FundMECFSResearch

With supermajorities in both houses, Democrats in the California Legislature passed — and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed — laws taking effect this year that will erase medical debt from credit reports, allow public health officials to inspect immigrant detention centers, and require health insurance companies to cover fertility services such as in vitro fertilization.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli will resign on Jan. 17, she told staff this week, ending her tenure as the head of the $48 billion biomedical research agency after only a year. 

“I am so proud of what NIH has been able to achieve in such a short time under my leadership,” Bertagnolli said in her announcement, touting a list of initiatives launched that she hopes the next administration will continue.

Hundreds of staffers at The Washington Postsent a letter to the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, on Wednesday urging him to meet with newsroom leaders amid a confidence crisis with the leadership.

KYIV — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has arrived in Ukraine to pledge more weapons and promise British support for the next 100 years, as the war against invading Russian forces enters a critical phase.

Almost three years since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion began, Donald Trump is due to return to the White House as U.S. president and has pledged to end the war in short order.

At the same time, political forces sympathetic to Moscow are gaining ground across Europe — in countries including Austria, Romania and Germany.

Importance  A high infection burden in early childhood is common and a risk factor for later disease development. However, longitudinal birth cohort studies investigating early-life infection burden and later risk of infection and antibiotic episodes are lacking.

Objective  To investigate whether early-life infection burden is associated with a later risk of infection and systemic antibiotic treatment episodes in childhood.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This longitudinal cohort study of children from birth to age 10 or 13 years included data from the Danish population-based Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) birth cohort between November 2008 to November 2010. Children were monitored for infection diagnoses and systemic antibiotic prescriptions from national databases until February 1, 2024, by which time they had completed the age 10- or 13-year visit. Children with immune deficiencies or congenital diseases were excluded.

Exposures  Daily diary-registered common infection episodes of cold, acute otitis media, tonsillitis, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and fever episodes from birth to 3 years.

Main Outcome and Measures  After age 3 years, the incidence of moderate to severe infection diagnoses and systemic antibiotic prescriptions were estimated using adjusted incidence rate ratios (AIRRs) calculated from quasi-Poisson regression models. All analyses were adjusted for social and environmental confounders.

Results  A total of 614 children (317 male [51.6%]) with diary data from birth to 3 years had completed follow-up until age 10 or 13 years. No differences in baseline characteristics between the children having vs not having available diary data were noted. Children with a high vs low burden of diary-registered infections between birth and 3 years (ie, equal to and above vs below the median of 16) had an increased risk of later moderate to severe infections (181 vs 87 episodes; AIRR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.52-3.89) and systemic antibiotic treatments (799 vs 623 episodes; AIRR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.07-1.68) until age 10 or 13 years. Each diary infection episode also increased the later risk of moderate to severe infections (AIRR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08) and systemic antibiotic treatments (AIRR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04). Subtype analyses showed significant associations between each cold, acute otitis media, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and fever episode between birth and 3 years and risk of later moderate to severe infections or systemic antibiotic treatments.

Conclusions and relevance  This longitudinal cohort study suggests that early-life infection burden may continue throughout childhood and is associated with later antibiotic treatments independent of social and environmental risk factors. These findings are important for prognosis and follow-up of children experiencing a high burden of common infections in early life.

[What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger my ass, more infections = worse long term outcomes]