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Next time you’re on a cruise, be wary of your (or your neighbor’s) private balcony hot tub, researchers warn. These luxe cabin features were pinpointed as a source of outbreaks of the respiratory illness Legionnaires disease that broke out on two ships. The Legionella bacterium thrives in wet, warm conditions, so “hot tubs offer favorable conditions for Legionella growth and transmission when maintained and operated inadequately, regardless of location,” said a team of researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while more public bathing spots onboard may be rigorously cleaned by staff, “private hot tubs on cruise ships are not subject to the same maintenance requirements as are public hot tubs in common areas,” said a team led by Sooji Lee, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Legionnaires disease is a rare form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. The germ is sometimes found in fountains, spray parks, hot tubs, showers and faucets. People can contract the disease by breathing in a mist or vapor containing the bacteria. The first cruise ship outbreak covered by the new report occurred on an unnamed vessel during a two-week cruise in November 2022. By May of 2023, five passengers who took part in that cruise had gotten sick with Legionnaires, the researchers reported. Three more passengers on the same ship,… read on > read on >

Anxiety is driving more children with potentially dangerous food allergies to seek out psychological care, a new study finds. Focusing on one Ohio hospital, the researchers found a more than 50% jump in psychology referrals for kids with food allergies between 2018 and 2023. “Our center has devoted significant resources to address the psychosocial support needed by many families who have children with food allergies,” said study lead author Dr. Andriana La Mantia, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Our goal in this study was to characterize use of these services for food allergy-related anxiety,” La Mantia said in a news release from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Her team presented its findings Thursday at the ACAAI annual meeting in Boston. Food allergies can bring the specter of analphylaxis: A sudden, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction to even small amounts of the food allergen. Anxiety around preventing these incidents and trauma resulting from anaphylactic episodes can harm a child’s mental health. “Food allergy patients, particularly children, often suffer from anxiety related to potential accidental ingestion and anaphylaxis,” said study co-author Dr. David Stukus, director of the Food Allergy Treatment Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In the new study, the Columbus team reviewed the cases of 250 kids with food allergies, who averaged 9.5 years of age. Many were allergic to… read on > read on >

In a move that further toughens safety standards for lead paint dust, the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced the finalization of a rule that declares any detectable amount of the toxin in a home or child care center to be hazardous. “Too often our children, the most vulnerable residents of already overburdened communities, are the most profoundly impacted by the toxic legacy of lead-based paint,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a news release announcing the new rule. “EPA is getting the lead out of communities nationwide. These protections will reduce lead exposures for hundreds of thousands of people every year, helping kids grow up healthy and meet their full potential.” How will the tougher standard accomplish that? The new rule would trigger extensive cleanup by a property owner once a doctor, public health official or other expert identifies signs of lead exposure, depending on state and local laws. It also establishes an aggressive new standard for cleanup that would reduce lead to be at the lowest detectable levels that can be measured in a lab. Lead dust can be created when lead paint crumbles or is disturbed. The EPA estimated that the rule will reduce lead exposure for up to 1.2 million people every year, including up to 326,000 children under the age of 6. “We can all breathe a little easier now that… read on > read on >

Add Alzheimer’s disease to the list of conditions that might benefit from the revolutionary diabetes drug Ozempic, a new study says. People with type 2 diabetes taking semaglutide appeared to have a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to patients taking seven other diabetes drugs, researchers reported Oct. 24 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The results jibe with other studies that have found semaglutide might protect against dementia, said lead researcher Rong Xu, a biomedical informatics professor with Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, in Cleveland. “This new study provides real-world evidence for its impact on Alzheimer’s disease, even though preclinical research has suggested that semaglutide may protect against neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation,” Xu said in a Case Western news release. Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug, and is the active agent in Ozempic and its weight-loss cousin, Wegovy. These medications mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food. For the study, researchers analyzed three years of health records for nearly 1 million U.S. patients with type 2 diabetes. They found that patients prescribed semaglutide had a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those taking seven other diabetes meds. However, they warned that more research is needed to confirm this potential benefit. “Our results indicate that further research into semaglutide’s… read on > read on >

A “case of the Mondays” is more perilous than just the return-to-work blues, a new study warns. Suicide risk is highest on Monday in the United States and around the world, an international team of researchers has discovered. “Mondays and New Year’s Day were both associated with increased suicide risk in most countries,” concluded the team led by Yoonhee Kim, an associate professor with the University of Tokyo’s Department of Global Environmental Health. Mondays constitute 15% to 18% of total suicides, compared with other days, researchers found. Results also show that weekend suicide risk varies greatly between countries. Suicide risk is lowest on Saturdays or Sundays in many countries across North America, Asia and Europe. However, suicide risk increases during the weekend in South and Central American Countries, Finland and South Africa. For the study, researchers analyzed suicide data for 740 locations in 26 countries and territories from 1971 to 2019, including more than 1.7 million suicides. Previous studies have shown that suicide risk differs by day of the week, but results have been inconsistent, researchers said in background notes. Suicide risk increased on New Year’s Day in all countries, especially in men, the results showed. The researchers said there are several potential explanations for the increased suicide risk on Mondays and New Year’s Day. One is the “broken-promise effect theory,” which holds that people… read on > read on >

