World Mental Health Day: 'It's OK to ask for support or help'

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

World Mental Health Day is Monday, Oct. 10, 2022 — an opportunity to take stock of our mental well-being especially in light of the mental health crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"People all over the world have been impacted by our mental health crisis," said Dr. Rebecca Brendel, president of the American Psychiatric Association. Based in Boston, she is an attorney as well a physician and is director of the master's program in bioethics at Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics. 

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"On this World Mental Health Day, it’s a great opportunity to check in with ourselves about our own mental wellness and to know that it’s OK to ask for support or help if we are struggling," she told Fox News Digital.

She added, "We also need to encourage others in our life to do the same."

"Mental health may best be thought of as the alliance of emotional, cognitive, physical, spiritual and political states informed by euthenics toward the empowerment of human existence and well-being," said Dr. Christopher L. Edwards, retired associate professor of medicine and psychiatry at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Before the pandemic started, the World Health Organization (WHO) said approximately one in eight people in the world were living with a mental health disorder. 

But COVID-19 worsened the mental health crisis. 

Anxiety and depression disorders increased more than 25% during the first year of the pandemic, while COVID-19 also made mental health services less accessible, according to the WHO.

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Yet other world conflicts, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, violence, public health emergencies and continued social and economic disparities compounded the crisis with "a staggering 84 million people worldwide [who] were forcibly displaced during 2021," per a recent WHO press release.

"The mental health of Americans has been severely stressed by the pandemic, by social unrest and economic challenges over the past few years," said Dr. Jürgen Unützer, professor and chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

"We are seeing increasing rates of suicides and drug overdoses, sometimes referred to as ‘deaths of despair,’ and our health care system is struggling to help people in crisis as well as families who have been struggling with disabling brain disorders and mental health disorders for a long time," he also said.

The pandemic led to more conversation about people’s mental health struggles and inspired positive change to improve the mental health crisis, according to professionals. 

"There are silver linings: The pandemic has made many of us more comfortable talking about the fact that mental health is an important part of all health," Unützer told Fox News Digital. 

Dr. Edwards said that people worldwide seem more willing to discuss and acknowledge the often stigmatized disorders such as depression and anxiety "and attribute these to the ubiquitous and omnipresent state of human existence known as ‘stressed.’"

Depression and anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health disorders for both men and women and can impact our ability to work effectively, per a WHO report.

Specifically, more than 280 million people around the world are living with depression — it's the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to a 2021 WHO press release. 

But the pandemic highlighted the "disproportionate burden" of current mental health crises among people of color and also those without economic advantages and or political influence, Edwards told Fox News Digital.

"A lot of stresses have to do with how we interact with others," said Dr. Elie G. Aoun, addiction and forensic psychiatrist at Columbia University in New York City and a member of the American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees.

People should avoid engaging in stressful situations if they can, in order to help themselves.

"For example, if you are feeling overheated with work, hold off on engaging in a difficult conversation" if you believe it may make you feel more stressed, he indicated.

Those with depression may lose interest in activities that they typically enjoy, such as running or working out.

"For example, if someone likes to run, when they're depressed they may not want to run," Aoun told Fox News Digital.

If this happens, first try to run one block, then two blocks — gradually running each time a little more. This may slowly undo the behavioral consequences of depression, he explained.

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He also encourages an assessment of the stressors in our life. "Stressors can be put aside temporarily," he noted.

He suggested a psychotherapeutic intervention called behavioral activation that requires people to make a list of the activities that they don't want to do when they are depressed.

"First rank in order [those activities] that you are most likely to do and least likely to do — then try to do the ones that are easiest, then work on the ones that are hardest," Aoun recommended.

Edwards said our nation’s mental health will improve by increasing access to qualified mental health professionals and leading efforts to "de-stigmatize mental illness as we have done with cancer, HIV and many other diseases that we now embrace," Edwards noted. 

Now there is a dedicated number to call when you have a mental health emergency in the United States.

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"The federal government has been working on rolling a new crisis response system across the country — starting with a new number, 988, that people all over the country can now call when they or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis or emergency," Unützer added.

"But we have a long way to go to build a system of care that can address all of the behavioral health needs of Americans," Unützer told Fox News Digital. 

"With investment, the mental health of the nation can be better than our COVID-19 premorbid status," Edwards added.

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Breast cancer and mammograms: 3 key questions women of all ages should ask before their scans

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month — a time when the disease affecting hundreds of thousands of American women each year gets renewed attention.

American women have a one in eight chance (12.9%) of developing breast cancer during their lifetimes, while American men have a one in 800 chance (0.13%), according to the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute.

Each year about 264,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and approximately 42,000 women die of the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. (About 2,400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and some 500 men die from it annually, CDC data shows.)

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Since breast cancer is more commonly found in women aged 40 and up, medical professionals and organizations recommend routine breast cancer screenings for middle-aged and senior women. This includes mammograms — a breast cancer screening method that's led to age-based debate among experts.

There are also important breast cancer risk factors to note, say experts. 

"Having one first-degree relative with breast cancer doubles a woman’s risk," Dr. Kathleen Kiernan Harnden, director of breast oncology at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Annandale, Virginia, told Fox News Digital.

Other high-risk factors include a family history of breast cancer, a known genetic mutation or a previous breast biopsy, according to Harnden.

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Given this, Harnden said there are three questions all women should ask themselves before they request a mammogram consultation or appointment: 

Harnden recommends 3D mammography over 2D because multiple images are taken from different angles, which may make breast tissue analysis clearer.

Here's a deeper dive into these topics.

Breast cancer is a disease that occurs in breast tissue when cells in the breast "change and grow out of control," according to MedlinePlus, an online health information service produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

The cells that cause breast cancer usually form a tumor — an abnormal mass of tissue.

Cancer cells and cancerous tumors (malignant) are dangerous because they can disrupt organ functions and kill healthy cells if left to spread, which can cause serious harm or death if left untreated, according to a report from MedicalNewsToday, a medical news website owned by Healthline Media.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer, says the National Cancer Institute.

Breast cancer diagnoses are extremely rare in teens. Teen girls between ages 15 and 19 have an incidence rate of 0.2 per 100,000, the CDC indicates.

Girls younger than 15 don’t have a calculated breast cancer incidence rate because the CDC suppresses data when there are fewer than 16 cases, which the agency notes on its "United States Cancer Statistics: Data Visualizations" webpage.

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Breast cancer incidence rates steadily increase with age, but it remains low for women under age 40, CDC data shows.

While not all experts agree on whether women under age 40 should receive mammograms, young women in their 20s and 30s have been diagnosed with breast cancer, according to incidence data published by the CDC, which dates back to 2019.

Women between the ages of 20 and 24 have a breast cancer incidence rate of 1.8 per 100,000. 

The incidence rate jumps to 10.5 per 1000,000 women, 30.1 per 100,000 women and 64.8 per 100,000 women, for women ages 25 to 29, 30 to 34 and 35 to 39, respectively.

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Breast cancer incidence rates spike from ages 40 to 74, the CDC’s data shows.

