Population & Community Health

It’s more expensive to treat a sick person than to keep them from getting sick. The economics of medicine requires society to pivot from critical care to wellness support. We are finding that some common assumptions about the underlying causes of healthcare disparity are misunderstood and will require real ingenuity to solve.

POPULATION & COMMUNITY HEALTH: QUICK LINKS:

Missing Gut Bacteria in U.S. Babies Triples Allergy and Eczema Risk

A nationwide study reveals that 25% of U.S. infants lack essential Bifidobacterium, a key gut microbe.—This deficiency is linked to a threefold increase in developing allergies, eczema and asthma by age two, highlighting the critical role of early-life microbiome health.

Why Kids Need to Take More Risks

Science reveals the benefits of wild, free play—Studies show how risky play can benefit child development. But encouraging it can be a challenge for parents.

Marijuana Linked to Decline in Anti-Anxiety Prescriptions

The alternative treatment may provide easier access to relief—This trend suggests that increased, legal access to cannabis may be influencing treatment choices for anxiety disorders.

Expanded Newborn Screening Using Genome Sequencing for Early Actionable Conditions

Early screening enables the diagnosis of conditions within days of birth—Results can provide the opportunity for early treatment prior to the onset of symptoms and irreversible effects.

COVID in the Brain, COVID in the Membrane

What we know about COVID-19’s impact on your brain.—Scientists are worried that persisting cognitive issues may signal a coming surge of dementia and other mental conditions. A February 2024 study of nearly 113,000 people found greater deficits in memory and executive function among people who had been infected at some point compared with those who had never had the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

NIH-sponsored Trial of Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine Opens

Candidate vaccine could provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.—“While first-generation COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and death, they are less successful at preventing infection and milder forms of disease.”

Landmark Discovery Solves Baffling Mystery Around Gulf War Illness in Veterans

We can’t track down and follow up every theory that comes along. But maybe if we listen better we won’t have to clean up the mess later.—Research reveals the cell structures integral for transporting calcium into cells, known as transient receptor potential ion channels, are defective in veterans with Gulf War Syndrome (GWS). GWS affects between 25 to 32 percent of the nearly one million veterans who were deployed during the Gulf War.