How can similar news stories influence financial markets? Here’s what investors need to know

New study co-authored by Binghamton University, State University of New York faculty explores impact of common media companies publishing similar business content in different news outlets.

News Release 6-Jan-2025
Binghamton University



New research from Binghamton University, State University of New York reveals that similar content from news outlets could have negative implications for financial markets.view more
Credit: "Happy With Business Going." by TijsB is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Have you ever noticed a swath of similar business news stories about a particular topic during a Google search, all of them appearing to be reported by different news outlets?

Why might a story on a news site in New York be so similar to one from a site in, for example, Wisconsin? It’s likely because the same media company owns them — and it’s become more commonplace nationwide as news outlets grapple with dwindling resources.

A new study co-authored by Flora Sun, assistant professor of accounting at Binghamton University’s School of Management, tackles this issue by examining how business news outlets owned by the same media holding companies tend to produce more similar news stories, which could have negative implications for financial markets. It leaves fewer options for unique news content, according to the study, so investors could become less efficient at interpreting important information in earnings reports.

“We could see how the market could be affected by such similar coverage since the speed at which the stock price incorporates new information is getting slower. This is because we do not have diverse enough opinions to offset each other and try to achieve a very efficient price in the end,” Sun said. “The key takeaway is that you might be subscribing to 10 newspapers or online news websites, but the information you’re getting might be pretty similar, and all those sources happen to be owned by a common media company.”

Researchers reviewed news articles about earnings announcements in 34 major media outlets involving 4,462 publicly traded companies between 2007 and 2019 for the study. In all, 288,385 articles about 95,820 earnings announcements were examined.

Using various statistical tools to analyze the data, Sun and fellow researchers determined that individual members of group media companies often take similar approaches when portraying the same event in their news coverage. This includes similar tones and language used in headlines and the articles themselves.

“Many market participants are likely unaware of this, as these media outlets often appear unrelated,” the study noted, “and consolidation (of media companies nationwide) may weaken the media’s role as an information intermediary.”

The researchers contended media outlets today likely have higher incentives to share content due to economic pressures, which, among other things, could lead to producing similar content at the expense of individual quality. Shared content tends to be more prevalent among outlets with peers with high audience reach, increasing the incentive to do so, researchers said.

“It’s important to remember that this research isn’t saying the media is always biased,” Sun said. “We’re just demonstrating how investors should be aware of this scenario that exists in today’s media landscape.”

The study, “Common Media Holding Companies and the Uniqueness of Business Press Content,” was published in The Accounting Review, an American Accounting Association journal. Sun co-authored the paper along with faculty researchers from Indiana University, Harvard Business School and Texas A&M University.

Journal

The Accounting Review

DOI

10.2308/TAR-2023-0191

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Article Title

Common Media Holding Companies and the Uniqueness of Business Press Content

Article Publication Date

1-Jan-2025

 

The Medieval Academy of America at 100: Speculum themed issue reflects on medieval studies

University of Chicago Press Journals

In 1925, the Medieval Academy of America (MAA) was founded as a learned society dedicated to pursuing scholarly research on the Middle Ages in North America. A century later, the MAA occupies a central position in the landscape of medieval studies, and Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, the flagship journal of the MAA, has long served as the premier platform for new research in the field. In the January 2025 themed issue of Speculum, contributors reflect on the past and present of medieval studies, especially as refracted through both the MAA and its sister organizations that emerged in the second half of the century. As editor Katherine Jansen notes, “it is a must-read issue for any medievalist who wishes to know not only about our past but our present as well.” 

Commissioned by the MAA, the issue opens with the guest editors’ introduction, in which Roland Betancourt and Karla Mallette ask a question of fundamental importance: “how has medieval studies been shaped by its institutions?” The editors identify major shifts in medieval studies over the last few decades, including the adoption of a more global perspective on the Middle Ages and a turn toward scholarship informed by feminism, queer theory, trans studies, critical race theory, and Indigenous studies. The themed issue tells the story of how these changes came about and the labor and institutions—both inside and outside traditional structures of the Academy and established professional organizations—that were central to this history.