The incidence rate for middle-aged women steadily increases every four years. For example, women ages 40 to 44 have a breast cancer incidence rate of 131.7 per 100,000 women while women ages 55 to 59 have a breast cancer incidence rate of 273.3 per 100,000 women.

Breast cancer diagnoses are even more common in senior women. The CDC’s data show women from age 60 to 64 have a breast cancer incidence rate of 339.8 per 100,000 women while women from age 65 to 69 have a breast cancer incidence rate of 425.2 per 100,000 women and women from age 70 to 74 have a breast cancer incidence rate of 475.8 per 100,000 women — the highest of any age group.

Declines in breast cancer incidence rates start to happen after age 75, according to the CDC.

Mammograms are an X-ray procedure that helps doctors detect early signs of breast cancer, according to the CDC.

The machines used to conduct mammograms have plastic plates that flatten breasts, so X-ray images can be taken and analyzed by radiologists for abnormalities.

Mammogram results are typically reported in a few weeks, according to the CDC.

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Women with dense breasts have a higher chance of getting breast cancer, the health agency reports, but some women have higher-density breasts if they’re younger in age, pregnant or breastfeeding, taking hormone replacement therapy or have a lower body weight.

"Dense tissue can hide cancers," the CDC wrote in a "What Does It Mean to Have Dense Breasts?" report.

"Fibrous and glandular tissue looks white on a mammogram. So does a possible tumor," the CDC continued. "Because it’s hard to tell the difference between a tumor and dense breast tissue on a mammogram, a small tumor may be missed."

Dr. Mona Jhaveri, cancer researcher and founder of Music Beats Cancer, a creative nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital that dense breast tissue occurs in half of all women ages 40 and up.

"It's well known that detecting cancer lesions in women with dense breast tissue can be difficult," Jhaveri said. "Mammography is the standard of care for breast cancer screening, [but] it certainly has its risks and limitations."

Potential risks associated with mammography screening include overdiagnosis, false positives, anxiety and radiation injury, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in disease prevention — says women who place a higher value on the potential benefit of mammography over potential harm can choose to begin breast cancer screening once every two years between ages 40 and 49 years. 

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The CDC says similar breast screening guidelines have been issued to women ages 40 to 49 with "average risk" by the American Cancer Society, American College of Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Radiology, American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians.

Three out of the six aforementioned cancer organizations recommend annual mammograms for concerned women who are between the ages of 40 and 49, if they so choose.

Women who are age 50 and older are generally advised to get mammograms done annually or bi-annually.

All cancer organizations advise women to speak with a health care provider to weigh the potential benefits and risks of getting a mammogram.

Age and family history of cancer are two factors that are taken into consideration during mammogram consultations, the CDC reports.

Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a Dallas-based OB-GYN who is chief medical officer at Verywell Health, a health information website, said most breast cancer cases are diagnosed after age 50, which is why mammograms are usually done for women who are closer to that age marker.

"The dose of radiation from a mammogram is pretty low and very rarely poses a risk, making them a safe diagnostic tool, and typically someone only needs a mammogram once a year. Therefore there is no risk of too much radiation exposure," Shepherd told Fox News Digital.

She noted that there’s a "small link to an increased risk of breast cancer over time due to [mammogram] frequency and also size of the breasts," but "overall this increase in risk is very small." 

Delaying a breast cancer diagnosis has a higher risk than radiation exposure, Shepherd said.

"When caught early, breast cancer is highly treatable, and mammograms can be highly beneficial in these cases," Shepherd continued. "If [breast cancer is] allowed to advance, a patient may have to receive more complex treatment such as surgery or chemo, which is way more invasive than radiation exposure from a mammogram."

Other breast cancer screening methods exist for women who aren’t eligible or don’t want to undergo a mammogram.

The CDC lists breast ultrasounds, breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) clinical breast examinations and self-checks as possible screenings for breast cancer.

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Ultrasounds generate pictures (AKA sonograms) using sound waves while MRIs are computerized body scans that generate pictures using magnets.

Clinical breast exams are conducted by a doctor or nurse. During exams, medical professionals check for abnormal lumps or other physically detectable changes in breast tissue by hand.

Women can check their breasts for common breast cancer symptoms, including lumps, pain and changes in size.

"You should report any changes that you notice to your doctor or health care provider," the CDC wrote in a "What Is Breast Cancer Screening?" guide. 

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"Having a clinical breast exam or doing a breast self-exam has not been found to lower the risk of dying from breast cancer," the CDC also said.

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Taking 10K steps may be associated with reduction in risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease deaths: study

Taking up to 10,000 steps every day may be associated with a reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality, as well as the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to research published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

A group of international researchers found in a Sept. 12 study that higher step intensity may provide additional benefits.

The group used UK Biobank study data from 2013 to 2015, including 78,500 individuals in the study population, who included adults ages 40 to 79 years old in England, Scotland and Wales. 

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Participants – 55% of whom were women with an average age of 61 years, and the majority of whom were White – were invited by email to partake in an accelerometer study.

The UK adults wore Axivity AX3 wrist accelerometers, which measured daily step count and established cadence-based step-intensity measures.

Their health monitored was a median of seven years. 

Morbidity and mortality were ascertained through October of last year, and data analyses were performed in March 2022. 

During those years, 1,325 participants died of cancer, and 664 died of cardiovascular disease. 

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Using statistical modeling, researchers said that more daily steps were associated with a lower risk of mortality, as well as lower incident disease. 

"Steps performed at a higher cadence may be associated with additional risk reduction, particularly for incident disease," the study noted.

Every 2,000 steps showed that the risk for premature death could fall by 8%-11%.

Limitations to the study include that the design of the study precludes the authors from making causal claims, that the step-count data was collected only once at the starting point of the study, that covariates were not measured at accelerometer-wear date, that some potential for reverse causation may still exist, that the UK Biobank had a very low response rate and participants were not representative of the overall UK population, that residual or unmeasured confounding may still be present and that the relative energy cost of walking and other daily activities is higher in older adults. 

A related study published in JAMA Neurology also found that walking up to 10,000 steps a day – and more steps at a higher intensity – may be associated with a lower risk of dementia onset.

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COVID symptoms rebound after Paxlovid may be due to immune system response

A rebound of COVID-19 symptoms in some patients after taking Pfizer's antiviral Paxlovid may be related to a robust immune response rather than a weak one, U.S. government researchers reported on Thursday.

They concluded that taking a longer course of the drug - beyond the recommended five days - was not required to reduce the risk of a recurrence of symptoms as some have suggested, based on an intensive investigation of rebound in eight patients at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center.

All patients in the study had developed robust immune responses, but researchers found higher levels of antibodies in the patients who experienced a rebound.

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The team said their data argues against the hypothesis that impaired immune responses are the reason symptoms return in some patients.

"Our findings suggest that a more robust immune response rather than uncontrolled viral replication characterizes these clinical rebounds," the team wrote.

The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, followed numerous reports of individuals who took Paxlovid as recommended within five days of infection and saw a return of symptoms after they completed the five-day course of treatment.

President Joe Biden and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci both experienced a COVID rebound after taking the medicine.

The cases raised concerns that Pfizer's two-drug antiviral treatment could interfere with development of a long-lasting immune response.

