Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: BF% Outweighs BMI in Predicting Mortality

This cohort study pitted BMI against body fat percentage (BF%) to see which better predicts mortality in young adults. After 15 years, higher BF% was associated with increased all-cause (HR 1.78; 95% CI, 1.28-2.47; P < .001) and heart disease mortality (HR 3.62; 95% CI, 1.55-8.45; P = .003). BMI, meanwhile, showed no significant link to all-cause mortality, suggesting BF% might be the better metric for risk stratification.

2: The Climate Is Changing — and So Is Your Skin

This systematic review and meta-analysis looked at how climate change affects atopic dermatitis. In 40+ studies across 14 countries, higher levels of air pollution were linked to more ED  and outpatient visits for atopic dermatitis, while temperature extremes were linked with increased atopic dermatitis severity. These results make one thing clear: climate change and pollution are already leaving a mark — on dermatology.

 3: Hot Tub Wins the Heat Therapy Showdown

This study compared the effects of acute hot water immersion, traditional sauna, and infrared sauna. In 20 healthy adults, acute hot water immersion led to the biggest rise in core temperature and immune response. In other words, when it comes to short-term physiologic effects, the hot tub comes out on top.

Trump’s Mega Bill 📝

What Americans have to lose if Trump’s administration gets its way

What happened: As Republicans fight to pass President Trump’s megabill, concerns around Medicaid cuts continue to rise.

Why it matters: Over 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid for hospital care, prescription drugs and long-term care, and some are estimating that Medicaid will be reduced by $1 trillion, leaving over 11 million Americans uninsured by 2034. If the bill passes, it will go against Trump’s many promises to keep Medicaid intact.

The bill requires able-bodied individuals aged 19 to 64 to work 80 hours a month, with exemptions for parents or guardians with disabled children or children under 14. While these requirements won’t kick in til 2026, experts have already been analyzing who’s most at risk if the bill passes.

They found devastating impacts for adults between the ages of 50 and 64, as finding employment gets more difficult after age 50. Many people become physically unable to work as they near retirement age, and the ones who aren’t are sometimes laid off due to age discrimination.

But: American seniors aren’t the only ones who will suffer. The President of the American Nurses Association said cuts to Medicaid could cause rural hospitals and community health centers to close. Despite the Senate Republicans proposing a $25 billion rural health stabilization fund, it’s unknown if it’ll be enough to prevent closures.

Many rural health care centers depend on revenue from patients covered by Medicaid, and since many US hospitals are already on shaky ground, the cuts could put them over the edge, causing patients to drive hours to have their babies delivered or receive emergency care.

Bottom line: Medicaid does more than just cover blood pressure medication; it saves lives, and cutting it will leave millions of Americans stranded.

Hot Off The Press

1: 🇨🇦🇺🇸 Forget complex diagnoses — the real head-scratcher lately is US-Canada trade negotiations. Last week, President Trump abruptly halted all discussions and threatened new tariffs, angered by Canada's digital services tax — a 3% levy on what tech giants like Amazon and Google earn off Canadian users. But in a sudden policy pivot, Canada rescinded the tax, instantly getting talks back on track for a July 21st agreement. Prognosis: cautiously optimistic — for now.

2: 🪰The New World screwworm — a flesh-eating parasitic fly —  is spreading rapidly north from Central America, and the US is on alert. In just 2 years, it’s traveled more than 1,300 miles from Panama to southern Mexico, infecting thousands of animals and even a few humans. Now only 638 miles from the US border, officials are racing to contain it. What’s at stake? Livestock… and public health.

3: 🧊 Scientists who analyze the impact of Antarctic sea ice say they’re worried about how the loss of critical US government satellite data will affect the rapid changes to the environment. One scientist said the news couldn’t have come at a worse time, as they rely on that data to record and monitor sea ice around Antarctica.

4: 🦠 Scientists have figured out how to turn plastic into paracetamol. The key ingredients? Genetically modified E. coli and…. garbage. Scottish researchers engineered the bacteria to convert recycled PET plastic into a compound called PABA, then into the common painkiller. The process could offer a wild new path for medical waste recycling and reduce our reliance on oil. (Little-known fact: many everyday drugs, like paracetamol and ibuprofen, are made from petrochemicals.)

Notable Numbers 🔢

$12 million: the value of contraceptives and HIV-prevention meds the Trump administration is reportedly set to destroy. Purchased by USAID for developing countries, the drugs have been sitting unused in warehouses since the agency was nearly dismantled in January.

14 million: the number of deaths that are expected by 2030, as the State Department takes over programs that were previously run by USAID. Many political leaders, including former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, called the decision a “colossal mistake.”

60K: the estimated number of multivitamins that were recalled in the US. iHerb issued a recall of their prenatal and women’s vitamins due to a risk of child poisoning as the packaging wasn’t child-resistant. So far, no deaths have been reported.

Postcall Picks ✅

😂 Laugh: sometimes even parents can be forgetful!

🎧 Listen: to 2 med students unpack why fewer trainees choose primary care — a must-hear for anyone invested in the future of the frontline.

🤑 Save: on Amazon kitchen appliances under $50!

📖 Read: this NEJM study on gene therapy for Pompe’s Disease.

🍴Eat: this delicious cold cucumber soup on a hot summer day — a refreshing blend of crisp cucumbers, tangy Greek yogurt, and enough basil and dill to make your fridge smell like July.

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