time for public health experts and regulators to join forces with the chatbot’s developers to help curate responses to medical questions. The chatbot provided resources in two responses to a question about addiction, two responses for questions related to interpersonal violence and one response to a mental health-related question. “ChatGPT consistently provided evidence-based answers to public health questions, although it primarily offered advice rather than referrals,” the researchers wrote in their study.

Persons: They’re underutilized, ”, John Ayers, ChatGPT, “, –, ” Ayers, ” ChatGPT, “ ChatGPT, Ayers, Dr, Mike Hogarth, Sanjay Gupta, David Asch, Asch, ” Asch, he’d, Deidre McPhillips Organizations: CNN, JAMA, University of California, UC San Diego, Anonymous, Mental Health Services Administration National, Prevention, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Eating Disorders Association, CNN Health, University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine Center, Health Care Innovation Locations: San Diego, United States

☆ Weight-loss surgery is becoming more common among children and teens, new research shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Millions of children and teens live with obesity in the United States, and weight-loss surgery is becoming a more common way to treat it, new research shows. The trend held strong in the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, even as the number of weight-loss surgeries among adults dipped. Between 2020 and 2021, the number of weight-loss surgeries among youth jumped 19%. Childhood obesity is more prevalent among certain populations, including Black and Hispanic youth, according to the CDC. The new data shows that weight-loss surgery increased more than twice as much as average among these populations, up 42% among Back youth and 53% among Hispanic youth between 2020 and 2021.

CNN —Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday. WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee discussed the pandemic on Thursday at its 15th meeting on Covid-19, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred that the public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, declaration should end. “Yesterday, the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. Each country, in turn, declares its own public health emergency – declarations that carry legal weight. The United States is set to let its Covid-19 public health emergency end on May 11.

☆ Flu surged in the United States after Thanksgiving, data shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Flu surged in the United States after Thanksgiving, bringing the most severe week yet in a season that hit the county extra early. The latest update captures data through December 3 and is the first full week of data post-Thanksgiving. Nearly 26,000 people were admitted to the hospital for flu last week, filling about 6,000 more beds than the week before. Data from Walgreens that tracks prescriptions for Tamiflu and other flu treatments suggests that flu hotspots spread from El Paso to southwest Virginia. But now, only about 6% of beds are in use for Covid-19 patients, according to the HHS data.

☆ Hospitals in the US are the fullest they’ve been throughout the pandemic – but it’s not just Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hospitals are more full than they’ve been throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. But as respiratory virus season surges across the US, it’s much more than Covid that’s filling beds this year. More than 80% of hospital beds are in use nationwide, jumping 8 percentage points in the past two weeks. Pediatric hospital beds also have been more full than usual for months. About 76% of pediatric hospital beds are in use, up from an average of about two-thirds full in recent years.

☆ Home delivery of medications can help improve access, especially when time is tight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

As the supply of Paxlovid has grown, efforts have been made to improve timely, equitable access to the treatment. Transportation is one significant barrier to health care access for many people, experts say, but creating equitable outcomes will involve a much more comprehensive approach. The initiative is meant to increase access to Covid-19 treatment, particularly for those in socially vulnerable or medically underserved communities. “It’s a combination of things that prevent access to care,” said Werner, whose research has focused on health equity. And those may be the ones that I think would be ripe for this kind of home-based delivery system,” Werner said.

☆ Drug overdose deaths during pregnancy and postpartum rose sharply in recent years, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Drug overdose deaths reached record levels nationwide during the Covid-19 pandemic, and research published Tuesday suggests an outsized effect on pregnant and recently pregnant people. In 2020, there were about 12 pregnancy-associated overdose deaths for every 100,000 births – a 46% spike in one year and an 81% increase since 2017. The lack of reliable information on pregnancy-associated overdose deaths has made it challenging to delve into how and why trends might be different for this group compared with others, Bruzelius said. Mirroring national trends, the new study found a large increase in pregnancy-associated overdose deaths that involved fentanyl and other synthetic drugs and psychostimulants in recent years. And often the way our health care system deals with them is the focus really changes from the pregnant person to the baby.