The study involved six people whose COVID symptoms returned after taking Paxlovid, and two with rebound symptoms after apparent recovery who did not take the pills. Their responses were compared to a group of six people who had COVID but did not experience a rebound. All volunteers had been vaccinated and boosted and all were infected with some version of the Omicron variant of the virus.

Blood from study volunteers underwent intensive investigation to assess their immune response during the acute infection phase and the rebound phase.

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All of the rebound patients had experienced significant improvement in their symptoms before their rebound. Of those who had a rebound after Paxlovid, four had milder symptoms than during their initial infection, one had the same level of severity and one reported worse symptoms.

None of the rebound patients required additional treatment or hospitalization.

Rebound symptoms may be partially driven by a robust immune response to residual virus in the respiratory tract, the study authors suggested. They concluded that the drug does not impede the immune response in some individuals, as some had feared.

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Larger and more detailed studies are needed to further understand COVID symptom rebound, the research team said, adding that the current data supports the need for isolation of such patients.

The researchers also suggested that there is still a need to evaluate longer courses of Paxlovid in immunocompromised individuals where the immune response may be ineffective.

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Travelers entering US from Uganda to be screened for Ebola

The Biden administration announced Thursday that travelers entering the United States from Uganda would be screened for Ebola as the disease spreads across the African country.

Currently, Ebola cases outside Uganda have not been reported; however, the disease is highly contagious and spreads through bodily fluids. Although the risk of Ebola spreading beyond Uganda to the U.S. is low, American health officials are worried due to the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the virus.

Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued the directive for airport screenings. The State Department ensured additional measures for travelers from Uganda that will also apply to U.S. citizens. 

If an individual has traveled to Uganda within the last 21 days, then they will be redirected to five American airports for Ebola screening, including JFK International Airport, Washington-Dulles International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Chicago-O’Hare International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

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The CDC will conduct temperature and symptoms checks for each passenger as well as contact information verification. The agency will share the information with the local health departments when the travelers return to home.

The administration notes that approximately 145 people travel from Uganda to the U.S. per day, and therefore, the directive will begin rolling out immediately. If an individual is set to fly to a different airport, then their flights will be rebooked by the airline, according to the administration. 

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While screenings have begun, travel restrictions will not go into effect until next week, according to the New York Times. Uganda currently has 44 confirmed cases of Ebola, with 10 deaths, making it one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in decades. 

Common symptoms of Ebola generally appear in the form of fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and internal and external bleeding in certain cases. 

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India testing cough syrup linked to child deaths in West Africa

India is testing samples of cough syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals for exports after the World Health Organization said its products were linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, the country's health ministry said on Thursday.

The deaths of 66 children in the West African country is a blow to India's image as a "pharmacy of the world" that supplies medicines to all continents, especially Africa.

The WHO on Wednesday said laboratory analysis of four Maiden products - Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup - had confirmed "unacceptable" amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be toxic and lead to acute kidney injury.

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Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are used in antifreeze and brake fluids and other industrial applications but also as a cheaper alternative in some pharmaceutical products.

India's health ministry said samples of the same batch manufactured by Maiden for all four drugs has been sent for testing to a federal laboratory and the results would "guide further course of action as well as bring clarity on the inputs received/to be received from WHO."

It asked the WHO to share its report on "establishment of causal relation to death with the medical products in question."

The WHO did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Anil Vij, the health minister of Haryana state where Maiden has its factories, warned of "strict action if anything is found wrong" after the tests.

Naresh Kumar Goyal, a Maiden director, told Reuters that it heard about the deaths only on Thursday morning and were trying to find out details.

"We are trying to find out the situation because it cropped up only today," he said by phone. "We are trying to find out with the buyer and all that what has happened exactly. We are not selling anything in India." He declined to speak further.

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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Wednesday that the U.N. agency was investigating the deaths from acute kidney injuries with India's drug regulator and the drug maker.

The agency informed the Drugs Controller General of India of the deaths late last month after which the regulator launched an investigation with state authorities in tandem with the WHO.

Maiden, which launched its operations in November 1990, manufactured and exported the syrup only to Gambia, the Indian health ministry said. Maiden on its website says it has two manufacturing plants, in Kundli and Panipat, both near New Delhi in Haryana, and has recently set up another one.

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Maiden has an annual production capacity of 2.2 million syrup bottles, 600 million capsules, 18 million injections, 300,000 ointment tubes and 1.2 billion tablets.

Maiden on its website says it sells its products at home and exports to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, although Goyal said they were not currently selling in India.

The health ministry said importing countries typically test such products before allowing their use.

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Health officials call for flu shots ahead of potentially severe season

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans to get their flu shot ahead of a season that is predicted to be especially active. 

Levels of the flu had been historically low amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but Australia recently saw a particularly nasty flu season, sparking fears worldwide. 

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday urged Americans to get a shot before the end of the month.

"Over the past two years, we've seen some worrisome drops in flu vaccination coverage, especially in some groups of people who are at the highest risk of developing serious flu illness," she noted. 

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Walensky said that people who were vaccinated were 35% less likely to get sick with influenza than those who were not. 

Notably, pregnant people and children – who are at higher risk of serious complications from the flu – experienced some of the greatest drops in coverage over the last two seasons.

In a release from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), which hosted the conference, Walensky said that nearly half of U.S. adults received their flu vaccine. 

Data from the NFID found only 49% of U.S. adults plan to get a vaccine during the 2022-2023 season. 

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Health experts and the CDC are calling on everyone ages 6 months and older to get an updated quadrivalent flu shot, with some exceptions. 

Seniors should ask for a special extra-strength kind and there are three that are preferentially recommended for people ages 65 and older.

Those include the Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine, Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccine and Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine.

Fluad Adjuvanted, unlike the others, has a regular dosage but contains a special ingredient that helps boost people’s immune response.

Seniors can ask what kind their doctors carry, although most vaccinations are given in pharmacies. 

If a location is out of senior-targeted doses, the CDC says it’s better to get a standard flu shot than to skip vaccination,

Vaccine manufacturers have projected that they will supply the nation with as many as 173.5 million to 183.5 million doses of influenza vaccines for the 2022-2023 season. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Another COVID variant could emerge this winter, Fauci warns

White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned Tuesday that "we should not be surprised" if a new COVID-19 variant emerges in the winter. 

Speaking during an event with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, Fauci said that while pandemic trends like hospitalizations were down nationwide, challenges still lie ahead.

"We should anticipate that we very well may get another variant that would emerge that would elude the immune response that we've gotten from infection and/or from vaccination," Fauci said, noting that there's always the risk of an uptick of respiratory diseases during the winter months. 

Last winter, the omicron variant led to a surge in cases, and multiple sublineages have spread since then.

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"Remember, we were going in the right direction in the summer of 2021 and along came delta. Then, in the winter – November, December of 2021 – along came omicron. And, since then, we've had multiple sublineages of omicron," he said.

The White House and health officials are encouraging eligible Americans to get an updated omicron-specific booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine.

Fauci pointed out that the vaccine was directed at the major-circulating variant.

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Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows BA.5 is the prevalent variant, making up more than 81% of cases.

