GGood morning ! I take some time to retreat to the woods. So you will hear from some of my colleagues for a few days. I’ll see you here later next week. Send news and notes to (email protected) for when I get back.

A historic public health achievement is under threat

Adding fluoride to water is considered one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century. But as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, it may not be long before the 21st century. Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – whom Trump pledged to let “go wild” on public health — says BNC that “fluoride will disappear”.

Rumors about fluoride date back to the 1960s, when a conservative group suggested it was a “communist plot” and a prime example of government overreach. But even then the idea did not enjoy popular support. This has changed in recent months, as evidenced by yesterday’s statement Washington Post op-ed by Leana Wen, an emergency room physician and former Baltimore health commissioner, suggesting that eliminating fluoride is “not an entirely crazy idea.”

Learn more by STAT’s Anil Oza, who breaks down all the science behind the controversy.

Doctors are rarely punished for spreading false information

According to a study published yesterday in Open JAMA Network. Researchers analyzed more than 3,100 disciplinary meetings in the five most populous states between 2020 and mid-2023. Only six procedures concerned public misinformation, while 21 concerned the dissemination of false information directly to patients.

No government agency tracks the prevalence of misinformation spread by doctors. But one study published in the same journal last year, found that in 2021 and 2022, 52 doctors spread misinformation on social media about vaccines, masks and Covid-19 conspiracy theories.

“We are allowing the profession to police itself. And when they fail to do so, even in the most egregious cases, they encourage the erosion of trust and respect for doctors,” said Wendy Parmet, director of the Center for Health Policy and Law. Health from Northeastern University. Washington Post last year for an investigation that also found that doctors are rarely punished for spreading false information. Experts have long called for doctors to be detained more responsible for spreading false information, but others have done it interviewed whether medical boards are equipped to fulfill this role.

STD epidemic slows in the United States

Some good news on the STD front: the syphilis epidemic in the United States slowed significantly last year, while gonorrhea cases declined and chlamydia cases remained below pre-COVID levels. pandemic, according to federal data released yesterday. In particular, cases of syphilis in the most contagious stages fell 10% from the previous year – the first substantial decline in more than two decades.

“I’m encouraged, and it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way” about the epidemic of sexually transmitted infections hitting the country, said Jonathan Mermin of the CDC. “Something is working.” Learn more.

Health policy experts on the former and future president

As the new Trump administration takes shape, STAT remains on top of all the implications for health policy. Here’s what you should check today:

• Yesterday, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said he was not sure the future of the agency under the new Trump administration and “disappointed” with the election results. “I’m biased, but I feel like the FDA is at peak performance right now and we’ll just see what happens as the new team comes in,” Califf said. Learn more by STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence.
• On today’s episode of the First Opinion podcast, Torie Bosch speaks with attorney and health policy expert Carmel Shachar about her experience under the first Trump administration and what she expects will happen be different this time. I was particularly intrigued by his thoughts on interstate regulations regarding abortion and telehealth. Protective laws protecting abortion providers and patients in progressive states haven’t really been tested yet, she said. And although telehealth rules have been relaxed during the pandemic so that a provider in one state can often treat someone in another, those exceptions have ended. But “it’s not like an eyeball changes when it crosses (from Massachusetts) to New Hampshire,” Shachar said. Listen to the conversation.

Information You Can Use in a Beer vs. Wine Debate

People who drink beer as their only alcoholic beverage have poorer diets, exercise less, and are more likely to smoke cigarettes than people who drink wine, alcohol, or a combination of these drinks. according to a new study to be presented to the American Association. for the study of liver diseases Liver meeting later this week and published simultaneously in the journal Nutrients.

Results are based on self-reported data from a nationally representative survey of more than 1,900 U.S. adults. Nearly 39% of those surveyed drank only beer, while 22% drank only wine, 18% only alcohol and 21% drank a mixture. Beer drinkers were more likely to be male, younger, and lower income, but the association persisted even after adjusting for relevant variables. The authors note that prospective studies could help understand the link.

More and more people are surviving congenital heart defects

Congenital heart defects are structural abnormalities of the heart or nearby blood vessels that develop before birth. Worldwide, they occur in 9 out of 1,000 live births. About a quarter of these people require surgery or catheter treatment in infancy, after which more than 90% (in developed countries ) survive into adulthood. Progress in increasing survival rates has taken decades.

But as more people age, they risk abandoning the care of pediatric cardiologists and ending up with doctors whose training doesn’t include caring for adult survivors like them. “They’re part of a group of patients that didn’t really exist before,” researcher Anitha John told STAT’s Liz Cooney. Learn more by Liz about the growing number of adult survivors of congenital heart defects and the inadequate care they receive.

What we read

• 43 laboratory monkeys escaped in South Carolina. They have a legal right to freedom, Voice

• Experts warn of potential ‘chilling’ effect of Texas attorney general suing doctors for gender-affirming care Living room

• Buoyed by billion-dollar deals, its stock is up 50% this year. How did Boston Scientific regain its momentum? STATUS
• Chronic head injuries are numerous among the elite crews of the Navy’s speedboats, New York Times
• How I Addressed Racial Bias in My Company’s AI Algorithm, STATUS