As Betancourt and Mallette put it, there is a “Janus face of Crisis and Optimism” that serves as a unifying thread throughout the issue and its concluding roundtable. While some articles dig into the context of the foundation of the MAA and some of the public universities that supported it, others focus on the many crises faced by medievalists, past and present. These include the general precarity of humanities scholarship, as well as the challenge of reckoning with the colonial and imperial underpinnings of medieval studies’ major institutions and the problematic “founding myths” of the field. A few of the contributors look toward the future, pointing toward the potential for medieval studies to work toward liberatory practices and confront imperialist narratives head-on. Several articles in the issue offer histories of para-academic groups such as the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, BABEL, and the Material Collective—groups that have reimagined the field and given a voice to diverse groups of scholars. While it is true that some of these collectives eventually dissolved, Betancourt and Mallette suggest that we can learn from their stories: “the purpose of some institutions is not to endure a century but to provoke, question, and inspire meaningful action.”

Speaking to their vision for the January 2025 issue of Speculum, Betancourt and Mallette write: “we have strived to present a narrative that imagines a future for our field and studies the past in order to explore new and established ways of formulating and reformulating community when our conventional institutions fail us.” 100 years after the MAA’s founding, this themed issue takes a critical look in the mirror. It offers readers an opportunity to reflect on the utility of current institutions and to imagine new ways in which to invigorate, challenge, and reshape the field of medieval studies going forward.

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Journal

Speculum

 

US News & World Report’s 2025 Best Diets: DASH diet recognized as best heart-healthy diet, ranks as second-best diet overall

DASH Diet was developed in part at Pennington Biomedical

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

 

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DASH guide to lowering your blood pressure with DASH

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Credit: NIH

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, Diet, developed in part by Pennington Biomedical Research Center scientists, has been recognized as the second-best diet overall and the best heart-healthy diet in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Diets Rankings.

Released annually with the start of the new year when many people are looking for diets and healthy eating options as part of New Year’s resolutions, and U.S. News & World Report’s Best Diets rankings examine 38 diets among 21 categories. 

The DASH Diet, known for fighting high blood pressure, received praise for being well researched and scientifically backed for its health benefits, being nutritionally complete and versatile, and being filling and nonrestrictive, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“The DASH Diet was developed by some of our Pennington Biomedical pioneers, with Dr. George Bray, Dr. Donna Ryan and Dr. Catherine Champagne among the lead developers in the DASH Diet Collaborative Research Group,” said Dr. John Kirwan, Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical. “Thirty years after its development, the DASH Diet has stood the test of time and is a proven eating plan with numerous health benefits. Pennington Biomedical is proud of our history and role in the DASH Diet.”

In the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings, the DASH Diet appears on several of the categories, including:

• Best Diets Overall (No. 2)
• Best Heart-Healthy Diets (No. 1)
• Best Diets for High Blood Pressure (No. 1)
• Best Diets for High Cholesterol (No. 2)
• Best Diabetes Diets (No. 3)
• Best Diets for Prediabetes (No. 2)
• Best Diets for Healthy Eating (No. 2)
• Best Diets for Gut Health (No. 2)
• Easiest Diets to Follow (No. 3)
• Best Diets for Mental Health (No. 4)
• Best Diets for Menopause (No. 4)
• Best Diets for Arthritis (No. 4)
• Best Diets for Brain Health (No. 4)

“The DASH Diet is a healthy eating pattern that is easy to stick with, and it works for the whole family,” said Dr. Champagne, professor and registered dietitian nutritionist at Pennington Biomedical. “For the past 15 years, DASH has been ranked at or near the top of the U.S. News & World Report rankings because it is scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, lower the risk of stroke, lowers the risk of cardiovascular events, and works to improve metabolism regardless of your size.”

The DASH Diet is an eating plan that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat and that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products. The diet includes whole grain products, fish, poultry and nuts, while reducing lean red meat, sweets, added sugars, and sugar-containing beverages compared to the typical American diet. It is rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium, as well as protein and fiber.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the research for the DASH Diet. The study results were first published in the 1997 New England Journal of Medicine publication, which has been cited by other researchers about 6,000 times since original publication.

U.S. News' evaluation of diets follow a methodology devised by in partnership with The Harris Poll, which factors in evaluations from 69 expert panelists — including medical doctors, registered dietitians, nutritional epidemiologists, chefs and weight loss researchers.    