☆ Flu brought nearly twice as many people to the hospital last week as the week before, updated CDC data show
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

There have been nearly 17 flu hospitalizations for every 100,000 people, rates typically seen in December or January. The cumulative hospitalization rate hasn’t been this high at this point in the season in more than a decade. Less than two months in, the RSV hospitalization rate this season is already nearing the total RSV hospitalization rate from the entire 2018-19 season. With the holiday season – and flu season – underway, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned this week of the potential for an emergency situation. “When you have very little wiggle room of intensive care beds, when you have like almost all the intensive care beds that are occupied, it’s bad for the children who have RSV and need intensive care.

☆ Early research suggests promising use of AI to predict risk of heart attack or stroke using a single chest X-ray
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Early research suggests a promising use of artificial intelligence to predict the 10-year risk of death from a heart attack or stroke from a single chest X-ray. The AI model uses the same risk thresholds as the established risk calculator, and early findings suggest that it works just as well. Sometimes, the AI findings align with a traditional radiology reading, but other times, it picks up on things that may have been missed, he said. He was not involved in the new AI research but says it’s important to keep the field moving forward. “The risk calculator is one part of risk assessment, but it’s not the only part.

☆ America’s gun epidemic is deadlier than ever, and there are vast disparities in who’s dying
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The researchers found that firearm mortality rates increased for most demographic groups in recent years – especially during the pandemic – and vast disparities persisted. With infant mortality in the United States, when you look at Black infants versus White infants, there’s over a two-fold (difference in) mortality rate. There are two key factors driving community gun violence, says Jonathan Jay, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Public Health: disadvantage at the neighborhood level and exposure to gun violence at the individual level. “Gun violence is most likely in spaces that show signs of physical disinvestment. The gun suicide rate increased 10% while the non-gun suicide rate decreased by 8%, and the gun homicide rate increased 45% while the non-gun homicide rate increased only 6%.

☆ Flu season continues to intensify in the US, and holiday gatherings could make it worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

And the CDC estimates that there have been at least 6.2 million illnesses, 53,000 hospitalizations and 2,900 deaths from influenza this season. Less than two months in, the RSV hospitalization rate this season is already nearing the total RSV hospitalization rate from the entire 2018-19 season. The latest surveillance data does not capture Thanksgiving week or the effects of holiday gatherings. Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths reached record high levels during last year’s holiday season – and this holiday season could also bring a rise in spread. Flu shots are lagging, too, with millions fewer vaccinations at this point in the season than in the past two years.

☆ A record $100 billion was paid out in life insurance benefits last year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

US life insurers paid out a record $100 billion in benefits in 2021, according to new data released Monday by the American Council of Life Insurers. “For the second year in a row, life insurance benefit payments increased by double-digit percentages,” said Andrew Melnyk, ACLI Vice President, Research & Chief Economist. The ACLI data doesn’t break out the causes of death of life insurance policyholders. When a breadwinner in a family dies, life insurance can go a long way toward alleviating any immediate financial stress their spouse and children might experience. Many people have some life insurance coverage that their employer provides.

☆ FDA approves $3.5 million treatment for hemophilia, now the most expensive drug in the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Hemgenix, a new drug to treat hemophilia. Manufacturer CSL Behring set the price at $3.5 million per treatment, making it the most expensive drug in the world. In a recent cost-effectiveness analysis of the drug, weighing health benefits against offset costs, ICER suggested that a fair price for the drug to be between $2.93 million and $2.96 million. According to an analysis by GoodRx, the most expensive drug in the US previously was Zolgensma, which was approved by the FDA in 2019 to treat spinal muscular atrophy and priced at $2.1 million for a course of treatment. FDA approved Hemgenix based on safety and effectiveness evaluated in two studies of about 60 adult men.

☆ Study suggests that HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol is less beneficial than previously thought, especially for Black adults
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Also, higher levels of HDL cholesterol were not found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease for either group. “It’s been well accepted that low HDL cholesterol levels are detrimental, regardless of race. The researchers found that high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides “modestly” predicted heart disease risk among both Black and White adults. But they suggest that more work is needed to understand what’s driving the racial differences in the link between HDL and heart disease risk. And in the meantime, current clinical assessments for heart disease risk “may misclassify risk in Black adults, potentially hindering optimal cardiovascular disease prevention and management programs for this group,” they wrote.