According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, COVID-19 has killed more than a million people in the U.S. and infected over 96 million.

In the past day, there have been more than 42,000 new cases and 542 new deaths.

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Kelly Osbourne's gestational diabetes: It can happen in third trimester of pregnancy

Kelly Osbourne, a daughter of Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne, was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her third trimester of pregnancy — and now she's raising awareness that the illness can be diagnosed later in the course of a pregnancy.

"First of all, gestational diabetes is not your fault," the 37-year-old TV personality said about the condition, in an interview with People. 

"At first I thought it was something that I had done," she added.

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"I only got diagnosed with it well into my third trimester, so it wasn't like I developed it as some people get it from the get-go when they're pregnant."

Here's a deeper dive into the medical issue.

Gestational diabetes is a specific type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The condition affects approximately 10% of pregnant women in the U.S. every year, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

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It usually develops around the 24th week of pregnancy — so if women have higher blood sugars earlier in their pregnancy, this may suggest they have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and not gestational diabetes, per the CDC.

Gestational diabetes usually disappears after the woman gives birth, but not always.

The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin "that acts like a key to let blood sugar into the cells in your body for use as energy," the CDC noted on its website. 

During pregnancy, however, sometimes the insulin doesn’t work as well as it should.

That leads the body to require more need for the hormone in a condition called insulin resistance. 

"All pregnant women have some insulin resistance during late pregnancy," the CDC noted. 

But there is a subset of women who have insulin resistance before pregnancy.

These women start the pregnancy with an increased need for insulin — so this predisposes them to have gestational diabetes, per the CDC.

The condition can also be caused by the body's inability to produce enough insulin during the pregnancy, the ADA added. 

When there is not enough insulin, the body’s blood sugar stays in the bloodstream, eventually building up in the blood in a condition called hyperglycemia.

The typical symptoms of diabetes are frequent urination — especially at night — plus drinking a lot of water, feeling thirsty and experiencing numbness in the hands or feet, according to the CDC.

Osbourne complained of rapid weight gain, unusual fatigue and ankle swelling, according to People. 

But gestational diabetes typically doesn’t have any symptoms. 

All women should be screened for the condition during the pregnancy, often during their 24th to 28th week of pregnancy, but sometimes earlier if mothers have more risk factors for the condition, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

The first screening for gestational diabetes may involve a glucose screening test, which measures the blood sugar in real time. The patient is then directed to drink a liquid that contains glucose — and re-tested one hour later.

A normal blood sugar result is 140 mg/dL or lower; but if the level is higher than 140 mg/dL, another test known as a glucose tolerance test is indicated, according to the CDC.

A glucose tolerance test is when the patient first gets a fasting blood sugar reading — so the patient is directed to fast the night before the test. 

The patient then drinks a liquid the following morning and has her blood sugar measured at one, two and sometimes three hours afterward. 

The results depend on the size of the glucose drink and how often the blood sugar is tested.

"About 50% of women with gestational diabetes go on to develop Type 2 diabetes, but there are steps you can take to prevent it," the CDC said.

Gestational diabetes affects the mother after the baby's body is formed, so it does not cause the birth defects that are sometimes seen in mothers who have diabetes prior to pregnancy, according to the ADA. 

But the baby can still be affected by the increase in sugar level in the mother. 

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Although insulin does not cross the placenta, glucose still does, which in turn causes high sugars in the baby. 

The baby’s pancreas responds by working "overtime" to produce more insulin to decrease the high glucose levels, per the ADA.

The extra sugar levels may cause the baby to have more energy than needed, so the baby’s body may respond by storing the extra energy as fat, in a condition known as macrosomia, or "fat" baby.

Women will need more frequent prenatal care visits and track their blood's status more often, according to ACOG.

For many, a healthier diet and regular exercise will help get blood sugars under control — but some women may also need medication to reach a normal blood sugar, ACOG added.

Osbourne worked on decreasing the amount of sugar in her diet and watching her carbohydrate intake, according to People.

She also told the news outlet that she doesn’t have to wear compression socks anymore after cutting the sugar out of her diet.

Osbourne is teaming up with No Sugar Company, set to launch a new international holiday called "No Sugar Day" on Oct. 3.

The average adult consumes two to three times of daily recommended sugar intake, while the average child consumes eight times the recommended amount, according to the company’s website. 

"The health effects of refined sugar can be long-lasting and damaging," the website added.

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"However, that hasn't stopped the food industry from filling their products with refined sugar," the company said.

"Together we can raise awareness of North America's refined sugar problem. It's time to get loud. It's time to make a change." 

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Flu shot this fall: Here's why doctors are urging we all get it

Today's vaccine-weary Americans will be on the receiving end of an important message from their doctors this fall (if they haven't heard it already).

The message is this: Don’t skip your flu shot this year — and seniors, please ask for a special extra-strength kind.

After flu hit historically low levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be poised for a comeback, The Associated Press is reporting. 

The main clue: A nasty flu season just ended in Australia.

SHOULD YOU GET THE FLU SHOT THIS YEAR? DOCTORS REVEAL THEIR DECISION

While there’s no way to predict if the U.S. will be as hard-hit or not, "last year we were going into flu season not knowing if flu was around or not. This year we know flu is back," influenza specialist Richard Webby of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., told the AP.

Annual flu shots are recommended starting with 6-month-old babies. 

Flu is most dangerous for people 65 and older, young children, pregnant women and people with certain health problems, including heart and lung diseases.

"It is a perfectly good time for [people] to get the shot, right now," Dr. Aaron Glatt, M.D., chair of the Department of Medicine and chief of Infectious Diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York, told Fox News Digital last week. 

He is also a hospital epidemiologist. 

Here’s what other health and medical professionals are saying that you need to know this flu season. 

As people get older, their immune system doesn’t respond as strongly to standard flu vaccination. 

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This year, people 65 or older are urged to get a special kind for extra protection.

There are three choices. Fluzone High-Dose and Flublok each contain higher doses of the main anti-flu ingredient. 

The other option is Fluad Adjuvanted, which has a regular dosage but contains a special ingredient that helps boost people’s immune response, the AP reported.

Seniors can and should ask what kind of flu shot their doctor is carrying. 

But most flu vaccinations are given in pharmacies — and some drugstore websites, such as CVS, automatically direct people to locations offering senior doses if their birthdate indicates that they qualify.

Webby of Memphis advised making sure older relatives and friends know about the senior shots, in case they’re not told when they seek vaccination.

"They should at least ask, ‘Do you have the shots that are better for me?’" Webby said, as the AP reported. "The bottom line is they do work better" for this age group, he said.

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If a location is out of senior-targeted doses, it’s better to get a standard flu shot than to skip vaccination altogether, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

All flu vaccines in the U.S. — including types for people younger than 65 — are "quadrivalent," meaning they guard against four different flu strains, the AP is reporting.

Younger people have choices, too, including shots for those with egg allergies and a nasal spray version called FluMist.

Australia just experienced its worst flu season in five years — and what happens during the Southern Hemisphere winters often foreshadows what Northern Hemisphere countries can expect, said Dr. Andrew Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the AP noted.

