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Featured topic and speakers
Why is it so hot? What's the best sunscreen? Can you get addicted to your phone? What is the latest breakthrough in HIV drugs? Was there a food recall?
Covering the latest news in HIV treatment, a listeria outbreak, staying safe during the summer heatwave, and social media and adolescent phone addiction with AMA's Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH. AMA Chief Experience Officer Todd Unger hosts.
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Speaker
- Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, vice president, science, medicine & public health, American Medical Association
Transcript
Garcia: This was an interesting study, and it looked at whether the addictive use of phones, video games or social media was associated with suicidal behaviors, suicidal ideation and mental health outcomes. One of the main findings was that 31.3% of adolescents exhibited increasing signs of addictive behavior with social media, and 24.6 with mobile phones.
Unger: Hello and welcome to the AMA Update video and podcast. Today is our weekly look at the public health issues facing physicians and patients across the country with the AMA's Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia. I'm Todd Unger, AMA's chief experience officer. Welcome back Andrea.
Garcia: Thanks, Todd. Always appreciate the opportunity to be here.
Unger: Well, let's start by talking about some news out of the FDA. It recently approved a new drug that could have big implications for the future of HIV prevention. Andrea, tell us more about it.
Garcia: Well, Todd, drug that is currently used to treat certain HIV infections has also now been approved by the FDA to prevent HIV. The drug's name is lenacapavir and it's a twice a year injection that's been shown to provide near-total protection against HIV in clinical trials. About 99.9% of participants who received remained HIV negative. This new drug is highly effective, and it's being called the best tool yet in helping to end the HIV epidemic.
Unger: Those are incredible results. Andrea, what impact do you think this is going to have on HIV prevention?
Garcia: Well, Todd, as there are already various methods of PrEP available to prevent HIV infections, and these have been available for years. However, these existing therapies require people to take daily pills or to get injections every couple of months. Many public health experts believe that the convenience of lenacapavir has the potential to transform the HIV epidemic. However, access to the medication is going to be key here. Only time is truly going to tell, but there is definitely a reason to be excited here.
Unger: Well, that is really good news and a great way to start. Andrea, let's turn our attention to a different story. That drove a lot of headlines last week, and that's about a new study in JAMA about screen time and youth mental health. What was the story there?
Garcia: Well, this was an interesting study. And it looked at whether the addictive use of phones, video games or social media was associated with suicidal behaviors, suicidal ideation and mental health outcomes in more than 4,000 U.S. adolescents from baseline through a four year follow up period.
One of the main findings was that 31.3% of adolescents exhibited increasing signs of addictive behavior with social media and 24.6 with mobile phones. Additionally, it found that high or increasing addictive use was associated with an elevated risk of suicidal behavior or ideation.
So for example, adolescents with high or increasing addictive use of social media were more than twice as likely to report suicidal behaviors. These findings alone are notable, but what's also noteworthy is how the study itself was conducted.
Unger: What was so special about the way that it was conducted?
Garcia: Well, according to the authors of this study, other research on this topic usually measures total screen time and then looks at the association between screen time and mental health. This study is the first to really look at addictive use, and I think that's an important distinction. And here's why. Through their research, the authors found that the number of hours kids spent on screens was not associated with mental health outcomes.
Instead, it was this addictive behavior that was the cause, and that could have implications for how we ultimately treat this issue. So, for example, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy could be a more effective intervention here rather than just limiting access to screens. Clearly, we still need a lot more research in this area, but this study does help to further our understanding and identify areas for future studies to explore.
Unger: All right. We will look forward to learning more there. Now, let's transition to a topic that I'm sure is on a lot of people's minds. This heat wave that's happening across the country, certainly here in Chicago, we've been really feeling it. It's caused by something called a heat dome. Andrea, how does that work?
Garcia: Well, a heat dome is a weather pattern where a persistent area of high atmospheric pressure traps hot air beneath it. And this pressure then prevents the hot air from rising and cooling, so similar to the lid on a pot. The trapped air creates a dome-like structure, and it leads to prolonged periods of intense heat, which is definitely what we're currently experiencing here in Chicago.
Unger: And this heat wave is expected to last a few more days at least. And in general, it's unlikely to be our last dangerously hot day of the summer. In fact, it's only June still. So, what are some things that people should be doing to stay safe on days like this?
Garcia: Well, Todd, there are a few things people should keep in mind, first, is to drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated even if you don't feel thirsty. Other tips from the CDC include staying indoors when you can and being mindful of when you go outside, and how much activity you do while you are outdoors.
Of course, you always want to make sure you dress appropriately and wear loose, lightweight, and light colored clothing. You should also be on the lookout for signs of heat related illness, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. And just as a reminder, those key symptoms of heat exhaustion include dizziness, thirst, heavy sweating, weakness and nausea.
Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, and those symptoms include dizziness, confusion and a loss of consciousness. If someone is experiencing heat stroke should immediately call 911 and then move the person to a cooler area. Loosen or remove the outer layer of clothing and cool them down with cold water or ice.
Unger: Well, Andrea, while we're on the topic of summer safety tips, something patients always have questions about during this time of year is sunscreen. The AMA just published a story on what doctors wish patients knew about wearing sunscreen. What were some of the key takeaways?
Garcia: Well, there was a lot of helpful information in that story and we'll include a link to it in the episode description so people can read the advice. For now I'll just share three of the tips that patients should know and that physicians can, of course, help remind their patients this summer.
First, when you're buying sunscreen, you'll want to get one that is labeled as broad-spectrum. That means it covers both UVA and UVB radiation. Second, you'll want to make sure that you choose a sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or higher. SPF basically tells you how much UVB light the sunscreen can filter out. So, an SPF of 30 is going to filter out about 97% of the sun's UVB rays.
Third, no sunscreen is waterproof, so it's good to reapply every couple of hours and after exposure to water or sweat. And then lastly, you should actually wear sunscreen every day. Even on those cloudy days, around 80% of the ultraviolet light passes through the clouds. There are definitely more tips like this in the full story, and I would encourage people to check it out to learn more.
Unger: All right. Again, we'll include links to that story in the description of this episode. Let's shift gears again and talk about a food safety alert from the CDC about a listeria outbreak. What do we need to know about this?
Garcia: The CDC issued this alert on June 18, and it concerns a multi-state outbreak of listeria that's linked to chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals. These meals were manufactured by Fresh Realm and sold at both Kroger and Walmart under the brand names of Marketside and Home Chef. Fresh Realm issued a nationwide recall of these products on June 17, they are no longer available for sale. The CDC is encouraging people to throw these meals away or return them to the store where they bought them.
Additionally, people should clean any surface that may have touched these foods, because we know that listeria can survive in the refrigerator and it can spread to other foods and surfaces. There is more information in the full alert and will include a link to it in the description of this episode.
Listeria can be especially harmful to certain populations. Three people have died as a result of this outbreak, and more than a dozen have been hospitalized. So this is definitely a recall to be mindful of. And people who have these products at home should take immediate action.
Unger: Well, I'm glad we're able to get the word out there about this listeria outbreak. Andrea, thank you so much, as always, for joining us and keeping us up to date each week. If you found this discussion valuable, you can support more programming like it by becoming an AMA member at ama-assn.org/joinnow. Patients can get involved by joining the AMA's Patients Action Network, at patientsactionnetwork.com. As always can find all our videos and podcasts at ama-assn.org/podcasts. Thanks for joining us. Please take care.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this video are those of the participants and/or do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.