Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Sept. 28, 2026–Oct. 2, 2026.
People have less depression, anxiety after cutting ultraprocessed food intake
HealthDay (9/24, Thompson) reports, “People had less depression and anxiety after cutting their ultraprocessed food intake by more than 85%,” according to a new pilot study . “For the study, researchers recruited 20 participants diagnosed with depression. Among them, 14 also had anxiety.” Researchers found “that when people cut down on ultra-processed food, they scored significantly lower on three measures for depression. They also had modestly improved anxiety scores.” The results were published in JAMA Psychiatry.
You also may be interested in: What doctors want patients to know about ultraprocessed foods.
Fasting less than eight hours before routine blood tests generally did not change results
MedPage Today (9/28, Lou) reports, “Fasting less than 8 hours before routine blood tests generally did not change results, with few exceptions, according to an observational study.” Investigators found, “in paired within-person analyses of over 100,000 patients undergoing multiple blood collections, the vast majority of 372 test items did not have established analytical performance specifications exceeded with less than 8 hours of fasting.” However, “within-person differences were somewhat higher for certain tests comparing <8 hours fasting versus 8-12 hours and versus >12 hours: Glucose: +13.0 mg/dL and +10.8 mg/dL, respectively; Triglycerides: +17.1 mg/dL and +20.1 mg/dL; Gamma-glutamyl transferase: +21.7 U/L and +14.8 U/L; Lipase: comparison not available versus 8-12 hours and +36.4 U/L versus >12 hours.” The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
AMA analysis: PBM market concentration continues to rise
(9/29, American Medical Association) Yesterday, the American Medical Association released a Policy Research Perspective showing “competition in the nation’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) markets continues to decline with a small number of PBMs accounting for an increasingly large share of the national market,” according to the AMA’s latest annual analysis. “The findings point to the need for continued scrutiny of PBM market concentration and vertical integration, along with greater transparency and accountability for business practices that can affect prescription drug costs, competition and access.”
Editor’s Note: Find the report on competition in pharmacy benefit manager markets and more research from the AMA on competition in healthcare.
Stable employment in midlife is associated with better cognitive health in later life
HealthDay (9/30, Solomon) reports, “Stable employment in midlife is associated with better cognitive health in later life, according to” findings published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Investigators “found that among women, compared with secure employment, self-employment, early retirement, not being in the labor force, and secure-to-retirement trajectories were significantly associated with lower memory and executive function scores.” Inconsistent employment for men “was associated with poorer performance across most cognitive domains versus secure employment. In women, employment instability and early retirement were associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment.”
You also may be interested in: What does healthy aging look like?
AMA, other medical groups release statement on role of AI in healthcare
Healthcare Finance News (10/1, Morse) reports that the American Medical Association and several other medical groups “have released a statement on the role of AI, or augmented intelligence, in healthcare.” The groups wrote, “Statements suggesting AI is inherently better informed than physicians, or that physicians cannot be trusted to make clinical decisions without first consulting this technology, diminish physician expertise and risk undermining patients’ trust.” AMA CEO and Executive Vice President John Whyte, MD, MPH, said, “AI has quickly become part of everyday medical practice. Physicians see real promise in its ability to support clinical decisions and cut down on administrative burden. But as this technology advances, it is critical that augmented intelligence be designed to enhance – not replace – physicians.”
Editor’s Note: Read the full statement from leading physician organizations on the role of AI in healthcare.
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