Also, many people have abandoned masking and distancing precautions that earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic also helped prevent the spread of other respiratory bugs such as the flu.

KIDS' MASK USE SHOULD NOT BE FORCED, STUDY AUTHORS ARGUE

"This poses a risk especially to young children who may not have had much if any previous exposure to influenza viruses prior to this season," Pekosz added.

"This year we will have a true influenza season like we saw before the pandemic," said Dr. Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Washington University in St. Louis, according to the AP.

Children’s hospitals already are seeing an unusual early spike in other respiratory infections including RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus — and there are worries flu likewise will strike earlier than usual as in Australia.

SEVERE COMMON COLD CASES INCREASING AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN MAY BE PEGGED TO COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS

The CDC advises a flu vaccine by the end of October. 

However, the flu shot can be given at any time during flu season. It takes about two weeks for protection to set in.

The U.S. expects 173 million to 183 million doses this year. 

And yes, you can get a flu shot and an updated COVID-19 booster at the same time — one in each arm to lessen soreness, say experts. 

Dr. Fred Davis, the associate chair of Emergency Medicine at Northwell Health in Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital that he sees a number of flu cases present to the emergency department each year. 

Davis also recommends that people get a flu vaccine ideally before the end of October — before flu cases start to rise.

Davis also said, "It is important that those individuals six months and older and [those] who have not had previous severe allergic reactions get their flu shot every year." 

The Associated Press, as well as Amy McGorry, contributed reporting to this article. 

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Hurricane Ian causing ‘emotional trauma’ on top of physical devastation, says doctor

While hurricanes are known for causing swift and often devastating physical destruction, they can also cause equally serious emotional damage, said Dr. Janette Nesheiwat on Saturday, Oct. 1.

"It's a traumatizing experience," said Nesheiwat, a board-certified family and emergency medical professional and a Fox News medical contributor, during a "Fox & Friends Weekend" segment. 

"You nearly lost your life, or you lost all your belongings. It's a shock to the body." 

HURRICANE IAN: LATEST UPDATES 

This shock, she explained, can result in unclear decision-making by victims.

After a storm, she said, "you're in distress, you're stressed out, you don't know what to do, you don't know where to go — and that's where you make poor decisions."

Added Nesheiwat, "That's when the PTSD kicks in. That's when the infections set in."

Dirty floodwaters can be another source of trouble, said Dr. Nesheiwat. 

These floodwaters are often teeming with bacteria, which can infect cuts or scrapes in the skin. The infections, if left untreated, could turn serious. 

SHELTER FROM THE STORM: AMID HURRICANE IAN, FLORIDA SCHOOLS OPEN THEIR DOORS TO HELP NEIGHBORS IN NEED

"It's filled with sewage, and chemicals, and debris, and glass, and rusty metal and that sort of thing," she said. 

Nesheiwat noted that after Hurricane Katrina, she encountered many patients who were dealing with ulcers, respiratory issues and other infections that arose after the storm. 

HURRICANE IAN WEATHER TIPS: HOW TO KEEP YOUR PET SAFE DURING A STORM

Additionally, Nesheiwat raised concerns about the improper use of generators in the event of a power outage. 

If people aren't careful, they may put themselves at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be deadly. 

Nesheiwat came back to the topic of mental health issues during extreme weather events.

"The mental aspect of this, the emotional trauma, is really, truly devastating," she said — and should be handled with the same amount of concern and attention given to physical health issues, she suggested. 

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"Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy said that parents who are "suppressing some of their stress in order to keep [their] kids calm" are under pressure, too. 

Health issues are compounded for the medically vulnerable, especially seniors, said Nesheiwat. 

She advised that these individuals — ahead of any storm — take extra precautions such as making a "ready-to-go kit" and ensuring that medications are bagged up to stay dry and undamaged.

These bags should contain identification, money, chargers, a pair of dry clothes, snacks and some water, she said.

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"The best thing you can do is always — first of all — heed the warnings of the local officials," she said. 

Those who have elderly or vulnerable neighbors should check on them, she said, and use specially created hotlines for assistance if needed.

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In terms of all those who have been reaching out to others in this time of need, Dr. Nesheiwat said that "it's beautiful to see the community coming together, working together, supporting one another."

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Monkeypox likely to be continuing threat in US for next few years, says CDC official

Monkeypox is probably not going away any time soon, according to some U.S. health officials, The Associated Press is reporting.

While the disease’s spread is slowing, the monkeypox virus is so widespread that elimination is unlikely, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

That conclusion was contained in a recent CDC report — and on Friday, Marc Lipsitch, director of science at the agency’s disease-forecasting center, echoed it.

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Lipsitch hesitated to say that monkeypox is permanently here to stay, but he said it stands to be a continuing threat for the next few years, the AP noted.

"It’s in many geographic locations within the country" — as well as in other countries, Lipsitch told The Associated Press. 

"There’s no clear path in our mind to complete elimination domestically," he added.

The virus has mainly spread among gay and bisexual men, though health officials continue to stress that anyone can be infected. 

People at risk need to take steps to prevent the spread — and it's vital that vaccination efforts continue, Lipsitch said.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said recently that she was cautiously optimistic about a decline in the growth of new monkeypox cases, but that some areas of the country were still experiencing a rise in infections.

She also said during a White House briefing in mid-September that the agency was taking steps to address racial and ethnic disparities in distribution of monkeypox vaccines.

The recent CDC report did contain some good news, the AP said. 

The U.S. outbreak seems to have peaked in early August. 

The average number of daily cases being reported — fewer than 150 — is about a third of what was reported in the middle of the summer.

MONKEYPOX: WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS — AND HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Officials expect the decline will continue for at least the next several weeks, the AP said this week.

Lipsitch attributed the good news to increasing vaccinations, cautious behavior by people at risk and infection-derived immunity in the highest risk populations.

Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, agreed it’s unlikely that the spread of monkeypox will stop in the U.S. anytime soon, but he said it’s still possible in the long term.

If domestic transmission were stopped, infections may still continue if people catch the virus while traveling internationally, he said. 

But the fact that cases are declining makes it appear that "we’ve turned a real corner."

MONKEYPOX IN AMERICA: WHO'S AT RISK AND WHY? 

"The efforts underway are succeeding, and should be continued, if not intensified," he told the AP.

With case numbers going down, this is a good time for local health departments to take a new stab at doing intensive contact tracing to try to stop chains of transmission, he said.

Monkeypox is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals, but it wasn’t considered a disease that spreads easily among people until May, when infections emerged in Europe and the U.S., said The Associated Press.

The disease was first discovered in Africa in 1958 when monkeys started to develop pox-like symptoms; however, the exact source of the infection remains unknown.

There have been more than 67,000 cases reported in countries that have not historically seen monkeypox. The U.S. has the most infections of any country — more than 25,600. One U.S. death has been attributed to monkeypox.

WHO DECLARES MONKEYPOX A GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY

More than 97% of the U.S. cases are men, the AP noted. The vast majority have been men who reported recent sexual contact with other men.

Though cases have been declining, the proportion of new cases that have information about recent sexual contact is also down, officials said. 

