Media Coverage
The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.
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Chicago Tribune
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Jami Josefson: After a pandemic boom in child obesity, it’s time for families to recommit to health
Many families are still grappling with the secondary physical and psychosocial health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – including an alarming surge in obesity and Type 2 diabetes among children. In a recent study, diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes at Lurie Children’s Hospital increased nearly 300% from the pre-pandemic annual mean. Black and Hispanic children represented the majority of the diagnoses, which likely reflects the persistent social inequities in access to healthy food and other resources. Jami Josefson, MD, MS, associate professor of pediatrics, continues in her piece, “What’s most scary is the rapid progression for children, which can lead to organ diseases such as kidney failure and heart disease and will affect the mortality rate. Put in simple terms, prevention really is a matter of life or death.” The good news is that kids are back in school, which means more access to healthy food and more physical activity and socializing with their friends. We can all do something to help prevent child obesity and metabolic disease. If you’re someone with the means to help, you could donate or volunteer at one of the many Chicago nonprofits that provide food or youth activities for lower-income families.
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Chicago Tribune
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Transgender young people feel less distress after gender-confirming surgery, Northwestern study says
Transgender and nonbinary teens and young adults – who experience anxiety and depression at higher rates than others – often feel less mental distress after surgery to remove their breasts, according to a study from Northwestern Medicine. “Our findings are that top surgery (to remove the breasts) benefits these teenagers and young adults,” said Dr. Sumanas Jordan, lead author of the study and assistant professor of plastic surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It is so important to be able to have evidence and treat them not based on politics but based on science and medicine.” Patients who underwent surgery also experienced less body image dissatisfaction and more gender congruence, which is when people feel that their appearance matches their gender identity. “Adolescence is a pretty turbulent time, but to have that burden of that extra chest dysphoria and gender dysphoria that’s untreated, I think that does a lot of harm,” said Jordan.
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WBEZ Chicago
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Telemedicine abortions just got more complicated for health providers
In the U.S., more than a dozen states severely restrict access to abortion, and almost as many have such in the works. Across the country, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, clinics that do provide abortions have seen an increase in demand. Before Indiana’s abortion ban took effect, Allison Case would use her days off to provide reproductive health services, including abortion care, via telemedicine through a clinic that serves patients in New Mexico. As more states restrict abortion, providers like Case are finding themselves navigating an increasingly complicated legal landscape. In many states, patients seeking a telehealth abortion have to be physically present in a state where telemedicine abortion is legal, even if it’s just to have a brief virtual consultation with a provider, who may be located in an entirely different state. Katherine Watson, JD, associate professor of medical education, medical social sciences and obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says this is uncharted territory. The stakes are so high. We’re talking about something that’s a protected right in one state and a felony in a sister state,” Watson says. “And the map is a patchwork. So this is an absolutely radical change.” People have to understand the distinction between the letter of the law and the enforcement environment, she says. Even if the law does not explicitly criminalize what doctors like Case do, the enforcement environment can ensnare some of them in legal trouble.
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Yahoo! News
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Signs You Have “Deadly Diabetes”
According to the CDC, 37.3 million Americans are living with diabetes. There are five specific signs of deadly diabetes, according to experts. These include fatigue, blurred vision, increased urination, being overweight and having excess belly fat. “Fat around the waist – an apple shape – is uniquely dangerous for developing diabetes and other chronic illnesses such as heart disease and kidney failure,” saysMercedes Carnethon, PhD, professor and vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Fat in the waist regions is described by scientists and doctors as being “metabolically active” – meaning that central fat releases hormones and other biological substances that target and damage the organs and blood vessels that contribute to diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
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ABC 7 Chicago
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COVID update: Illinois reports 1,878 new cases, 14 new deaths
The Illinois Department of Public Health says “daily deaths reported on weekends and at the beginning of the week may be low” and “those deaths will be captured in subsequent days.” Local doctors are weighing in after President Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic is over. They agree we’re past the emergency phase, but they have a warning about this fall and winter. Infectious disease doctors were quick to clarify President Biden’s remarks during a “60 Minutes” interview where Biden said while COVID remains a problem, “the pandemic is over.” According to Dr. Robert Murphy, professor of infectious disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, “I think this was a poorly off the cuff remark that has been taken out of context.” Doctors say while the “emergency” phase of the pandemic may be over due to vaccines and treatments, cases around the world remain high enough where the virus continues to meet the definition of a pandemic. “We are going in the right direction, but this is not the time to give up,” Murphy said. “You give up now and then we are going backward.” Doctors remind people last summer when cases were down, some were declaring victory until the delta and omicron waves hit, making last winter the worst of the pandemic.
