• U.S. Life Expectancy Declines, Albeit Slightly, for First Time in 2 Decades
• 21st Century Cures Act Heads to President's Desk
• India Authorities Report 27 Drugs Failing Quality Tests from Leading Firms
• Health Spending in U.S. in 2015 Averaged Nearly $10,000 Per Person
• Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Could Be on the Way
• Many Noise-Limiting Headphones for Kids Still Deliver Dangerous Volumes
• Irritability, Anxiety Often Precede Adolescent Depression
• Pubic Hair Grooming associated with Increased Risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections
U.S. Life Expectancy Declines, Albeit Slightly, for First Time in 2 Decades
By Amy Orciari Herman, Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS
Life expectancy at birth decreased from 78.9 years in 2014 to 78.8 years in 2015 — the first decline the U.S. has seen since 1993 — according to the latest data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
Life expectancy decreased for both sexes. In 2015, life expectancy was 76.3 years for males and 81.2 for females.
Age-adjusted rates of death from the following leading causes all rose between 2014 and 2015: heart disease, chronic lower respiratory diseases, unintentional injuries, stroke, Alzheimer disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and suicide. Mortality from cancer, meanwhile, decreased by 1.7%.
"I think we should be very concerned,” economist Anne Case told the Washington Post. "This is singular. This doesn't happen." Others, however, cautioned against putting too much weight on just one year of data
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db267.htm
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-life-expectancy-declines-for-the-first-time-since-1993/2016/12/07/7dcdc7b4-bc93-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.e79d91031529
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21st Century Cures Act Heads to President's Desk
By Joe Elia, Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS
The 21st Century Cures Act passed the Senate overwhelmingly and is on its way for President Barack Obama's signature, according to news reports.
The Act offers $4.8 billion to the National Institutes of Health over a 10-year span, although that's subject to Congressional appropriation each year, according to a New York Times account. It also directs the FDA to give more weight to "patient experience data" in its approval process.
The Act does not, however, include measures to control prescription drug pricing, which accounted for some $325 billion, or roughly 10% of U.S. health spending, in 2015.
An editorial in Modern Healthcare dubbed it "The 21st Century Christmas Tree Act," and said it's "designed to give the drug and medical device industries an easier path to new approvals.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/politics/21st-century-cures-act-senate.html?_r=0
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India Authorities Report 27 Drugs Failing Quality Tests from Leading Firms
18 drug companies have been accused by Indian drug regulators in seven states of selling substandard products after quality tests identified a range of product issues ranging from deceptive labeling to inappropriate quantities of active ingredients. The companies included Abbott India, GSK India, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Wockhardt Pharma, and Glenmark Pharma. Twenty-seven products failed to meet quality standards.
http://www.fdanews.com/articles/179505-indian-state-authorities-report-27-drugs-from-leading-firms-failed-quality-tests
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Health Spending in U.S. in 2015 Averaged Nearly $10,000 Per Person
Total spending on health care in the U.S. increased during 2015 at the fastest rate since the 2008 recession, reaching $3.2 trillion, or an average of nearly $10,000 a person, DHHS reported. Federal healthcare spending increased by 21 percent over the past two years. Over all, health spending accounted for 17.8 percent of the nation's economy in 2015, up from 17.4 percent in 2014. Some contributors are the following:
- Strong growth in new specialty medications such as those used to treat hepatitis C, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and multiple sclerosis.
- Prices for existing brand-name drugs increased at a double-digit rate for the fourth consecutive year.
- Retail spending on prescription drugs grew 9 percent last year-more than any other category of healthcare goods and services-and reached $324.6 billion, representing 10 percent of all health spending.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/us/politics/us-health-care-spending.html?_r=0
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Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Could Be on the Way
By Kristin J. Kelley, Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, FASAM
The FDA announced plans on Wednesday to consider making over-the-counter hearing aids available.
In addition, the FDA put out guidance that says that it doesn't intend to enforce its rule requiring adults to sign a waiver or receive a medical evaluation before purchasing hearing aids.
The actions follow recommendations made in 2015 by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and results of a study published over the summer by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Additionally, two senators — Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — have sponsored new legislation to make some types of hearing aids available over the counter at a lower cost. Individual hearing aids currently on the market can run over $2000.
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm532005.htm
https://www.warren.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1314
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/
pcast_hearing_tech_letterreport_final.pdf
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Many Noise-Limiting Headphones for Kids Still Deliver Dangerous Volumes
By Kelly Young, Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM
Half of children's noise-restricting headphones didn't limit volume as advertised, according to a test conducted by The Wirecutter, which is owned by the New York Times.
Of 30 sets of volume-limiting headphones and earbuds tested for the product recommendations website, 15 had noise greater than 85 decibels, which is the 8-hour limit for adults in the workplace. The loudest headphones hit 108 decibels, a level described as safe for only 3 minutes.
Audiologists said in the Times that they recommend that children set the volume of their device at or below 60%. They should also take a break every hour to rest the hair cells in their inner ears to prevent damage.
The Wirecutter provides a list of recommended headphones.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/health/headphones-hearing-loss-kids.html?_r=1
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-kids-headphones/
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Irritability, Anxiety Often Precede Adolescent Depression
By Kelly Young, Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, FASAM
Irritability, fear, and anxiety — as well as familial and social risk factors — may help predict depression in youth with a family history of depression, suggests a prospective JAMA Psychiatry study.
Researchers identified nearly 300 children aged 9 to 17 who had a parent with at least two episodes of major depressive disorder (MDD) but who themselves were free of depression at baseline. Roughly 7% developed MDD during a mean 2 years' follow-up. Irritability and fear/anxiety at baseline were associated with development of MDD. Other independent risk factors included economic disadvantage, psychosocial adversity, additional family history of depression, and parental depression severity.
The authors conclude: "Irritability and fear/anxiety may be additional clinical phenomena to be included as targets in primary preventive interventions focusing on the child. In addition to targeting these phenomena in parents and children, depression prevention methods in high-risk groups may need to take into consideration social risks, such as poverty and psychosocial adversity."
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2588635
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Pubic Hair Grooming Associated with Increased Risk for Sexually
Transmitted Infections
By Amy Orciari Herman, Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD
Patients may ask about a study suggesting that pubic hair grooming is associated with increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The cross-sectional study is published in Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Some 7600 U.S. adults completed surveys about their pubic hair grooming habits and their STI histories. Overall, 74% reported grooming at some point in their lives, 5% had had cutaneous STIs (human papillomavirus, herpes, syphilis, or molluscum contagiosum), and 7% had had secretory STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, or HIV).
After multivariable adjustment, those who groomed were significantly more likely than those who did not to have had cutaneous STIs (odds ratio, 2.6) and secretory STIs (OR, 1.7). Risk increases were higher for extreme groomers (those who removed all pubic hair at least 11 times/year) than for high-frequency groomers (those who trimmed hair daily or weekly) and low-frequency groomers; still, all groups showed significant risk increases. Low-frequency grooming was also associated with pubic lice.
Among the potential mechanisms, the authors note that grooming can cause small skin tears, which could increase the risk for some STIs.
http://sti.bmj.com/content/early/2016/10/31/sextrans-2016-052687
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