That’s causing a growing blind spot about how the virus may be spreading, Lipsitch noted.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic virus capable of spreading from animals to humans and is in the same disease category as smallpox. 

In 2022, monkeypox became a part of an ongoing viral outbreak, with most cases starting to cluster in the United Kingdom after traveling to Nigeria. 

There are two monkeypox types: the West African version and the Central African version. 

Typically, an animal spreads the disease by biting or scratching a human or if an individual consumes infected meat. 

Transmission from human to human is the most common way the disease has spread throughout the outbreak. 

Typically this transmission occurs via exposure to contaminated items, bodily fluid, and small droplets. Monkeypox may also spread through an airborne route in closed areas. 

The disease can spread to others until all the lesions have disappeared or fallen off. An individual can see if they are positive for the disease by testing a lesion.

Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash typically with blisters that crust. 

The World Health Organization and the CDC state the time from exposure to physical symptoms starts within two to four weeks.

Mild disease symptoms, such as muscle pains and fevers, are not common in all outbreaks and may vary worldwide. 

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Children, pregnant women or individuals with compromised immune systems may experience severe symptoms. 

There is no known cure for monkeypox, and in severe cases, the WHO recommends using antiviral vaccines such as vaccinia immune globulin (VIG), which was used to treat smallpox. 

Other smallpox and monkeypox vaccines have been approved but currently have limited availability. 

Medical experts recommend those with monkeypox isolate themselves and inform others they may have been in contact with — as well as keep well-hydrated.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article. 

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Two-thirds of U.S. adults do not plan on getting COVID boosters

Around two-thirds of adults in the United States are not planning to get the updated COVID-19 booster shots soon, according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a health policy nonprofit organization.

Only a third of adults polled said they either already received the updated shots or plan to get the booster as soon as possible, the poll found.

About 18% said they would wait and see whether they would get the new booster shot, while 10% said they would only get it if it was required. About 12% of adults surveyed said they would definitely not get the shot, while 27% said they were not eligible because they were not fully vaccinated.

About 7.6 million people received the updated shots over the first four weeks the boosters have been available, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data released on Thursday. That represents about 3.5% of the 215.5 million people in the United States aged 12 or older who are eligible to receive the shots because they have completed their primary vaccination series.

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Last month, the Food and Drug Administration authorized reformulated versions of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Inc. vaccines that aim to protect against the omicron subvariants.

FAUCI ADMITS 'CERTAIN ASPECTS' OF THE GOVERNMENT'S COVID-19 RESPONSE WERE 'BOTCHED'

The reformulated shots target both the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants that many are catching.

The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey found that awareness of the updated boosters was relatively modest, with about half of adults saying they’ve heard "a lot" (17%) or "some" (33%) about the new shots.

Additionally, around 40% of fully vaccinated adults said they were not sure whether the new COVID-19 boosters are recommended for them. The CDC recommended that all people aged 12 and older get the reformulated COVID-19 booster at least two months after being fully vaccinated.

For the survey, KFF polled 1,534 adults from Sept. 15 to Sept. 26.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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British health officials recommend everyone over the age of 55 be screened for lung cancer

Health officials in the United Kingdom are recommending that citizens older than 55 who have smoked a cigarette, even once, should be checked for lung cancer. 

The U.K. National Screening Committee made this recommendation to help fight against the disease that has become the most cause of cancer death in the country. The age recommendation from the committee is any individual from 55 to 74 who has smoked at any point in their lives should be assessed, according to The Telegraph. 

Lung cancer can become deadly because patients are often diagnosed when the disease is more severe due to not having regular medical check-ups. Every year, approximately 35,000 people in the United Kingdom die from lung cancer. 

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The U.K. Cancer Research organization endorsed the recommendation and added that it should be implemented "as swiftly as possible."

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"We welcome this recommendation and urge governments in all four U.K. nations to roll out a targeted lung cancer screening program as swiftly as possible,: said Dr Ian Walker in a statement to The Telegraph. 

Walked added, "Lung cancer causes more deaths in the U.K. than any other cancer type, and screening could save lives by diagnosing people at an earlier stage – when treatment is more likely to be successful.'

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Katie Couric's breast cancer: What other women can learn from her diagnosis

Longtime television journalist Katie Couric announced this week that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June of this year and has now undergone successful surgery to remove a 2.5-centimeter tumor. 

"Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. On June 21st, I became one of them," Couric tweeted on Sept. 28, 2022.

Couric decided to have "breast conservation" surgery followed by radiation and medication, as Fox News Digital just reported.

KATIE COURIC ANNOUNCES BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS, UNDERWENT SUCCESSFUL SURGERY

Mammography and ultrasound are lifesaving tools — and women need to put mammography at the top of their to-do list, Dr. Marisa Weiss, chief medical officer and founder of Breastcancer.org, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.

Dr. Weiss currently practices at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Penn., where she serves as director of breast radiation oncology and director of breast health outreach.

"Breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect women," said Weiss. 

"And there is an opportunity to find it early and save lives. Our best tool to find breast cancer early before it spreads to other parts of the body is mammography — digital mammography."

She added, "Mammography could save your life. It can help you get the best and most effective treatment with the least side effects."

Dr. Weiss said that it is critical to find breast cancer early, "when it can be the most effectively treated with the least aggressive therapies."

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She also said, "Most breast cancer is found through mammography. Roughly, a third or 40 percent is found through mammography, 20-25% is found through physical exam alone and the rest of cases are found with a combination of the two."

Weiss said the "best shot at early detection" depends on "high quality mammography done early — each year starting at age 40."

She also said that many women "are coming in with much later stages of disease because their mammogram slipped off their schedule during the [COVID] pandemic."

Weiss noted that this is "particularly true for people who have less access to quality care."

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"The people who are most likely to have a delayed diagnosis, because of the pandemic and having a harder time getting access to mammography, are people who are [among] under-represented populations," she noted.

"Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with later stages of disease and at an earlier age," she said.

If a woman's doctor advises an ultrasound of the breast after a mammogram, the doctor is looking for more information on a potential trouble spot, said Weiss.

"Ultrasound is generally not a screening test," said Weiss, "but a supplemental test. If you see anything you’re concerned about, ultrasound — which uses sound waves — can see what is going on in that location."

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An ultrasound can find a "lump, irregularity, or architectural distortion" in the breast, she noted.

"It's another way to look at the breast, can be very helpful to in deciding if it’s a fluid-filled structure, like a cyst, or a solid spot like a nodule that could be cancer," she explained.

Ultrasounds contain "no radiation, so it's used regularly," said Weiss. 

"If a mammogram shows anything that’s a little bit questionable, it’s a nice add-on, particularly if you’re a young person."

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She emphasized, "Mammography could save your life. It can help you get the best and most effective treatment with the least side effects."

She added, "Our life is our greatest gift, and it’s our job to take care of ourselves."

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Kids with head lice don't need to leave school: report

Health experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) say children don't have to be sent home from school if they have head lice.

The Illinois-based association of pediatricians issued a clinical report on Monday, Sept. 26, which states lice are not a "health hazard" because they are not connected to disease and have a low transmission rate.

