Thursday Shorts : Ozempic baby boom, mental health, and influenza and pneumonia deaths
June 6, 2024
1. Ozempic Baby Boom
Many news outlets (including Washington Post, LA Times and US Today) have reported on an “Ozempic Baby Boom.” There are likely a few reasons for this:
Some women who have been infertile for a long time no longer use birth control and have surprise pregnancies - a phenomenon that predates the GLP-1 medications.
Obesity is associated with irregular periods, and weight loss alone can increase the chances of getting pregnant.
The GLP-1 medications delay gastric emptying, so they could decrease the effectiveness of oral contraception.
Men who take GLP-1s may have increased sperm concentration and motility
GLP-1 drugs cause fetal abnormalities in mice and monkeys, and manufacturers recommend delaying conception until 8 weeks after discontinuing these medications. Pregnant women need a lot of calories, so most obstetricians would be reluctant to recommend these medications in women seeking to become pregnant even if there was no concern about fetal safety.
We’ll have better data on the safety of these drugs in pregnancy over the next few years. In the meantime, women using these drugs can consider birth control other than oral contraceptives (IUD, progesterone implant or injection, or oral contraception plus condoms). Women intending to become pregnant can talk to their physicians about the use of GLP-1s in pregnancy.
2. Mental Health Concerns
Gallup reports on a poll that shows that American of all ages feel that mental health issues are treated more poorly than physical health issues. This was true whether or not the respondents had a mental health condition themselves in the last year.
Source: Gallup, May, 2024 LINK
On a similar note, KFF reports that 90% of adults say the US is facing a mental health crisis, and only 45% of those who reported poor or fair mental health status received mental health care in the previous three years. This survey also demonstrates that Black and Hispanic people were less likely to receive mental health care they felt they needed, and those who reported unfair or negative past treatment were more likely to go without mental health care.
Source: Panchal, et al KFF, May 23, 2024 LINK
3. Influenza and Pneumonia mortality down but disparities persist
Influenza and pneumonia caused 1.2 million deaths in the US from 1999-2020. The mortality rate declined over this 22-year period - likely due to a combination of vaccination and more effective antiviral therapy. This was published in the American Journal of Infection Control, and using data collected by the CDC. The researchers also noted that Black and Native American people had the highest death rates, and Hispanic people had the lowest death rates.
Source: Ashraf, et al AJIC May 20, 2024 LINK
Tomorrow: The impact of medical costs on family budgets