About the Pennington Biomedical Research Center

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. Pennington Biomedical has the vision to lead the world in promoting metabolic health and eliminating metabolic disease through scientific discoveries that create solutions from cells to society. The center conducts basic, clinical, and population research, and is a campus in the LSU System. 

The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes over 530 employees within a network of 44 clinics and research laboratories, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Its scientists and physician/scientists are supported by research trainees, lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and other support personnel. Pennington Biomedical is a globally recognized state-of-the-art research institution in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

For more information, see www.pbrc.edu.  

RELATED: DASH Diet | What You Need to Know

A healthy diet is key to a healthy gut microbiome

Vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous diets affect intestinal microorganisms, but the absence of certain foods from the diet can have complex effects that can be positively or negatively correlated with general well-being

Università di Trento

 

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Nicola Segata and his team 

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Credit: © UniTrento

A varied diet rich in vegetables is known to be healthy for one’s well-being. Excessive consumption of meat, especially red meat, can lead to chronic and cardiovascular diseases. That is also because what we eat shapes the gut microbiome. At the same time, excluding certain foods, such as dairy or animal products, is not necessarily a general solution to achieve microbial balance. But can we find out which food products determine differences in the gut microbiome? Starting from this question, a group of researchers analyzed biological samples from 21,561 individuals (vegans, vegetarians and omnivores) living in the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy, and found that the dietary pattern has a strong influence on the gut microbiome and on specific gut microbes that are associated with better health. The data have been published in Nature Microbiology.

About the study. The gut microbiome, the set of microorganisms that inhabit our intestine, plays a crucial role in determining a person's health, as it influences many aspects, from digestion to the immune response. So far only few large-scale studies have examined how different diets impact the composition of gut bacteria. This study, which also received European funds, focused in particular on the differences and consequences of different diets on the microbiome. The results show that diet patterns shape the gut microbiome, as they not only determine the microbes necessary for digestion, but also the acquisition of microbes directly from the food itself.

"As more and more people adopt vegan and vegetarian diets, we wanted to find out how different their microbiomes are and which microorganisms are responsible for these differences," explains Gloria Fackelmann, first author of the study and researcher at the Cibio Department. The group that conducted this research, which also includes scholars from King's College London, was coordinated by Nicola Segata, professor of Genetics and head of the Computational metagenomics laboratory of the Cibio Department. 

Based on the results of the analyses, performed at the Metagenomics Laboratory of the Cibio Department, on average vegans have the healthiest diets, followed by vegetarians and omnivores. However, the most interesting data emerged from the study of the diversity of the gut microbiome, that is, by measuring the variety of bacteria that inhabit our intestine. Overall, there was less diversity in vegetarians and vegans than in omnivores, but scientists point out that diversity alone is not a reliable aspect to determine the health of the microbiome, as it does not take into account the quality and functionality of bacteria.

The microbial signatures of vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous diets. A key aspect of the study was to examine the differences between gut microbiomes. The researchers were able to see how each dietary pattern leads to a unique microbial signature. The microbiomes of omnivores have an increased presence of bacteria associated with meat digestion, such as Alistipes putredinis, involved in protein fermentation. And omnivores have more bacteria associated with inflammatory bowel disease and an increased risk of colon cancer, such as Ruminococcus torques and Bilophila wadsworthia. The microbiomes of vegans differ in the number of bacteria involved in fiber fermentation, such as several species in the Bacteroides and Firmicutes phyla, which help produce short-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate. These compounds have beneficial effects on gut health, as they reduce inflammation and maintain a better homeostatic balance with our metabolism and immune system. Finally, the main single difference between vegetarians and vegans is the presence of Streptococcus thermophilus in the microbiome of vegetarians, a bacterium found mainly in dairy products and used in the production of yogurt.

Healthy diet and healthy microbiome. The study highlighted that it is the quality of the diet – rather than the dietary pattern itself – that influences the composition of the microbiome. People with healthier dietary patterns, whether vegan, vegetarian or omnivorous, showed a more favorable microbiome composition. This suggests that, regardless of the type of diet, eating more plant-based foods and less animal-based foods, especially if highly processed, can be good for gut health. Another innovative aspect of the research was the study of how bacteria transfer from food to the microbiome. The scientists found that vegans had the fewest food-associated bacteria in the microbiome, except for those derived from fruits and vegetables, which were most present. Vegetarians and omnivores, on the other hand, showed a greater number of bacteria linked to dairy products, especially fermented ones.

