Our DST story

When Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend, don’t forget to keep the health effects in mind — from heart problems to just waking up and driving to work.

Measles compromises immunity

Measles isn’t just deadly on its own — the virus reduces immunity to other diseases: Children infected with measles lost between 11 percent and 73 percent of their antibodies after they were infected. That means it will take time for them to build up immunity to other diseases again, and could undermine any vaccines they received. (It also explains why vaccinating against measles also reduces deaths from other diseases.)

From Tylenol to ADHD

If a woman uses acetaminophen late in her pregnancy, it could raise the risk of her child having ADHD or autism — at least according to a new study out of Johns Hopkins.

After examining stored blood samples from babies’ umbilical cords, researchers determined that the risks of ADHD and autism were significantly increased in children whose blood had high levels of acetaminophen breakdown products.

Ugh

The U.S. continues to have among the worst health in the developed world according to the latest report from the CDC (“Health, United States 2018“). Life expectancy is going down (thanks mostly to suicide and overdoses). Heart disease and obesity are rampant and growing (especially among seniors), the former driven by the same despair that causes high suicide rates. More kids are unvaccinated against preventable diseases.

Although infant mortality is going down in some areas, other sections of the country — including Georgia — have maternal an infant mortality rates on par with developing nations.

And of course the country has more people without health insurance and who cannot afford healthcare than the rest of the First World, while we continue to pay the highest prices … for care that is only average (in terms of health outcomes).

At least one glimmer of good news from the report: Teen birth rates are going down, although that is likely to change with reductions in family planning education and availability. “If you want to continue to see that trending down in teen pregnancy, we have to maintain the high levels of education, primary prevention services and access to contraception,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Elsewhere: Targeting community pharmacy

The town of Brattleboro, Vermont, is considering suing its local “mom-and-pop” pharmacies over their role in the opioid crisis. First it’s looking at joining the Very Big Lawsuit in Ohio, then it’s considering looking close to home:

The Brattleboro selectboard […] doesn’t understand why smaller pharmacies aren’t facing similar scrutiny.

“I think it would be morally reprehensible to exclude any local pharmacies,” [Selectman Tim] Wessel said at a recent board discussion of the issue. “Even though I am a huge fan of our local pharmacies and any pharmacy that operates as a family run business, I think we have to look at the entire picture.”

Speaking of opioid suits

In case you’ve gotten confused…

• First there was the small “litmus test” suit of just two Ohio counties — that was settled on October 21 for $260 million.
• Still out there is the 800-pound gorilla* — the Very Big Lawsuit, also in Ohio, where more than 2,400 states, cities, tribes, hamlets, counties, villages (and possibly even individual hospitals) are suing drug makers and distributors. That’s still pending, and could continue to grow if more municipalities sign on. That’s the one that’s being compared to the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, and that might take a cue from the recent settlement.

* Or the elephant in the room, the monkey on the drug companies’ back, or the albatross around their necks. It’s a zoo.

Water cooler talk

The old joke: Alcohol shrinks your brain.

The reality: It’s the opposite: Having a smaller brain increases your predisposition to alcohol consumption.