☆ Children’s health leaders call for emergency response as respiratory viruses continue to spread across the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And health care systems nationwide continue to feel the strain of a respiratory virus season that has hit earlier and harder than usual. There have been about 8 flu hospitalizations for every 100,000 people this season – rates typically seen in December or January. While the Covid-19 emergency declaration remains in place, the federal government has not made a formal emergency declaration around children’s health care. HHS and the CDC are in regular contact with health care leaders and providers, actively monitoring situational needs and ready to provide assistance on a case-by-case basis, an HHS spokesperson told CNN. They also urge all those eligible to get their flu and Covid-19 vaccines, along with other routine vaccinations.

☆ Covid-19 boosters could keep thousands of kids out of hospitals, but uptake remains low
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

And if Covid-19 booster coverage reached 80% among school-age children by the end of the year, more than 50,000 hospitalizations could be averted. Preventing Covid-19 hospitalizations could help ease the strain on pediatric hospitals, which have been especially full for the past few weeks as the respiratory virus season – including flu, RSV and Covid-19 – sweeps the country earlier than usual. But more than 2,400 children were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 last week – nearly three times higher than the week before, CDC data shows. And Covid-19 vaccination rates among children have long lagged behind those for adults. Just 32% of children ages 5 to 11 and 61% of those ages 12 to 17 have competed their initial series of Covid-19 vaccination, compared with 78% of adults.

CNN —Even before their daughter was born in June, Aaron and Helen Chavez knew she would need heart surgery. Data reported to the US government shows that as of Friday, more than three-quarters of pediatric hospital beds and 80% of intensive care beds for kids are full. Federal data shows that the strain on hospital beds for kids began in August and September, which is right around the start of the school year in many areas. It may also mean children who have chronic conditions and need procedures or hospital care, but whose conditions are stable, may have to wait. She was very thin for a baby,” Aaron said.

☆ Flu season already hitting hard across half of the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —About half of the US – 22 states, along with Washington, DC, New York City and Puerto Rico – is reporting high or very high respiratory illness activity, as flu season sweeps through the country weeks earlier than usual. “Among the people who study flu, there’s a little saying: ‘If you’ve seen one flu season, well, you’ve seen one flu season,’ ” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Although the numbers are especially high for this time of year, experts say the trends are otherwise following an expected pattern, and the early arrival of flu season doesn’t necessarily mean it will last longer or be more severe. It’s not like we’re seeing a lot of hospitalizations without a lot of illness.”Flu activity has been highest in the South, CDC data shows. And millions fewer flu vaccines have been distributed this season than at this point in previous years.

Across the United States, cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and influenza are increasing. Influenza activity continues to increase in the US – the number of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths so far this season nearly doubled in the past week. RSV cases are also increasing nationally, although there are regional differences in the circulation of these viruses, Romero said. In the South and Mountain West, RSV cases appear to have peaked in October. There are signs that RSV cases are slowing in the southern region of the US, but test positivity rates and cases continue to rise in other regions, especially the Midwest.

☆ Flu season in the US hasn't been this bad this early in more than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Flu season has ramped up early in the United States, and flu hospitalizations are worse than usual for this time of year, according to data published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s been more than a decade – since the H1N1 swine flu pandemic – since flu hospitalization rates have been this high at this point in the season. “We’re in a bit of a race with the virus,” he said, with the flu season starting at least a month earlier than usual. “The flu season will be with us for at least a few more months. And the flu season is ramping up amid the surge of RSV that is filling pediatric hospitals and an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

☆ First on CNN: Most people feel socially connected as Covid-19 precautions ease, but many still need support, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

They found that most people around the world feel a sense of social connection as Covid-19 precautions ease, but many still need support or help from others – and the factors that drive feelings of connection vary by country. In-person connection still mattersEven amid a pandemic, in-person interaction was the most common method for social connection. The nonprofit consulting group is focused on building healthy and equitable communities but was not involved in the new survey. It might be easier to feel that sense of connection with an in-person connection, she said, but positive interactions and inclusivity are critical. Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.

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