Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of April 20, 2026–April 24, 2026.
Lower hemoglobin levels associated with higher dementia risk, blood concentrations of Alzheimer’s biomarkers
MedPage Today (4/17, George) reports, “Lower hemoglobin levels were associated with progressively higher dementia risk and elevated blood concentrations of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, data from a Swedish cohort study suggested.” In the “study of 2,300 older adults without dementia, anemia was cross-sectionally associated with higher levels of serum phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau 217; β=0.22), neurofilament light chain (NfL; β=0.25) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP; β=0.08).” The data indicated that “anemia was longitudinally associated with a higher risk of incident dementia over a mean follow-up of 9 years (HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.21-2.28).” Meanwhile, “the highest dementia risk occurred when anemia and elevated biomarkers coexisted.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
You may also be interested in: How to screen for, reduce risk of and treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Naloxone may not fully reverse overdoses caused by newer synthetic opioids
HealthDay (4/20, Thompson) reports a study suggests that naloxone “may not fully reverse ODs caused by synthetic opioids.” The researchers “tracked how naloxone worked among 30 patients fed a continuous drip of fentanyl or sufentanil until their breathing slowed. Of the patients, 12 had never used opioids and 18 were daily opioid users.” Study results indicated that “naloxone restored breath within 2 to 4 minutes across all participants, but its effects were diminished. Patients appeared to be awake and partially alert, but tests showed that their breathing had not fully recovered, researchers said.” Considering the results, “bystanders should be ready to give additional doses of naloxone if the first doesn’t restore an overdose victim’s breathing, researchers said.” The study was published in Anesthesiology.
You may also be interested in: Time for decisive action on substance-use disorder treatment.
AMA report finds physician burnout declined for third year in a row
Fierce Healthcare (4/20, Gleeson) reports, “Physician burnout declined for the third year in a row, with 41.9% of physicians reporting at least one symptom of burnout in 2025, a new report from the American Medical Association (AMA) found.” That is “down from 43.2% of physicians in 2024 and 48.2% in 2023, according to the organization.” In a statement, AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, said, “2025 marked another year of progress in reducing overall physician burnout levels.” Dr. Mukkamala added, “This reflects broad gains in engagement, well-being, and perceived support across organizations. However, burnout varies widely by medical specialty, driven by differences in workload, administrative burden, clinical environment, staffing support, and the day-to-day realities of practice. Building effective, lasting solutions requires better understanding where physicians are struggling-and why.”
You may also be interested in: What was the most stressful medical job in 2025?
Suicides among young people dropped 11% below projections since 2022 rollout of national hotline
The New York Times (4/22, Barry) reports a study found that since the 2022 rollout of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline, “the rate of suicides among young people in the United States dropped 11% below projections, decreasing most sharply in states with a higher volume of answered 988 calls.” The study “compared suicide deaths from July 2022 to December 2024 with sophisticated mathematical projections that were based on historical trends. This yielded good news, with 4,372 fewer suicides of adolescents and young adults, ages 15 to 34, than had been projected.” According to the findings, “the 10 states with the largest increases in 988 calls experienced an 18.2% reduction in observed suicides compared with expected suicides; in the 10 states with the lowest uptake, the reduction was smaller, 10.6%.” The findings were published in a research letter in JAMA.
AMA urges Congress to regulate chatbot use in mental health care, close AI oversight gaps
STAT (4/23, Aguilar, Subscription Publication) reports that the American Medical Association is urging “lawmakers to pursue safeguards around the use of chatbots in mental health care.” The AMA “urges Congress to direct the Food and Drug Administration to clarify its stance on what kinds of health AIs count as general wellness products versus medical devices.” More specifically, the “AMA wants to close the loophole that allows companies to dodge regulators by claiming their product is not intended for medical uses.” In a series of letters to federal lawmakers, AMA CEO John Whyte, MD, MPH, wrote “Determinations of regulatory status should be based on the function of the technology and should not be solely based on marketing claims. ... Simple disclaimers included by chatbots should not be considered sufficient to escape regulatory review.”
Becker’s Hospital Review (4/22, Bruce) reported, “The AMA’s recommendations include requiring chatbots to clearly disclose that users are interacting with AI, prohibiting them from presenting themselves as licensed clinicians, banning them from diagnosing or treating mental health conditions without regulatory due diligence, clarifying when AI solutions qualify as medical devices, and mandating strict data protection standards.” Dr. Whyte said, “AI-enabled tools may help expand access to mental health resources and support innovation in health care delivery, but they lack consistent safeguards against serious risks, including emotional dependency, misinformation, and inadequate crisis response. ... With thoughtful oversight and accountability, policymakers can support innovation and ensure technologies prioritize patient safety, strengthen public trust, and responsibly complement—not replace—clinical care.”
Editor’s note: Read the AMA’s statement on strengthening safeguards for AI chatbots.
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