Top news stories from AMA Morning Rounds®: Week of Sept. 2, 2024

Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Sept. 2, 2024–Sept. 6, 2024.

New-onset depression may stem from same buildup of plaques linked to Alzheimer’s disease

HealthDay (8/30, Mundell) reported, “In some people, new-onset depression may stem from the same buildup of toxic plaques in the brain that have long been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.” The researchers said their “findings provide additional support for depressive symptoms as an early feature of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Measuring three biomarkers can predict women’s 30-year risk for heart disease

CNN (8/31, Goodman) reported, “Measuring the levels of three biomarkers in blood in midlife may give women a clearer picture of their risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes decades earlier than current risk calculators do, a new study suggests.” The research “found that these three test results, considered together, could predict cardiovascular risk in seemingly healthy women as much as 30 years before a major cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference.

You may also be interested in: 5 health tips your cardiologist wants you to know.

UnitedHealthcare program will streamline prior authorization for qualifying physicians

Modern Healthcare (9/3, DeSilva, Subscription Publication) reports, “UnitedHealthcare plans to launch a program next month geared toward streamlining prior authorization for qualifying providers.” The company’s “‘gold card’ program, offered across its commercial, individual exchange, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid business lines, will allow certain providers to use a simplified process for about 500 procedure codes.” Through the new “program, in-network provider groups that have submitted at least 10 prior authorization requests for eligible procedures over each of the past two years—with a 92% or higher UnitedHealthcare approval rate—can submit what the insurance company calls an ‘advance notification’ and forgo clinical documentation review for selected services.”

You may also be interested in: 95% of physicians report that prior authorization increases physician burnout. How the AMA is fighting to fix it (PDF).

COVID-19 pandemic caused more women to suffer health issues during pregnancies

The Hill (9/4, O'Connell-Domenech) reports, “The COVID-19 pandemic caused more women to suffer serious health issues during their pregnancies than previously known, according to a new study.” The research “shows a connection between the pandemic and an increase in rates of gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders and gestational weight gain among pregnant women.” Investigators “did notice a positive trend during part of the COVID-19 pandemic—more pregnant women received adequate prenatal care.” The findings were published in Epidemiology.

You may also be interested in: 7 keys to improving U.S. maternal health now.

Youth e-cigarette use has fallen almost 70% since 2019 peak, survey finds

The Washington Post (9/5, Roubein, Ovalle) reports, “Youth e-cigarette use has declined nearly 70% since its peak in 2019, federal officials said Thursday, touting the new results of an annual government survey as progress in the fight against the popular products that have hooked adolescents on nicotine.” Almost “6% of U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes this year compared with last year’s 7.7%.” The “majority flocked to flavored products, with fruit being the most common, followed by candy and mint.” The findings were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The New York Times (9/5, Jewett) reports “fewer than 8% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past month, the lowest level in a decade.” That is “far lower than the apex, in 2019, when more than 27% of high school students who took the survey reported that they vaped—and an estimated 500,000 fewer adolescents than last year.”

The AP (9/5, Perrone) reports, “Vaping was unchanged among middle schoolers, but remains less common in that group, at 3.5% of students.” The survey found that among students who currently “use e-cigarettes, about 26% said they vape daily.”

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