Top news stories from AMA Morning Rounds®: Week of Aug. 19, 2024

Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Aug. 19, 2024–Aug. 23, 2024.

Parents’ excessive smartphone use could be harming children’s mental health

HealthDay (8/16, Mundell) reported parents’ excessive smartphone use “could be harming the mental health of children, a new study suggests.” Investigators found that “kids ages 9 to 11 who said their parents spent way too much [time] on their smartphones were more prone to anxiety, attention issues and hyperactivity later on compared to the youngsters of parents who weren’t phone-obsessed.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Alcohol consumption contributed to 2.6M deaths worldwide in 2019, WHO report shows

The Washington Post (8/19, Docter-Loeb) says, “Alcohol consumption played a role in 2.6 million deaths worldwide in 2019, according to a report from the World Health Organization.” After analyzing “alcohol and psychoactive drug usage in 2019 across 145 countries,” investigators observed that “young people ages 20 to 39 and individuals in Europe and Africa made up the largest proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths, and more men than women—2 million vs. 0.6 million—died because of alcohol, according to the report.” Despite “400 million people globally” experiencing alcohol use disorders, “most of the countries assessed did not have a specific budget line or data on governmental expenditures for treatment.” The findings were published in a news release from WHO.

Higher rate of suicidal thoughts observed among patients taking semaglutide

Bloomberg (8/20, Kresge, Subscription Publication) reports, “A new study that found evidence of a higher rate of suicidal thoughts among patients taking Novo Nordisk A/S’s popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs is adding to a debate among doctors about the drugs’ safety.”

STAT (8/20, Chen, Subscription Publication) says that after analyzing “a World Health Organization database that tracks suspected adverse drug reactions,” investigators discovered “a 45% greater rate of reports of suicidal thoughts associated with semaglutide, the ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, compared with all other drugs in the database.” After comparing “semaglutide specifically against other diabetes and obesity drugs—including Farxiga, metformin, and orlistat—” investigators “again saw a higher rate of suicidal ideation reported for semaglutide.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Kids, teens experience different set of long COVID symptoms from adults, study finds

NBC News (8/21, Bendix) reports, “A large, national study offers new insights into what [long COVID] looks like in kids and teens, suggesting that they experience a markedly different set of symptoms from adults.” As part of the RECOVER initiative, researchers “asked the caregivers of more than 3,800 children about their kids’ symptoms at least 90 days after COVID,” also surveying “the caregivers of around 1,500 children without a history of COVID” to compare responses.

STAT (8/21, Cooney, Subscription Publication) reports the investigators observed “that school-age children (6 to 11 years old) with prolonged symptoms were more likely than uninfected children to experience headaches (57%); trouble with memory, focusing, and sleeping (44%); and abdominal pain (43%) at least four weeks after COVID.” Meanwhile, “infected adolescents (12 to 17 years old) more often had daytime fatigue, sleepiness, and low energy (80%); body, muscle, or joint pain (55%); and trouble with memory and focusing (47%) post-infection than uninfected peers.” The findings were published in JAMA.

FDA approves updated COVID-19 vaccines

The New York Times (8/22, Mueller, Weiland) reports, “The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the latest slate of annual COVID vaccines, clearing the way for Americans 6 months and older to receive updated shots in the midst of a prolonged summer surge of the virus.” Pfizer and Moderna “are expected to begin shipping vaccines to pharmacies and doctors’ offices within days.”

The AP (8/22, Neergaard) reports the updated vaccines “target a subtype called KP.2 that was common earlier this year” and will provide cross-protection for additional offshoots such as the currently spreading KP.3.1.1. Meanwhile, a third vaccine manufacturer, “Novavax, expects its modified vaccine version to be available” later.

The Hill (8/22, Choi) reports the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been “approved for people 12 years old and older.” The FDA has also granted emergency use authorization “for three doses of the updated Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine or two doses of the Moderna vaccine to be administered to unvaccinated children aged between six months and 4 years of age.”

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