Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Sept. 14, 2026–Sept. 18, 2026.
Over 70% of U.S. adults report recent fatigue
NBC News (9/13, Vivinetto) reports, “About 71.5% of adults in the United States say they experienced fatigue on multiple days over the past three months,” according to new findings from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). “It’s the first study about general fatigue from NCHS, which surveyed about 27,000 adults ages 18 and older in 2024 about their health and daily lives.” According to survey data, “nearly 3 in 4 adults felt ‘very tired or exhausted’ at least some days in the past three months.” Meanwhile, “about 1 in 6 adults experienced frequent fatigue, defined as feeling very tired or exhausted ‘most days’ or ‘every day.’” The study found “adults who experienced frequent fatigue were more than three times as likely to have symptoms of depression and about twice as likely to report cognitive difficulties or symptoms of anxiety, compared with those who don’t experience it.”
Alcohol use after traumatic event may predict major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events
Healio (9/14, Buzby) reports, “Development of alcohol use disorder, depression or stress after a traumatic event was a strong predictor of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events for both men and women,” according to researchers. The investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing “data from all residents of Denmark who experienced major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events between 1996 and 2018.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
ADHD is linked to increase in gastrointestinal problems
HealthDay (9/15, Thompson) reports, “ADHD is linked to a nearly 50% increase in GI problems,” according to an evidence review published in the Journal of Attention Disorders. The association “was even stronger for specific GI problems, including an almost doubled risk of constipation, a 58% increase in irritable bowel syndrome and more than four times higher odds of losing bowel control.” Investigators “pooled data from 23 previous studies of ADHD and GI symptoms” and found that “overall, a diagnosis of ADHD was associated with a 48% increase in GI symptoms.”
Secondhand smoke contributed to more than a million and a half deaths worldwide in 2023, report says
According to Healio (9/16, Rhoades), “Exposure to secondhand smoke contributed to more than a million and a half deaths worldwide in 2023,” a new report shows. Researchers came to this conclusion after assessing “the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure, along with associated deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), across 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023.” The findings were published in The Lancet Public Health.
Gene drastically increases lung cancer risk in individuals who have never smoked
The New York Times (9/17, Kolata) reports that researchers have found that a gene known as EGFR T790M, which is “found largely in residents of the United States and mostly in Southern Appalachia,” makes “lung cancer 62 times as likely in those who have never smoked and 10 times as likely in smokers.” This “gene is one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, cancer-risk mutations ever found, said Alexander Gusev...an author of the paper,” which was published in Science.
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