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WebMD
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Eviction Rise is Threat to Health
Eviction is a housing and financial crisis – and a health crisis in the making. Rents are rising and inflation has increased the price of everything. Meanwhile, the pandemic-related moratorium on evictions the CDC imposed was struck down in August 2021, and statewide bans on evictions have ended. Stable housing is crucial for good health. Research shows that eviction is associated with a wide range of bad health outcomes, loss of access to medical care and vicious cycle of poor health. Housing is one of five social determinants of health, the economic and social conditions that affect the health of individuals and populations. Scientists have started to quantify the direct effects of eviction of people’s health. “It’s so complex, and I don’t think the exact pathway is mapped out yet because it is so hard to do these studies,” Karen Sheehan, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics, medical education and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says. “But we do see lots of associations between eviction and forecloses and poor health in pretty much every domain.” One of the main drivers of poor health effects is stress. “If you don’t have stable housing, it contributes to stress, and that has ramifications in so many different health areas.” Eviction can and often does drive people into overcrowded or unsafe housing conditions. Another study found that housing instability could increase the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. And the crowded living conditions many people end up in after an eviction, either at a shelter or with family or friends, can raise the risk for infectious diseases such as COVID-19, monkeypox, and flu, Schwartz said.
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Chicago Tribune
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Researcher says improved public transportation routes, mobile clinics could increase health care accesss
A mother/daughter duo must take public transportation to medical appointments and it is extremely unpredictable. Lindsay Allen, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, researches access to healthcare for Medicaid recipients, who are typically marginalized members of society. Within that research, Allen said she focuses on how patients decide where to seek care for nonemergency care and substance use disorder care. Research has found a lack of transportation results in delayed or missed healthcare appointments, poorer health outcomes and increase in healthcare expenses, Allen said. “Just because it exists doesn’t mean it’s actually useful,” Allen said. “Not having access to transportation does worsen people’s health and increase healthcare cost.” A lack of transportation also results in people calling for an ambulance and going to the emergency room for non-emergency care. Wealthy people who have health insurance and a car have the best access to healthcare because they have a large option of healthcare providers to choose from and they can drive to their appointments, Allen said. “The thing that people are not considering is that it’s not just about the getting to the appointment. It’s everything that you have to give up in order to spend an hour and a half one way to get to that clinic,” Allen said. Three hours of travel means additional money spend on child or elder care, three hours of time off from work and three hours exposed to potential safety risks, like routes through dangerous neighborhoods.
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TODAY
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Drinking 2 or more sugary drinks a day may raise the risks of dying from cancer, study finds
Consuming two or more servings of sugary drinks a day may raise the risk of dying from an obesity-related cancer, a new study finds. An analysis of data from nearly 1 million Americans who were followed for almost 30 years reveals that people who consumed sugary beverages had a 5% increase in the risk of dying from an obesity-related cancer when compared to people who consumed no sugary drinks. The diet of Americans has changed a lot since the beginning of CPS-II (Cancer Prevention Study II), said Linda Van Horn, a professor of preventive medicine and chief of the nutrition division at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “I think frankly, the most important thing identified here, which has been pointed out before, is the adverse relationship between any type of cancer and the development of obesity,” Van Horn said. “Keep in mind, the vast majority of us are overweight or obese.”
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WebMD
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Celebrity Actors Film Their Colonoscopies to Bring Awareness
Gastroenterologists are applauding Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney for using their celebrity to show how colonscopy can be both easy and lifesaving. An important take-home message is that colonoscopy is really the best test for screening. The premise of screening is to detect any potential issues before they cause cancer. Rajesh N. Keswani, MD, agrees about the importance of the campaign. “Overall, the message was incredibly effective. Everyone involved from the celebrities to the clinicians did a great job ensuring that all the important points were touched upon.” Further, “Beyond saying that colonoscopy is easy, they prove it by showing the patients laughing and eating after the procedure,” says Keswani, associate professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. There is a large amount of data showing that similar campaigns can improve colon cancer screening rates, most notably when Katie Couric, who lost her husband, televised her colonoscopy to effectively promote colon cancer screening.
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Fox 32 Chicago
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New eczema treatment approved for younger patients
We’ve all had annoying mosquito bites that can drive us crazy, but imagine having to deal with that itchy sensation all the time. That is what it’s like for millions of Americans who deal with eczema. There are medications to treat it, but until recently, children from six months to age five who weren’t responding to those medications, didn’t have many other options – until now. The new medicine is called Dupixent. For children whose eczema is not being controlled, it’s being called a game changer. “These kids are just miserable. They’re itching all the time,” said Dr. Amy Paller, professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “These kids are just miserable. They’re itching all the time,” said Dr. Paller. “It affects mood, it affects your ability to be awake and function well in school. It also affects your relationships because this is a highly visible skin problem, so everyone can see it right in front of them.” Dr. Paller says one of the other huge benefits of Dupixent is that it has an incredible safety profile.
