President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration is seeking new rules to push insurance companies to increase coverage of mental health treatment. The new rules, which still must go through a public comment period, would require insurers to study if customers have the same medical and mental health benefits and fix any disparities if they don’t. “You know, we can all agree mental health care is health care,” Biden said in a White House news release. “It is health care. It’s essential to people’s well-being and their ability to lead a full and productive life, to find joy, to find purpose, to take care of themselves and their loved ones. It’s about dignity. Think about this.” The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, passed in 2008, requires insurers to offer the same mental and physical health care coverage, which isn’t the case now. “Folks, it shouldn’t be this way,” Biden said at a White House event highlighting the announcement. “It doesn’t need to be this way.” “But, right now, for millions of Americans, mental health care and treatment for substance abuse is out of reach,” Biden added. “It’s out of reach. In 2020, less than half — less than half of all adults with mental illness diagnosis received care for it. Less than half.” If finalized, the new rules would change that. “I…  read on >  read on >

As more people are advised to shun meat, a new study from Australia adds to evidence that a vegetarian diet can help improve heart health. A review of 20 prior investigations found that folks who followed a vegetarian diet for six months, on average, saw improvements in cholesterol, blood sugar and body weight. The study analysis “provides support to the current knowledge that eating more plant foods, fewer animal foods or lean, low-fat animal foods is a supporter of health,” said Connie Diekman, a food and nutrition consultant and former president of the U.S. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Another expert, who was also not involved with the study, agreed. “The research is pretty clear and consistent that eating more plant foods is good for heart health, while reducing meat and processed meats,” seconded Lona Sandon, program director of clinical nutrition with the School of Health Professions at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Vegetarian diets are increasingly recommended for the general population, but it wasn’t known if they would benefit people with current or predicted heart issues, said study leader Tian Wang and colleagues. Wang is a registered dietitian and doctoral student at the University of Sydney. Their meta-analysis of prior research tracked nearly 1,900 adults in all. The average age of patients in each of the studies ranged from 28 to 64, with…  read on >  read on >

Women are more likely to develop endometriosis if they have elevated levels of cadmium in their system, a new study reports. Twice as many women with slightly or moderately elevated levels of the toxic element wound up with endometriosis compared to women with the lowest levels, researchers say. “Although endometriosis is estimated to affect 1 in 10 women, the reason why this condition develops in some women and not in others remains unclear,” said senior researcher Kristen Upson, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University. “Our research on environmental contaminants and finding of an association between cadmium exposure and endometriosis is helping to move the needle closer to understanding risk factors for endometriosis,” she added. This newly discovered association between endometriosis and cadmium is “a good starting point for additional studies that look at other environmental factors and how they can perhaps cause endometriosis,” said Dr. Susan Khalil, director of the Division of Sexual Health in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai. “I think it doesn’t give exact recommendations for action at this time, or things that you can translate into clinical management. So I can’t really make recommendations off of this for patients,” Khalil added. “But I would at the same time say it’s great they’re finding these associations, so they…  read on >  read on >

More than half of all patients with autoimmune diseases also suffer from depression and anxiety — but most are never asked about their mental health, a new study finds. Surveying more than 1,800 patients, British researchers found more than half rarely or never reported their mental health symptoms to their doctor. This could mean the range of mental health and neurological symptoms is much wider than has been reported. “The low level of reporting we identified is a major concern as problems with mental health, fatigue and cognition can be life-changing, and sometimes life-threatening,” said study co-author Dr. Melanie Sloan in a Cambridge news release. She is in the university’s department of public health and primary care. Another author, Dr. Tom Pollak, said the numbers were “startling.” “We have known for some time that having a systemic autoimmune disease can negatively affect one’s mental health, but this study paints a startling picture of the breadth and impact of these symptoms,” said Pollak, who is from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. “Everyone working in health care with these patients should routinely ask about mental well-being, and patients should be supported to speak up without fear of judgment. No patient should suffer in silence,” Pollak added. For the study, the researchers surveyed 1,853 patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as lupus…  read on >  read on >

People who have psoriasis may want to get their vitamin D levels checked. New research suggests that blood levels of the so-called “sunshine vitamin” may affect the severity of their condition. In psoriasis, skin cells build up and form dry, itchy, sometimes painful patches. While synthetic vitamin D creams are an emerging therapy, the study suggests that a diet rich in vitamin D or oral supplements could also ease psoriasis symptoms, said Rachel Lim, a study author and MD candidate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. If the role of vitamin D can be proved after further study, “it may present a very accessible and safe addition to the treatment regimen of the millions of Americans living with psoriasis,” Lim said. About 8 million Americans have psoriasis. For the study, researchers analyzed 491 cases in a U.S. national health and nutrition survey, including 162 from 2003 to 2006 and 329 from 2011 to 2014. Their analysis found that lower vitamin D levels and deficiency were significantly associated with more severe psoriasis. Patients with the highest average vitamin D levels had the least amount of psoriasis-affected skin. Those who had the most affected area had the lowest average vitamin D levels. The amount of vitamin D a person would need to consume isn’t clear. “While we can’t talk about the optimal vitamin D…  read on >  read on >

