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STAT’s coverage of chronic health conditions is supported by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Us financial supporters are not involved in decisions about our journalism.
Good morning! If you noticed that the upside-down smiley face in yesterday’s newsletter item at the DNC looked absolutely gigantic compared to the text… no, that wasn’t true.
Are you ready? (Continuous glucose monitoring for the masses)
In recent decades, continuous glucose monitors – which measure blood glucose using a sensor in the top layer of the skin – have changed the entire field of diabetes care. But now the devices are about to become dramatically more accessible, as two companies prepare to sell them over the counter without a prescription.
Who might be interested? If you ask the companies, the devices could be used by nearly 100 million Americans with prediabetes, people with type 2 diabetes who don’t take insulin, or even healthy people who just want to monitor their blood sugar levels. An endocrinologist told STAT’s Katie Palmer and Lizzy Lawrence that she expects the “concerned source” will be the first to use the new devices.
But can CGMs be abused or even cause harm? “There are more questions and buts than excitement,” says researcher Susan Schembre. Read more.
How the US can address global vaccine inequality to combat mpox
In early 2022, physician Wilfredo Matias cared for one of the first patients with MPOX in Massachusetts. “I remember the deep uncertainty I felt, and the fear in my patient’s eyes as a painful rash spread across their body,” he writes in a First Opion essay. They were then deep into uncharted territory, with no proven treatments for the disease.
Two years later, there is a rapidly spreading outbreak of the disease in Central Africa, leading to the WHO declaring a public health emergency of international concern. And while we now have MPox vaccines, the scale-up of production has been disappointing, Matias argues. To tackle the crisis, he says, the US must commit to sharing at least half of its MPox vaccine supply with affected African countries within six months.
“Increasing global vaccine equity is not just a moral imperative, but a strategic investment in our long-term health security,” Matias wrote. Read more.
State and school restrictions on LGBTQ+ people impact their mental health
There has been a large increase in both states in recent years prohibits about gender-affirming care for transgender youth and local, school-based restrictions on trans youth participating in sports or using the bathroom that matches their gender. Previous research has shown the danger these policies pose to trans youth, but three new studies reaffirm the link between the bans and the negative mental health of trans adolescents and adults.
One study in JAMA network openedResearch found that of nearly 800 transgender participants aged 18 and older, more than 86% screened positive for symptoms of depression and anxiety. Those who worried about having their rights taken away were even more likely to experience both.
For young people, the environment at school can play a major role in their mental health. The Trevor Project surveyed 18,000 LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 to 24 and found that nearly a third of those in school were in an institution with at least one anti-LGTBQ+ policy. Of those in schools with a high number of these policies, 55% reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year, compared with 43% of those with fewer and 35% of those in schools without such policies.
A JAMA Pediatrics study analyzed data from more than 92,000 high school students in Wisconsin. The authors found that trans students report a higher risk of anxiety, depression and considering, planning or attempting suicide compared to cisgender students. They also report a greater risk of being bullied and skipping school because they feel unsafe. “Schools serve as sites of both victimization and support for transgender youth,” the authors wrote.
Quantifying the rising toll of heat and extreme weather
All summer long we have been reminding you of the danger that extreme heat can pose to your health. A study published yesterday in JAMA intended to quantify the burden of high temperatures. The researchers found that between 1999 and 2023, more than 21,500 deaths were recorded in the US with heat as the underlying or contributing cause of death. The annual number of heat-related deaths increased by 117% between 1999 and 2023.
If the deaths were misclassified, these could be underestimates. The observed increase may also be influenced by an increase in climate change awareness. Regardless, the study authors expect that the number of deaths will continue to rise as global temperatures rise.
And although this summer is almost over, heat isn’t the only weather-related risk to our health. Major disasters—such as extreme heat, fires, tornadoes, wind, hurricanes, and storms, but “major” because they result in at least fifty injuries or ten deaths—are responsible for a disproportionately high number of injuries and deaths. This is evident from another study yesterday, published in JAMA network openedwhich analyzed data from all storm events between 2006 and 2021. Most major disasters occur in urban areas, but those in rural areas cause about twice as many deaths per event (nine in rural areas versus four in cities). Extreme heat and tornadoes made up nearly three-quarters of these major disasters. The data raises concerns about the extent to which the U.S. health care system is prepared for major disasters, especially in already underserved rural areas, the authors wrote.
Do Clinical Trial Participants Earn More $$$?
Only about 5% of adults in the US participate in clinical trials. And it’s no mystery why: the costs of transportation, child care, meals, the time commitment, and lost wages are all known barriers to participation. We also already know that financial support from trial sponsors is a good way to address these costs. So what’s the problem? The confusion lies in the current legal landscape and the uncertainty surrounding liability for both sponsors and participants, according to an essay by First Opinion. Learn about the potential roadblocks and how Congress could address them.