Expanding access to cutting-edge diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound could prevent more than 42,000 deaths a year in the United States, a new study claims. Obesity and all its attendant ills — type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer among them — have had a dramatic impact on American health, researchers said. More than 40% of U.S. adults are obese, and the research team estimates that about half of all annual deaths in the nation occur among the obese. Helping more people shed their excess weight could save a fair portion of those lives, researchers argue. “Expanding access to these medications is not just a matter of improving treatment options but also a crucial public health intervention,” said senior researcher Alison Galvani, a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food. However, the drugs are costly — people without insurance face paying more than $1,000 a month to take them. What’s more, people often must have some sort of health problem occurring alongside their obesity to get insurance coverage for GLP-1 drugs. Medicare, for example, doesn’t cover the drugs solely for weight loss, researchers noted. For this study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academies… read on > read on >

If you’re in your 40s or 50s and have trouble getting and staying asleep, that’s not a good sign for brain health as you age, new research suggests. “Our study, which used brain scans to determine participants’ brain age, suggests that poor sleep is linked to nearly three years of additional brain aging as early as middle age,” said study lead author Clémence Cavaillès, of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging and was published Oct. 23 in the journal Neurology. The UCSF team focused on 589 people who averaged about 40 years of age at the beginning of the study. Everyone filled out questionnaires on their sleep patterns at age 40 and then again at about age 45. Questions included, “Do you usually have trouble falling asleep?” “Do you usually wake up several times at night?” and “Do you usually wake up far too early?” Survey replies led the researchers to draw up 6 poor sleep characteristics: short sleep duration bad sleep quality difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep early morning awakening daytime sleepiness At about age 55, everyone underwent brain scans to gauge how well their brains were aging. After adjusting for potential confounding factors such as age, sex, high blood pressure and diabetes, Cavaillès’ team found that folks with four or more… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it has appointed Dr. Michelle Tarver to head its division that oversees medical devices. The appointment of a new director for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health comes at a time of great innovation and change in the medical device field, with AI playing an increasing role in medical technologies. Tarver replaces outgoing director Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, who faced criticism over ethical lapses during his 15 years of running an agency with close ties to the medical device industry. Shuren announced his retirement in July. “Dr. Tarver demonstrates a true passion about data, science, medicine and the evidence, all of which are critical to supporting and driving the FDA’s decisions,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in an announcement to agency staff, the New York Times reported. “She works to build collaboration and transparency in achieving the strategic priorities for the center and the agency.” Tarver said in a statement that she was honored to lead the division and planned to “remain committed in our service to public health and ensuring all patients in the U.S. have access to high-quality, safe and effective medical devices.” According to the Times, the FDA’s medical device division has a budget of $790 million and a staff of over 2,500 people. It oversees the development of thousands of devices used… read on > read on >

Most Americans say they’re stressed out over the future of the United States and the presidential election, a new poll shows. The Stress in America poll, conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA), found that 77% of adults are stressed about the future of the nation, and 69% are worried about the upcoming election. The economy is another significant source of stress, with 73% reporting worry over it. People are particularly worried about the potential fallout from the election results. About 72% said they are worried the election results could lead to violence. More than half (56%) believe the election could be the end of democracy in the United States. Further, this stress is testing people’s relationships with those close to them. About a third (32%) say the political climate has caused strain between themselves and family members, and 20% say they limit time with relatives who don’t share their views. “For nearly a decade, people have faced a political climate that is highly charged, which has led to the erosion of civil discourse and strained our relationships with our friends and our families. But isolating ourselves from our communities is a recipe for adding more stress to our lives,” said American Psychological Association CEO Arthur Evans Jr. “We must remember that the most extreme voices are often the loudest, and that the majority of… read on > read on >

Stress is flooding the nation as the 2024 U.S. presidential election nears its climax. This stress is only natural, but it can be managed, said Eric Storch, vice chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “There is uncertainty with change,” Storch said in a Baylor news release. “People worry about how their lives will change depending on the election results or that the elected individual may not represent them or their values — this can heighten feelings of distress throughout the election.” A new poll from the American Psychological Association shows just how distressed Americans are: About 77% of adults are stressed about the future of the nation, while 69% are worried about the upcoming election. It’s tricky to manage that stress, so Storch recommends a mixed bag of tactics to help keep it together through the end of the year: Take control over the things within your power to control, such as actively supporting your political position and voting Limit exposure to the media, which can trigger fresh stress Understand that whether your candidate wins or loses, another election will take place in the future Focus on stress relievers like physical activity, good sleep and socializing with loved ones If you find your anxiety unmanageable, seek counseling “Distress can be channeled into feelings of helplessness, or it can… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Private Balcony Hot Tubs Spread Legionnaires Disease on Cruise Ships

More Kids With Food Allergies Are Needing Psychological Care

EPA Finalizes Tough New Standards on Lead Paint Dust

Ozempic, Wegovy Might Help Lower Alzheimer’s Risk in People With Diabetes

One Day of the Week Has Highest Suicide Risk

Greater Access to New Weight Loss Meds Could Save More Than 40,000 Lives Per Year

Bad Sleep in Middle Age Unhealthy for Aging Brains

FDA Appoints New Head of Medical Devices

Poll Finds Most Americans Stressed Over Election, Future of Nation

Election Stressing You Out? An Expert Has Coping Tips