The Biden administration on Monday awarded $58 million in grants to help schools and daycare centers remove lead from drinking water. The announcement came during an event in Boston. “I am excited to join local leaders in Boston to announce $58 million in grant funding that can be used to test for lead in drinking water, identify potential sources, and remove those sources to better protect our nation’s children,” EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox said in an agency news release. “Reducing lead in drinking water is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and EPA is taking a holistic approach — harmonizing drinking water standards with historic infrastructure investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law while providing technical assistance to disadvantaged communities to protect all our children from lead in drinking water,” she added. The grants will help test for lead in drinking water, identify sources of contamination and help fix the problem, Fox said. “During his first year in office, President Biden announced a bold plan to replace every lead pipe in America. Today’s announcement is another step toward making that vision a reality. Schools and child care centers across the country will have the resources to ensure students are safe to learn, play and grow alongside their friends,” House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said in the EPA news release. Lead in water…  read on >  read on >

More omega-3 fatty acids in your diet might prevent hearing loss as you age, researchers report. Low levels of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are linked to hearing loss in middle and old age, according to findings slated for presentation Monday at a meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, in Boston. Middle-aged and older adults with higher DHA levels, however, were 8% to 20% less likely to have age-related hearing issues than those with lower DHA levels, researchers said. “Animal models suggest maternal omega-3 fatty acid deficiency alters offspring hearing development, and long-term omega-3 supplementation may be protective for cochlear metabolism and reduce progression of hearing loss,” said study leader Michael McBurney, a senior scientist at the South Dakota-based Fatty Acid Research Institute and adjunct professor of human health and nutritional sciences at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. “Now we find blood DHA concentrations are inversely associated with hearing loss,” he said. This study, however, can’t prove that high levels of DHA prevent hearing loss, only that there appears to be an association, McBurney said. The findings add evidence of the importance of omega-3 fatty acids, including DHA to protect against aging-related declines in a variety of body functions, he noted. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, nuts and seeds and in dietary supplements such as fish oil. “Our…  read on >  read on >

Tornado damage to a Pfizer drug-making plant in North Carolina is unlikely to trigger drug shortages across the country, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says. “We do not expect there to be any immediate significant impacts on supply, given the products are currently at hospitals and in the distribution system,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in an agency news release posted Friday. “Our initial analysis has identified less than 10 drugs for which Pfizer’s North Carolina plant is the sole source for the U.S. market, however, a number of these are specific formulations for which there should be substitutes or for which many weeks’ worth of stock should be available in Pfizer’s other warehouses,” Califf explained. “Notably, while Pfizer has one third of the total sterile injectable drug market for hospitals in the U.S., this facility only makes 25% of Pfizer’s total product for this market – not the entire market,” Califf added. “This means 8% of U.S. consumption is supplied by this site.” Meanwhile, Pfizer officials said the company is working to repair the damage and mitigate any shortage of drugs made at the facility. “Clearly nature is strong. So, too, is ingenuity and the human spirit. A great deal of work needs to be done, but I assure everyone, most importantly the people of the Rocky Mount community, that we will put…  read on >  read on >

Women who have survived breast cancer age faster than women who have never had to survive the disease. The treatment they received impacted their aging rates, according to a new study from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. “Breast cancer survivors have higher rates of various age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, and experience faster physical and cognitive decline than women without a history of breast cancer. In this study, we wanted to explore the biology behind this and examine whether certain cancer therapies had a greater long-term impact on survivors,” said study author Jacob Kresovich, an assistant professor at Moffitt. His team used data from the Sister Study, which identified environmental and biological factors that contribute to breast cancer risk and survival. More than 50,000 women aged 34 to 74 in the study had a sister diagnosed with breast cancer but had not been diagnosed themselves. The women were enrolled in the study between 2003 and 2009, and then contacted annually to provide health updates. The United States has nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors. Participants provided a blood sample at enrollment. Some provided another sample five or 10 years later. Among the 417 patients included in the study, 190 were selected because they were diagnosed and treated for breast cancer between their first and second blood draws. The researchers analyzed each blood sample…  read on >  read on >

Scientists have reported a link between air pollution and dementia risk, but they haven’t had a good understanding of the mechanisms behind this association. Now, a new study provides some answers. “In this study, we found that two types of vitamin B-related amino acids played a role in increasing or decreasing the risk of dementia caused by air pollution,” said Dr. Giulia Grande, co-author of the report recently published in the journal Neurology. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The study found that higher levels of these vitamin B-related amino acids may be linked to the risk of dementia associated with air pollutants called fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. Researchers looked at this fine particulate matter and two amino acids, methionine and homocysteine. Methionine is an essential amino acid involved in normal brain functions. It is found in foods such as meat, fish, dairy, beans and eggs. Homocysteine is an amino acid produced in the cells that can be transformed to methionine through a reaction that requires vitamin B12 and folate. It is important for red blood cell formation and for healthy cell growth and function. The study included more than 2,500 adults, average age 73, living in central Stockholm. Researchers followed them for up to 12 years using interviews, questionnaires and blood tests. A total of 376 people…  read on >  read on >