Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of June 23, 2025–June 27, 2025.
Hypertension is the most common chronic condition among U.S. adults aged 85 and older
HealthDay (6/20, Gotkine) reported a study found that “hypertension is the most common chronic condition among adults aged 85 years and older, with prevalence higher among women than men.” The researchers examined “data from the 2022 and 2023 National Health Interview Survey to present estimates of the percentage of adults aged 85 years and older with 11 selected chronic conditions.” The authors found that the “most common of the selected chronic conditions reported were hypertension, arthritis, and high cholesterol among civilian noninstitutionalized adults aged 85 years and older (66.9, 55.9, and 46.5 percent, respectively). For both men and women, hypertension was the most common chronic condition reported, with a higher prevalence for women than men (68.9 versus 63.7 percent).” The study was published in Health E-Stats, a publication of the National Center for Health Statistics.
You may also be interested in: 4 big ways BP measurement goes wrong.
U.S. neonatal mortality has generally declined in recent years
MedPage Today (6/23, Henderson) reports a research letter published in JAMA Pediatrics claims that “over the last two decades, U.S. neonatal mortality has generally declined, though this was not true for all leading causes of death.” The study suggests “a decline was seen in most of the leading causes of mortality, with the steepest ones in interstitial emphysema and related conditions and respiratory distress originating in the perinatal period.” However, researchers noted that “mortality due to slow fetal growth and fetal malnutrition increased annually by 1.91%. Mortality from maternal complications and bacterial sepsis of the newborn were stable.” According to MedPage Today, “experts have partly attributed a drop in U.S. infant mortality in 2024 to new protections against respiratory syncytial virus.”
USPSTF renews recommendation on screening for intimate partner violence
MedPage Today (6/24, Robertson) reports that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has “renewed its recommendation for intimate partner violence (IPV) screening and its call for more evidence on screening for abuse of older or vulnerable adults.” In a recommendation statement published in JAMA, the task force “recommended that adolescents and adults who are pregnant or postpartum and all women of reproductive age should be screened for intimate partner or domestic abuse.” Authors wrote, “The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that screening for IPV in women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant and postpartum, and providing or referring those who screen positive to multicomponent interventions with ongoing support has a moderate net benefit.” The recommendations do not reflect a change from the last USPSTF recommendations in 2018, but one new aspect “is that older and vulnerable adult abuse screening recommendations are now framed around caregiver abuse and neglect.”
Healio (6/24, Rhoades) also reports.
Number of deaths attributable to heart disease declined in U.S. over the past 50 years
TCTMD (6/25, O'Riordan) reports, “The number of deaths attributable to heart disease, particularly acute myocardial infarction and ischemic heart disease, has declined significantly in the United States over the past 50 years or so, new research shows.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Healio (6/25, Kalvaitis) reports, “From 1970 to 2022, more than 119 million deaths were recorded, of which 31% (> 37 million) were attributable to heart disease.” The data indicated that “the overall rate of age-adjusted heart disease mortality declined by 66%, from 761 per 100,000 people in 1970 to 258 per 100,000 people in 2022.” Researchers found that “91% of all heart disease deaths were related to ischemic heart disease in 1970; this decreased to 53% in 2022.” The research indicated that “during the 52-year period, age-adjusted mortality declined by 81% for all ischemic heart disease (from 693 to 135 per 100,000) and by 89% for acute MI (from 354 to 40 per 100,000).” But, the investigators “found an 81% rise in age-adjusted mortality for other heart disease subtypes.”
Updated COVID-19 vaccines are effective against new coronavirus strains
HealthDay (6/26, Thompson) reports a study published in JAMA Network Open found that updated COVID-19 vaccines “are keeping up with new coronavirus strains and remain effective for keeping people out of the hospital.” The study “examined the effectiveness of the 2023-2024 COVID vaccines against the XBB and JN.1 Omicron variant waves.” Researchers found the updated shots were associated with a 24% lower risk of ER and urgent care visits related to COVID-19; a 29% lower risk of hospitalization; and a 48% lower risk of ICU admission or death in a hospital. According to the study, the “protection stretched from a week after vaccination out to 299 days afterward.” Although results show that “maximum protection came during the first two months after vaccination, reducing severe cases of COVID by up to 68%,” vaccine effectiveness eventually “waned over time, particularly beyond the six-month mark.”
You may also be interested in: Summer COVID strain: Nimbus variant spreading in U.S..
AMA Morning Rounds news coverage is developed in affiliation with Bulletin Healthcare LLC. Subscribe to Morning Rounds Daily.
