1. Children’s Health

Studies Indicate that COVID During Pregnancy May Lead to Health Problems in Infants, According to NBC News
Just over four years since Covid emerged, it has become increasingly clear that infections in pregnant mothers can lead to serious health risks in infants. The latest finding: Babies born to mothers who had Covid during pregnancy had "unusually high rates" of respiratory distress at birth or shortly thereafter, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications. (Bendix, 1/25)

CIDRAP Reports: CDC Issues Alert to Healthcare Providers Regarding Measles Cases
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today urged healthcare providers to be alert for patients who have fever and rashes and have traveled abroad, following reports of 23 measles cases since December 1, 2023. "The increased number of measles importations seen in recent weeks is reflective of a rise in global measles cases and a growing global threat from the disease," the CDC said in an email. (Schnirring, 1/25)

The New York Times: 11-Year-Old Boy Experiences Hearing for the First Time Through Gene Therapy
Aissam Dam, an 11-year-old boy, grew up in a world of profound silence. He was born deaf and had never heard anything. While living in a poor community in Morocco, he expressed himself with a sign language he invented and had no schooling. Last year, after moving to Spain, his family took him to a hearing specialist, who made a surprising suggestion: Aissam might be eligible for a clinical trial using gene therapy. On Oct. 4, Aissam was treated at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, becoming the first person to get gene therapy in the United States for congenital deafness. The goal was to provide him with hearing, but the researchers had no idea if the treatment would work or, if it did, how much he would hear. The treatment was a success, introducing a child who had known nothing of sound to a new world. (Kolata, 1/23)

CBS News: Research Finds Lower Rates of Flu Hospitalizations and Emergency Room Visits in Young Infants When Mothers Receive Flu Vaccination During Pregnancy
UPMC Children's Hospital took part in a new study that found that if pregnant women get the flu vaccine, it dramatically reduces the chance their newborn will go to the ER or be hospitalized for the flu. Children's was one of seven hospitals around the country that studied how the flu vaccine in pregnant moms protected newborns who can't get the flu vaccine until they're 6 months old. They found it reduced hospitalizations or ER visits in young babies by about a third, and for the youngest infants under 3 months old, it went down by half. (Sorensen, 1/24)

The New York Times: 11-Year-Old Boy Experiences Hearing for the First Time Through Gene Therapy
Aissam Dam, an 11-year-old boy, grew up in a world of profound silence. He was born deaf and had never heard anything. While living in a poor community in Morocco, he expressed himself with a sign language he invented and had no schooling. Last year, after moving to Spain, his family took him to a hearing specialist, who made a surprising suggestion: Aissam might be eligible for a clinical trial using gene therapy. On Oct. 4, Aissam was treated at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, becoming the first person to get gene therapy in the United States for congenital deafness. The goal was to provide him with hearing, but the researchers had no idea if the treatment would work or, if it did, how much he would hear. The treatment was a success, introducing a child who had known nothing of sound to a new world. (Kolata, 1/23)

2. Mental Health

CNN: Behavioral Risk Factor Identified in Study on Teen Suicide
If your teen’s opting out of the school football game or shopping with friends, chalking it up to teen angst can be easy. But you should pay more attention since social withdrawal could signal something deeper is going on, a new study has found. Being socially withdrawn and experiencing physical discomforts as a preteen is associated with a higher risk of having suicidal thoughts at age 16, according to the study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open. (Rogers, 1/25)

KFF Health News: Despite Highest Suicide Rates, Interventions are Limited in Native American Communities
Amanda MorningStar has watched her children struggle with mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts. She often wonders why. “We’re family-oriented and we do stuff together. I had healthy pregnancies. We’re very protective of our kids,” said MorningStar, who lives in Heart Butte, Montana, a town of about 600 residents on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. (Platzman Weinstock, 1/25)

3. Women’s Health

Stat: Historic Results Unveiled in Study on HPV Vaccine and Cervical Cancer
A historic new study out of Scotland shows the real-world impact of vaccines against the human papillomavirus: The country has detected no cases of cervical cancer in women born between 1988-1996 who were fully vaccinated against HPV between the ages of 12 and 13. (Merelli, 1/25)

4. Healthcare Bankruptcies

Modern Healthcare: Highest Number of Healthcare Bankruptcies in Five Years Recorded in 2023
Healthcare company bankruptcies soared in 2023 to their highest level in the last five years, according to a report released Thursday by Gibbins Advisors. The advisory firm's report, which looked at Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filings from 2019 to 2023, found 79 healthcare companies with more than $10 million in liabilities filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Pharmaceutical and senior care companies made up nearly half of the list. The next-highest year for bankruptcies was 2019, when 51 companies filed for protection. (Hudson, 1/25)

5. Disparities

The Hill: Analysis Shows Higher Hospitalization Rates for Preventable Conditions Among Black Medicaid Patients
An analysis published Wednesday found that Black Medicaid patients are more likely to be hospitalized for preventable conditions. The new analysis by the Urban Institute found that Black Medicaid enrollees were “significantly more likely” to be hospitalized for preventable reasons than white patients. Preventable conditions included asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes and heart failure. (Sforza, 1/24)

6. WIC

The 19th: Shortage in WIC Program Funding Poses a Threat to Nutrition for Pregnant Individuals and Babies
A federal program that provides nutritious foods for pregnant people and babies is facing a $1 billion budget shortfall — and advocates are worried that for the first time in its 50-year history, it could become a casualty of a dysfunctional congressional appropriations process. (Becker, 1/24)

7. LGBTQ+ Health

The Conversation: Research Questions Narratives on Gender-Affirming Surgeries and Transgender Regret
You’ll often hear lawmakers, activists and pundits argue that many transgender people regret their decision to have gender-affirming surgeries – a belief that’s been fueling a wave of legislation that restricts access to gender-affirming health care. Gender-affirming care can include surgical procedures such as facial reconstruction, chest or “top” surgery, and genital or “bottom” surgery. But in an article we recently published in JAMA Surgery, we challenge the notion that transgender people often regret gender-affirming surgeries. Evidence suggests that less than 1% of transgender people who undergo gender-affirming surgery report regret. That proportion is even more striking when compared to the fact that 14.4% of the broader population reports regret after similar surgeries. (Barbee, Hassan and Liang, 1/22)