Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Aug. 10, 2026–Aug. 14, 2026.
Wakefulness after sleep onset rises sharply in women during midlife
The American Journal of Managed Care (8/7, Grossi) reports, “A large multicountry analysis of Galaxy smartwatch data has found that wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO) rises sharply in women during midlife, with the increase notably steeper than the one seen in men of the same age.” Investigators found that “compared with women aged 20 to 24 years, WASO increased by an average of 5.4 minutes (15.3%) at ages 50 to 54, 8.8 minutes (24.9%) at ages 55 to 59, and 11.2 minutes (31.7%) at ages 60 to 65,” while “the corresponding increases among men were smaller across all 3 age bands.” The data indicated that “the steepest jump in women occurred between the 45-to-49 and 50-to-54 age groups, a window that overlaps with the typical menopause transition.” The findings were published in Sleep.
You may also be interested in: 9 things patients should know about sleep trends
President signs executive order calling for fewer childhood vaccines
The AP (8/10, Swenson) reports that on Monday, the president “signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations.” The “order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and administering all childhood immunizations at separate appointments whenever possible.” Additionally, it “directs the nation’s health department to improve research on vaccines, which are already extensively studied, and present a plan to offer separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines for children.”
Politico (8/10, Haslett, Lim, Gardner) reports, “Two versions of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are currently available for use in the U.S. — but no shots for each disease individually are on the market. It is unclear if or when vaccine makers would be able to market individual shots, a process that would likely require new Food and Drug Administration approvals.” The executive order also “recommends children get vaccinated for 11 diseases, down from the 18 immunizations that were recommended.”
The Hill (8/10, Rego) reports AMA President Willie Underwood III, MD, MSc, MPH, said, “Vaccines are among the most thoroughly studied, effective tools we have to protect children from serious vaccine-preventable diseases.” Dr. Underwood added, “Altering a proven vaccination schedule without credible evidence risks weakening public confidence and putting children’s health at risk.”
Editor’s Note: To read the full AMA statement on executive order changing the childhood vaccine schedule, click here.
Waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio predict heart disease risk better than BMI
Healio (8/11, Buzby) reports, “Primary prevention of heart disease may be improved with the use of waist circumference or waist-to-height ratio rather than BMI to guide cardiovascular disease risk assessment, researchers” found.
MedPage Today (8/11, Lou) reports that the “pooled analysis of over a dozen cohort studies” found that “among those with normal weight or overweight measured by body mass index (BMI), a large waist circumference (WC) and a high waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were associated with a 15% to 50% excess risk for most heart disease outcomes over 20 years.” The data indicated that “people with obesity and a small waist circumference had largely similar clinical outcomes to their normal-weight counterparts; the risk of all-cause mortality even favored some individuals with obesity and smaller waists.” The findings were published in JACC.
Estrogen-only menopausal hormone therapy may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease
MedPage Today (8/12, George) reports, “Women who used estrogen-only menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) had a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a retrospective longitudinal study.” Investigators found that “estrogen-only MHT users had lower odds of increased Alzheimer’s pathology on autopsy compared with non-users (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.48-0.88, P=0.005).” The data indicated that “estrogen therapy was linked to less amyloid pathology in plasma (β = 0.44, 95% CI 0.16-0.73, P=0.0025) and cerebrospinal fluid (β = 0.07, 95% CI 0.002-0.13, P=0.030).” Additionally, it was “tied to lower odds of both dementia diagnosis (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.55-0.67, P<0.0001) and memory or functional decline symptoms (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.61-0.74, P<0.0001).” The findings were published in Neurology.
You may also be interested in: How physicians can help patients navigate menopause
Prescription drug prices see sharpest drop in more than 60 years, data show
The Washington Post (8/13, Thompson, Cocco, Rowland) reports data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday revealed that “prescription drug prices recorded the biggest year-over-year drop in more than 60 years in July, a startling reduction experts chalked up to an array of factors, including more generics and discount GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.” While overall prices “for medical services continued to rise, prices for medicinal drugs fell 2.7% over the 12 months ending in July, the largest annual drop on record,” the data show. Prescription drug costs “fell by 3.1%, the steepest annual decline since March 1963.”
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