"There is significant stigma resulting from head lice infestations in high-income countries, resulting in children and adolescents being ostracized from their schools, friends, and other social events," the AAP’s report said. "Head lice can be psychologically stressful to the affected individual."

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The AAP recommends against "no-nit" policies that prohibit students from attending school while having a lice infestation.

The association warned that such policies haven't been proven to be effective and could put a school at legal risk because it may violate the civil liberties of students.

Caregivers and medical professionals should instead focus on providing lice education and treatment, according to the AAP.

Treatment options include pediculicides – lice killing agents – approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including permethrin 1% lotion, pyrethrin and piperonyl butoxide shampoo, ivermectin 0.5% lotion or an ivermectin 3-milligram tablet, malathion 0.5% lotion and spinosad 0.9% suspension.

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Alternative treatments the AAP recommends include using botanical agents for killing or repelling lice, occlusive agents, desiccants and manual removal.

- Botanical agents for killing or repelling lice: Various essential oils, such as Ageratum, Aloysia, Aniba, Annona, Cananga [ylang ylang], Cinnamomum, Cocos, Curcuma, Elletaria, Eucalyptus, Eugenia, Geranium, Heliantus, Juniperus, Lavandula, Lippia, Litsea, Melaleuca, Melia, Mentha, Monarda, Myrcianthes, Origanum, Pimpinella, Rosmarinus, Salvia, Schinus, Tagetes, tea tree, Zingiberaceae or citronella

- Occlusive agents: Home remedies made with petrolatum, mayonnaise, melted butter or margarine, olive oil, dimethicone or face cleanser

- Desiccants: Natrum muriaticum, isopropyl myristate or an AirAllé device

- Manual removal: Physical and electronic nit combs, vinegar-based products or hair shaving

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Caregivers and school personnel who are without health care backgrounds should contact medical professionals if single or community-wide lice infestations show resistance toward over-the-counter treatments, the AAP's report said.

The AAP also noted that lice cannot hop or jump and can only travel by crawling – meaning transmission usually occurs between people who have direct contact with lice-infested hair.

Head-to-head contact is the most common transmission method, but indirect spread can happen through when someone makes contact with personal belongings that are shared with a lice-infested person, such as combs, brushes, hats and sports helmets. 

These indirect transmission methods are "much less likely to occur," according to the AAP.

"Lice found on combs are likely to be injured or dead, and a louse is not likely to leave a healthy head unless there is a heavy infestation," the AAP wrote in its updated report.

"In one study, live lice were found on only 4% of pillowcases used by infested persons," the AAP continued. "Thus, the major focus of control activities should be to reduce the number of lice on an individual’s head and to lessen the risks of head-to-head contact."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agrees with the AAP's stance on head lice in schools.

The national health agency acknowledges that lice can be a "nuisance" on its "Head Lice Information for Schools" webpage, but the CDC goes on to say that these parasitic insects haven't been shown to spread disease and aren’t an indicator of poor personal hygiene or cleanliness.

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"Students diagnosed with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun," the CDC wrote. "Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice."

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Anxiety screenings recommended by US task force will cause overdiagnosis, overprescription, psychologist warns

Pushing primary care doctors to screen all patients for anxiety will lead to overdiagnosis and overprescribing, as well as exacerbate existing shortages in mental health resources, a psychologist said. 

"It’s the wrong solution at the wrong time," Dr. Jonathan Shedler, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, told Fox News. "You can’t just carve the world into disorders and think you’re doing an adequate job of determining someone’s mental health needs."

Earlier this month, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that all adults under 65 get screened for anxiety as more Americans report symptoms of mental health issues following the COVID-19 pandemic. The advisory group, which released the guidance as a draft, said the purpose was to help prevent mental health disorders from going undetected and untreated.

"It’s simply terrible care to give somebody a seven-question questionnaire in the office and write a prescription on that basis without addressing the bigger picture," Shedler, who has authored over 100 scholarly and scientific papers in psychology, said. 

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More than 30% of adults reported symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder this summer, the National Center for Health Statistics estimates. The share of adults who received mental health treatment increased to nearly 23% in 2021, up from 19% in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Shedler worries that mass screening will lead to misdiagnosis, causing doctors to prescribe anxiety medications to patients who may not need them.

"Primary care is not the place to get mental health care," Shedler said. "The physicians don't have the time. They don't have the resources. They don't have the training."

The psychologist pointed to a similar recommendation made by the panel in 2002 to standardize depression screenings, which was followed by a rise in people diagnosed with and prescribed anti-depressants. In 1996, roughly five million people were on anti-depressants. That number steadily rose to 13 million in 2015, according to a study by Frontiers in Psychiatry.

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A member of the federal task force, American Psychological Association CEO Arthur C. Evans, told The Wall Street Journal that the group's recommendation "is a really important step forward" in the country's ongoing battle with mental health. "Screening for mental health conditions is critical to our ability to help people at the earliest possible moment," he said.

Shedler, who has done extensive research on these types of standardized screening tests, said they are ineffective at identifying mental health disorders. 

"Psychiatric difficulties don't exist in a vacuum," the psychologist told Fox News. "I think for vast numbers of people, the world is feeling increasingly unsafe and unpredictable." 

"There's a difference between anxiety and fear," he added. "On the screening questionnaires, there's no distinction."

Shedler said he's concerned that simplified screenings will yield false positives. 

"This kind of screening is going to diagnose huge numbers of people with a disorder and a good number of them are going to end up on a lifelong path of one medication and one treatment after another," the doctor said. "When, in fact, they're responding to realistic circumstances in the world."

"There's a lot of things going on in society, in culture, financially, politically, that leave people feeling extremely vulnerable," Shedler told Fox News. He said fear often stems from these external dangers, while anxiety "is a response to internally arising dangers, psychological dangers."

"If it's not anxiety, but fear of something out there, psychological treatment isn't going to be the answer," he said.

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Additionally, as mental health issues increase, doctors have raised concerns over a shortage of resources for those seeking help. 

"We have a chronic shortage of psychiatrists, and it’s going to keep growing," Saul Levin, MD, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association said during a May briefing. "People can’t get care. It affects their lives, their ability to work, to socialize, or even to get out of bed." 

By 2024, the U.S. will be short between 14,280 and 31,109 psychiatrists, and psychologists, social workers, and others will be overextended as well, according to a study published in Psychiatry Online.

Shedler said the lack of proper mental health care will only be made worse if the federal task force's recommendation is finalized, as the number of patients seeking treatment will increase without proportionately adding mental health professionals. 

He also highlighted that health insurers frequently don’t cover mental health treatment. When they do, it’s often only low-quality care that is covered, creating another barrier for those seeking treatment, according to Shedler.

"A competent, skilled mental health professional has the expertise to tease apart what's a psychological difficulty that we can deal with in psychotherapy, where is medication a reasonable part of a comprehensive treatment and when isn't it," he told Fox News.

"That's what we're in the business of doing. It's not what a primary care physician can do with a seven-question questionnaire," Shedler said. 

The proposed draft guidance is open to public comment through Oct. 17. 

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Israel has one of the lowest death rates from prostate cancer in the world

Men in Israel have one the highest survivability rates against prostate cancer compared to other countries around the world. 

