Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: Some Prescription Meds Can Impact Driving As Much As Drinking
A new national survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found many Americans take their prescription or over-the-counter medicines and get behind the wheel. But that may not be a safe decision. The study identifies antihistamines, cough medicines, antidepressants, prescription pain medicines, muscle relaxants, sleep aids and amphetamines as 鈥減otentially driver impairing鈥 (PDI) medicines. (Giles Wantuck, 7/26)
A longer life may mean scheduling in even more than the recommended amount of weekly exercise, according to a new study. Adults should get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week, according to the World Health Organization. But people who surpass those levels live longer than those who don't. (Holcombe, 7/26)
Most American adults who do not want children made the decision to be childfree early in life, according to a new study. 聽Michigan State University researchers, for a study published in Scientific Reports, identified childfree adults by using data from a representative sample of 1,500 adults who completed MSU鈥檚聽State of the State Survey.聽(Barnes, 7/26)
Births by Caesarean section increased to about 32 percent of all U.S. births last year, continuing what has been a small but steady increase for much of the past 25 years, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Searing, 7/26)
On research related to covid 鈥
An experimental chewing gum that "traps" SARS-CoV-2 particles in saliva holds promise for curbing transmission of new variants of the virus, according to new data, as researchers prepare to launch the first human trial. (Lapid, 7/26)
The risk of myocarditis and/or pericarditis was not significantly different among children ages 5 to 11 years after COVID-19 vaccination from that of unvaccinated children and much lower than that among children aged 12 to 17, finds a prospective study in Denmark published today in Pediatrics. (7/26)
New technology for performing the gold-standard test for SARS-CoV-2 infection weighs just 2 pounds (0.9 kg) and gives results in 23 minutes rather than the usual 24 hours, according to researchers. (Lapid, 7/26)
