Cardiologists rare in rural counties, despite dire need
More than 86% of rural counties in the U.S. lack a single practicing cardiologist, despite significant ongoing needs, a new study reveals.
Published July 8 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the research found that about 46% of the nation’s more than 3,140 counties — totaling about 22 million people — lacked a cardiologist.
Counties that did not have cardiologists were more likely to be rural and have more households with low incomes. County residents also had lower levels of health insurance coverage, worse access to healthy foods and more preventable hospitalizations.
By race and ethnicity, American Indian and Alaska Native people were most likely to live in a county without a cardiologist. The population has one of the nation’s highest rates of premature heart attack deaths and is 50% more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease than white Americans.
In counties without cardiologists, the average round-trip distance to see one of the specialists was about 87 miles, compared to 16 miles in counties with cardiologists.
Beyond treating heart disease, cardiologists help people assess their risks and guide them through preventive changes to diet, lifestyle and other factors before a heart attack or stroke occurs.
High ambient temperatures linked to leukemia risks in kids
Children who were exposed to high ambient temperatures while developing in utero are more likely to be diagnosed with a type of leukemia later in life, according to a study in The Lancet Planetary Health.
The strongest link occurred for those exposed to a mean weekly ambient temperature of at least 86 degrees Fahrenheit during their eighth week of gestation. Those children had double the risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia than fetuses exposed to a mean weekly ambient temperature of 50 degrees at week eight, said the study, which looked at data from California children.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children, affecting white blood cells. About 3,000 cases are diagnosed annually in youth in the U.S., where it disproportionately affects Hispanic children.
Previous research has found that most childhood cases of the leukemia originate in utero.
Tampons can contain potentially toxic metals
The tampons that millions of women use each month may be exposing them to potentially toxic chemicals, a new study in Environment International says.
Researchers tested tampons from a range of brands commonly used in the U.S. and Europe, finding traces of 16 metals — including lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium.
Zinc was detected at the highest concentration, said the study, which was reportedly the first to measure metal levels in tampons. As many as 80% of menstruating women in the U.S. use tampons, with each person using an estimated 7,400 of them used over their fertile years.
Because skin in the vagina has a high potential for chemical absorption, tampons are a particular concern as a source of exposure to chemicals, the researchers said. The study did not evaluate whether the metals are actually are absorbed into the body or cause harm to users.
Metals may be introduced into tampons during the manufacturing process, either intentionally or not, or during the cotton-growing process, researchers suggested.
Previous research has detected a range of chemicals in tampons, including dioxins, bisphenols, flame retardants and volatile organic compounds.
On-the-job heat linked to almost 1K deaths
From farmworkers to mail carriers, nearly 1,000 workers in the U.S. died from on-the-job exposure to high temperatures across a recent 30-year period, federal data show.
The statistics were shared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Climate Change Indicators report, which documents the growing impacts of climate change on human health and the environment in the U.S.
More than a third of the occupational-related heat deaths, which were tallied from 1992 to 2022, occurred among construction workers. Annual deaths ranged from 11 in 1992 to 61 in 2011, though numbers may be underreported, EPA said.
People who work outdoors face the greatest occupational health threats from heat, though indoor workers in warehouses, laundries, industrial facilities, kitchens and more also struggle with high heat. To help protect both indoor and outdoor workers, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a long-awaited federal occupational heat rule this month.
Overall, more than 14,000 people in the U.S. have died from heat-related causes since 1979, according to EPA.
Other recent public health news of note includes:
• Microplastics can boost the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes, according to a new study in Water Air, & Soil Pollution.
• Shift workers are more likely to have vitamin D deficiency than day workers, particularly those who work in production and are women, says research in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.
• Air pollution exposure prior to IVF egg retrieval can reduce the odds of having a live birth by almost 40%, new science to be published in Human Reproduction says.
• A study in Nature Communications finds lithium-ion batteries used in consumer products and electric vehicles are polluting air and water with a particularly durable subclass of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
• Firefighters are known to be at elevated risk for a range of cancers. A new study in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine adds skin melanoma to that list.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.