Healio (1/23, Hornick) reports, “Individuals using nicotine e-cigarettes have a higher likelihood of quitting smoking compared with nicotine replacement therapy users, according to” research. The findings were published in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Related Links:

— “E-cigarette use vs. nicotine replacement therapy leads to higher quit rates,” Isabella Hornick, Healio, January23 , 2024

HCP Live (1/23, Derman) reports, “Anxiety and depression symptoms increased in trigger states (states where Dobbs triggered a pre-existing ban on abortion) following the Dobbs abortion decision overturning Roe vs. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, according to a new study” published in JAMA Open Network. In the study, researchers “compared changes in symptoms in the 13 trigger states (159, 854 respondents) and the 37 non-trigger states (558,899 respondents).” They found “respondents in trigger states had a mean PHQ-4 of 3.51 which increased to a score of 3.81 post-Dobbs decision. Moreover, the team observed a significantly greater increase in the mean Patient Health Questionnaire-4 in trigger states versus non-trigger.”

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, Depression Symptoms Increase Post-Dobbs Abortion Decision,” Chelsie Derman, , January 23, 2024

ABC News (1/22, Hannon) reports, “Injuries, overtraining and burnout are contributing to a high dropout rate in youth sports, according to a new report from the nation’s leading group of pediatric doctors.” The report from the American Academy of Pediatrics “found that 70% of kids drop out of organized youth sports by age 13.” Additionally, “nearly 1 in 10 youth athletes experience burnout, and as many as 35% experience overtraining, according to the report.”

Related Links:

— “Leading pediatric group warns competitive youth sports are leading to burnout, injuries,” Dr. Erin Hannon, ABC News, January 22, 2024

MedPage Today (1/22, Robertson ) reports, “The risk of congenital malformations appears to be lower with buprenorphine than with methadone when taken during the first trimester of pregnancy for opioid use disorder (OUD), according to an analysis of Medicaid data.” In the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, “in the buprenorphine group, risk of congenital malformations was 50.9 out of 1,000 pregnancies compared with 60.6 per 1,000 in the methadone group.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

CNN (1/22, Howard ) reports, “Testing a person’s blood for a type of protein called phosphorylated tau, or p-tau, could be used to screen for Alzheimer’s disease with ‘high accuracy,’ even before symptoms begin to show, a new study suggests.” The research “involved testing blood for a key biomarker of Alzheimer’s called p-tau217, which increases at the same time as other damaging proteins — beta amyloid and tau — build up in the brains of people with the disease.” The “simple blood test was found to be up to 96% accurate in identifying elevated levels of beta amyloid and up to 97% accurate in identifying tau.” The findings were published in JAMA Neurology.

The Hill (1/22, Sforza ) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “New blood test that screens for Alzheimer’s may be a step closer to reality, study suggests,” Jacqueline Howard, CNN, January 22, 2024