The country's Health Ministry announced this week that Israel's death rate from the disease is one of the lowest globally, ranking at 143, according to Jerusalem Post. Moreover, the data released by the agency noted that Arab men overall are less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. 

However, Israel's incidence rate, or how quickly disease occurs in a population, is ranked higher at 58th in the world.

The agency relied on data from Israel's latest cancer registry figures from 2019, which show that 2,493 men were diagnosed with invasive prostate cancer. Of those diagnosed, the overwhelming majority were Jewish, representing 94.5%, and only 5% were Arab.

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A similar trend continued to show in data of those living in Israel who were diagnosed with the cancer between 2015 and 2019. Of the 10,725 cases, over 10,000 were Jews, while Arabs only represented 602 cases. 

Despite the low risk of death, prostate cancer still remains the most common cancer found among men in Israel, as well as the fourth most common cancer for mortality. The number of Israeli males who died from cancer in 2019 was 493, with most of the deaths occurring over the age of 75. 

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From 1996 until 2019, Israel saw a significant reduction in death rates, while most deaths that did occur had an average male age of 81 for Jewish men and 77 for Arab males. The health ministry released these findings to the public near the end of September, which is World Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. 

In terms of risk factors for prostate cancer, family disease history, genetic mutations, and age are the main contributors. However, certain lifestyle choices such as tobacco smoking, diet, and gland inflammation may play a role. 

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Scientists test new malaria vaccine with box full of mosquitoes: 'Whole forearm swelled'

Scientists are trying to find a new malaria vaccine by sticking people's forearms over a box full of mosquitoes. 

Researchers at the University of Washington are using mosquitoes to inject human participants with genetically modified Plasmodium parasites that stop them from getting sick. However, their bodies produce antibodies that make them capable of fighting the real disease. 

"We use the mosquitoes like they’re 1,000 small flying syringes," said Dr. Sean Murphy, a University of Washington physician, in a recent paper. Murphy is not planning to vaccinate people by using mosquitoes. Instead, the practice will only be used in clinical trials, although using live mosquitoes to feed on the subjects is considered arcane. 

The team chose to use the mosquitos because injections of the modified parasite via needles are more expensive and time-consuming, according to NPR. Moreover, Dr. Kirsten Lyke of the University of Maryland School of Medicine told NPR she believes the use of a live parasite is "a total game changer" while noting that "all things old become new again."

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One test subject claimed she put her forearm over a box full of at least 200 mosquitos. The trial includes 26 people, with some of them showing signs of protection against malaria months later. 

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"My whole forearm swelled and blistered," Carolina Reid told NPR. "My family was laughing, asking like, ‘why are you subjecting yourself to this?'

Last year, the World Health Organization approved the first malaria vaccination called GlaxoSmithKline's RTS but is only 30-40% effective. 

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Alzheimer’s drug study yields positive results in early stages of disease

An experimental Alzheimer's drug made by Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen slowed cognitive and functional decline in a large trial of patients in the early stages of the disease, they said on Tuesday, potentially a rare win in a field littered with failed drugs.

Multiple drugmakers have so far tried and failed to find an effective treatment for the brain-wasting disease that affects about 55 million people globally. A breakthrough would be a major boost to similar studies being run by Roche and Eli Lilly.

Speaking of the Eisai-Biogen drug results announced late on Tuesday night, Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota said: "It's not a huge effect, but it's a positive effect".

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The drug, lecanemab, slowed progress of the disease by 27% compared with a placebo, meeting the study's main goal, and potentially offering hope for patients and their families desperate for an effective treatment.

The race to stem the progression of Alzheimer's comes as the number of Americans living with the disease is expected to roughly double to 13 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Globally, the figure could reach 139 million by 2050 without an effective treatment, Alzheimer's Disease International said.

Eisai, leader of the 50-50 partnership's lecanemab program, is seeking FDA approval under an accelerated pathway, with a decision expected in early January.

It is aiming for full approval and commercialization of the drug in the United States, Europe, and Japan by the end of 2023, CEO Haruo Naito told reporters in Tokyo.

After being untraded with a glut of buy orders on Wednesday, Eisai's shares, as per Tokyo stock exchange rules, closed up by their daily limit of 1,000 yen, a 17% rise, pointing to further strong buying demand on Thursday. Biogen shares surged 50% in premarket trading, lifting the stocks of rivals Roche and Eli Lilly.

Eisai said results from the 1,800-patient trial prove the longstanding theory that removal of sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brains of people with early Alzheimer's can delay advance of the debilitating disease.

The data is an "unequivocal win" for Alzheimer's patients, said BMO analyst Evan Seigerman while Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said it suggested a potentially new multi-billion dollar franchise.

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'Very Early Days'

Lecanemab, like the partners' previous drug Aduhelm, is an intravenous antibody designed to remove amyloid deposits. Unlike Aduhelm, lecanemab targets forms of amyloid that have not yet clumped together.

"If you can slow a disease by almost 30% that's fantastic," said Dr Jeff Cummings, director of the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

The so-called amyloid hypothesis has been challenged by some scientists, particularly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's controversial approval of Aduhelm in 2021 based on its plaque-clearing ability rather than proof that it helped slow cognitive decline. The decision came after the FDA's own panel of outside experts had advised against approval.

While the top-line results for lecanemab are convincing, it's still "very early days" in determining whether the effects are clinically meaningful, said Dr Kristian Steen Frederiksen, director of a clinical trial unit at the University of Copenhagen.

Alzheimer's "is an extremely complex disease and amyloid-related pathology is unlikely to be the only player," he said. "Therefore targeting a single target is not likely to produce large effect sizes."

Aduhelm was the first new Alzheimer's drug approved in 20 years after a long list of high-profile failures for the industry.

Patient advocacy groups hailed the news of positive lecanemab trial results.

"I would hope that the FDA approves the drug in January," USAgainstAlzheimer's Chairman George Vradenburg said.

The Phase III trial evaluated the drug's ability to reduce cognitive and functional decline based on the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB), a numerical scale used to quantify the severity of dementia in patients in areas such as memory, orientation, judgment and problem solving and personal care.

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Brain Swelling

The rate of a brain swelling side effect associated with anti-amyloid treatments was 12.5% in the lecanemab group, versus 1.7% in the placebo group. But many cases did not cause symptoms, with symptomatic brain swelling seen in 2.8% of those in the lecanemab group, the companies said.

Micro hemorrhages in the brain occurred at a rate of 17% in the lecanemab group, and 8.7% in the placebo group.

Petersen said the side effect rate was much less than with Aduhelm and "certainly tolerable."

Aduhelm's approval was a rare bright spot for Alzheimer's patients, but critics have called for more evidence that amyloid-targeting drugs are worth the cost.

The controversy and reluctance by some payers to cover Aduhelm led Biogen to slash the drug's price to $28,000 per year from an initial $56,000.

Medicare, the U.S. government health plan for people 65 and older, said this year it would only pay for Aduhelm and other similar drugs if patients were enrolled in a valid clinical trial, which sharply curtailed the medication's use.

Michael Irizarry, Eisai's deputy chief clinical officer, said on a conference call that the company will have discussions with Medicare about coverage of lecanemab.

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