Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Jan. 6, 2025–Jan. 10, 2025.
Health warning labels on alcohol should include cancer risk warning, Surgeon General says
The Washington Post (1/3, A1, Ho, Nirappil) reported, “Health warning labels on alcohol should be updated to include a cancer risk warning, the U.S. surgeon general said Friday, adding that recommended limits for alcohol consumption should also be reassessed, given the increased risk of certain cancers.” The consumption of alcohol “is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States behind tobacco and obesity, Vivek H. Murthy said in an advisory [PDF].” Alcohol consumption “contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths each year, he added.”
CNN (1/3, Tinker, Tirrell, Goodman) reported, “The American Medical Association, which has long recognized alcohol as a cancer risk, cheered the new advisory.” In a statement, AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD, said, “Today’s advisory, coupled with a push to update the Surgeon General’s health warning label on alcoholic beverages, will bolster awareness, improve health, and save lives.”
Officials say Louisiana patient is first individual in U.S. to die from bird flu
The Washington Post (1/6, Sun) reports Louisiana health officials on Monday said a man from the state died of avian influenza, with the man being the first individual in the U.S. to die from the illness. The “patient, who was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized weeks ago in critical condition with severe respiratory illness related to the H5N1 bird flu virus. The patient, whom people familiar with the investigation have identified as a man, had been in contact with sick and dead birds in backyard flocks on his property, state health officials said in a statement.” The Post adds that the man’s death does not alter the aggregate “assessment by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the immediate risk to the public’s health from H5N1 bird flu, which remains low.”
The New York Times (1/6, Mandavilli, Anthes) reports there aren’t any indications that H5N1 “is spreading from person to person anywhere in the country, and Louisiana officials have not identified any other cases in the state. Pasteurized dairy products remain safe to consume.”
Coffee drinking is associated with better survival, but timing of consumption matters
MedPage Today (1/7, Lou) reports that a study found that “any presumed health benefits of coffee may be limited to morning cups of” coffee. Investigators found that “compared with non-coffee drinkers, those who mostly drank coffee in the morning had a lower risk of all-cause mortality...and cardiovascular mortality...when followed over a median 9.8 years.” MedPage Today adds, “It appeared that survival was particularly improved with morning consumers drinking moderate (>1 to 2 cups and >2 to 3 cups/day) and heavy (>3 cups/day) amounts of coffee rather than lesser amounts.” Meanwhile, “people who kept drinking coffee later in the day, the all-day type, had no reduction in all-cause mortality...and cardiovascular mortality...regardless of how much they consumed.” The data indicated that “neither coffee drinking pattern was tied to more or less cancer-specific mortality.” The findings were published in European Heart Journal.
You may also be interested in: What doctors wish patients knew about the impact of caffeine.
People exposed to high aircraft noise levels face greater risk of poor heart function, study indicates
HealthDay (1/8, Thompson) reports people “who live near airports are used to the regular roar of jet airliners taking off and landing,” but “they likely don’t know that all this ruckus could be harming their heart health, a new study says.” Researchers found that “people exposed to high aircraft noise levels could be at greater risk of poor heart function, increasing their risk of heart attack, stroke and irregular heartbeat.” Study results indicate that “residents living near noisy airports had 10% to 20% worse heart structure and function, compared to people who moved to get away from the aircraft noise.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
U.S. has highest rate of drug overdose deaths out of 30 countries
The Hill (1/9, O'Connell-Domenech) reports that the U.S. “has the highest rate of drug overdose deaths out of 30 countries, according to a new report from the health nonprofit the Commonwealth Fund.” While “overdose deaths in the U.S. dipped slightly around 2018 after a years-long” increase, “those deaths began to rise again in 2019 and shot up during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the” CDC. Meanwhile, “overdose deaths decreased slightly again in 2023 by 3% but still more than 100,000 people across the country died from an overdose, according to provisional CDC data.”
You may also be interested in: What comes next in the fight to end the drug-overdose epidemic?
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Table of Contents
- Health warning labels on alcohol should include cancer risk warning, Surgeon General says
- Officials say Louisiana patient is first individual in U.S. to die from bird flu
- Coffee drinking is associated with better survival, but timing of consumption matters
- People exposed to high aircraft noise levels face greater risk of poor heart function, study indicates
- U.S. has highest rate of drug overdose deaths out of 30 countries
