Health Links
Harvard Kennedy School; Shorenstein Center On Media; Politics, and Public Policy; Sleep Disparities: An Explainer and Research Roundup
Most sleep studies included only white men in the early years and other racial and ethnic groups and women and were not included in studies of sleep disorders until the 1990s, says Dr. Andrea Matsumura, a sleep medicine physician at The Oregon Clinic in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the Public Awareness and Advisory Committee at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. But the growing body of literature so far has revealed that sleep plays an important role in human health, and factors beyond an one’s control are linked to sleep problems, which can then affect overall health. Research also shows sleep deficiencies disproportionately impact those who experience other health disparities.To take into account social, environmental and economic factors affecting sleep, researchers and experts use the term “sleep health” to create a holistic view of sleep. more »
Welcome to TDI-11861: NIH-funded Team Contraceptive Disables Sperm; More Work is Still Needed Before Human Clinical Trials Could Begin
"An NIH-funded team of researchers, led by Drs .Jochen Buck and Lonny Levin at Weill Cornell Medicine, pn and fertility. Their findings appeared in Nature Communications on February 14, 2023. A variety of tests in mice didn’t identify any potential safety issues with TDI-11861. The team then treated male mice with a single dose of TDI-11861 before allowing them to mate with females. The treated mice showed no differences in mating behavior from untreated mice. But the sperm from treated mice lost the ability to move on their own. Sperm remained immobile after being deposited in the female reproductive tract..." "Men produce several million sperm per day — about 1,000 per second. To prevent pregnancy, all of these need to be stopped from reaching an egg." more »
Kaiser Health News*: May 11th Era of ‘Free’ Covid Vaccines, Test Kits, and Treatments Is Ending. Who Will Pay the Tab Now?
"Medicare beneficiaries, those enrolled in Medicaid — the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes — and people with" Affordable Care Act coverage will continue to get Covid vaccines without cost sharing, even when the public health emergency ends and the government-purchased vaccines run out. Many people with job-based insurance will also likely not face copayments for vaccines, unless they go out of network for their vaccinations. People with limited-benefit or short-term insurance policies might have to pay for all or part of their vaccinations. And people who don’t have insurance will need to either pay the full cost out-of-pocket or seek no- or low-cost vaccinations from community clinics or other providers. If they cannot find a free or low-cost option, some uninsured patients may be forced to skip vaccinations or testing." more »
National Institutes of Health: Half of Adults Treated at Hospitals for COVID-19 Experienced Lingering Symptoms, Financial Difficulties, Physical Limitations Months After Discharge
"Many adults experience problems like coughing, chest pain, and fatigue six months after their stay.
About half of adults treated at hospitals for COVID-19 have experienced lingering symptoms, financial difficulties, or physical limitations months after being discharged, according to a National Institutes of Health-supported study published in JAMA Network Open. After six months, more than 7 in 10 adults surveyed in the study experienced cardiopulmonary problems, such as coughing, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and breathlessness, while about half had fatigue or physical limitations – all symptoms associated with long COVID(link is external). Additionally, more than half of the adults said they faced financial challenges." more »