Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Upward Mobility And Mental Health; Aspirin And Cancer; And More
Decades of research have informed us that higher socioeconomic status (SES) often equates to better overall health. But what about people who were not born with high socioeconomic status, but earn it later in life? According to a new study, even people who eventually land at the top of the socioeconomic ladder may not reap the same health benefits as those who were born there. (Anoruo, 4/28)
Besides relieving headaches, fever, pain and swelling, aspirin also may help ward off various cancers of the digestive tract, lowering your risk by 22 to 38 percent, according to new research published in Annals of Oncology. (Searing, 4/27)
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week shared new details about its investigation into H7N3 avian flu outbreaks at turkey farms in North Carolina and South Carolina, one of them involving a highly pathogenic version of the virus. The outbreaks initially involved low-pathogenic H7N3, occurring earlier this spring at a few commercial turkey farms in both of the states. One of the later events at a South Carolina farm, however, involved highly pathogenic H7N3. (4/27)
Women tend to be better drivers than men — much better, judging by the number of deaths they cause on the road. British researchers used a government database of 14,425 road fatalities from 2005 to 2015 that involved more than one vehicle. Without assigning blame for the accidents, they calculated the number of other people’s deaths associated with drivers of cars, vans, trucks, motorcycles, buses and bicycles. (Bakalar, 4/27)