Conclusions. "We have observed – emphasizes Nicola Segata – that the quantity and diversity of plant-based foods have a very positive impact on the microbiome. Avoiding meat or dairy products does not necessarily have a positive effect if it does not come with a variety of quality plant-based products. From the point of view of the microbiome, what we can generally recommend is that it is important to eat many plant-based foods, especially those rich in fiber. And that food diversity is important." The research is part of a larger project that aims to identify the benefits of a certain diet based on the specific microbiome of each person or group of people, especially in terms of cardiometabolic health: the so-called precision nutrition.

The study "Gut microbiome signatures of vegan, vegetarian and omnivore diets and associated health outcomes across 21,561 individuals" was published in Nature Microbiology and is available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01870-z

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Journal

Nature Microbiology

DOI

10.1038/s41564-024-01870-z 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Health: Plant-based diets may increase health-associated gut microbes

Article Publication Date

6-Jan-2025

 

To prevent an energy crisis, Sandia Labs cofounds new microelectronics research center

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

 

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The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, pictured here, is one of five Department of Energy Nanoscale Science Research Centers teaming up to help make computer chips more energy-efficient.

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Credit: Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratories

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is collaborating with other research institutions to head off a potential future energy crisis that could be driven in part by artificial intelligence.

“We face an unprecedented microelectronics energy efficiency challenge,” Sandia’s Jeffrey Nelson said. “Computing alone is projected to consume a significant portion of the total planetary energy production within a decade.”

To meet future needs, the Department of Energy Office of Science recently announced the creation of three new Microelectronics Science Research Centers. One center, the Microelectronics Energy Efficiency Research Center for Advanced Technologies, or MEERCAT, will focus on energy efficiency, exploring solutions that bridge sensing, edge processing, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Sandia will be a founding member of MEERCAT and will lead one of the eight energy efficiency-related research projects within the center.

The other two centers will work on resilience in extreme environments, including high-radiation, cryogenic and high magnetic field environments.

“Our center will provide industry with new, higher performance options for energy-efficient computing,” said Nelson, the principal investigator for the Sandia-led project.

Sandia is also partnering on two projects led by other laboratories: one on energy efficiency with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and another on extreme environments with Los Alamos National Laboratory.

AI is a major factor in rising energy demand because it uses more energy than conventional computer algorithms and has seen a surge in popularity within homes and workplaces. Along with the growth of other energy-intensive technologies like quantum computing and advanced sensors, this has created an urgent need for more efficient technologies.

The three new research centers will provide a total of $179 million for 16 multidisciplinary, fundamental research projects lasting up to four years. They are funded through DOE’s Office of Science and authorized by the Micro Act, passed in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This legislation has invested billions of dollars through multiple agencies to help companies build new plants for advanced semiconductors in the U.S. It also funds fundamental research to advance the technologies these future factories will produce.

“We are working with companies to understand their problems and pulling experts together from across the DOE to solve these problems quickly,” Nelson said.

Project seeks to unleash potential of new materials

When the Energy Department announced its plan to form Microelectronics Science Research Centers in May 2024, Nelson reached out to a familiar team.

Two years earlier, a group of directors and experts from DOE’s five scientific user facilities, the Nanoscale Science Research Centers, had started holding regular, collaborative discussions.

 “We met every two weeks for two years,” Nelson said. “We discussed our collective resources and how we can work together to achieve national priorities.”

Nelson is the director of one of these Office of Science user facilities, the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, which is jointly operated by Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. The other four user facilities: the Center for Nanoscale Materials, the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, The Molecular Foundry and the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences are spread across the country, each co-located at a national lab.

The team agreed that by working together they could advance new materials to make computing more powerful and energy-efficient.

Researchers had already found that materials like molybdenum disulfide, gallium arsenide and even diamond may be better than silicon for certain aspects of computing. In theory, computer chips made from one of these alternative materials might be far more energy-efficient and could solve the looming energy crisis.

“They’re very promising,” Nelson said.

But the task of taking any of these materials, perfecting them in a lab, learning how to mass produce them and then building a factory to make chips from them while competing against an established silicon industry and supply chain, the team agreed, felt daunting at best.

Taking a different route, the group of lab leads and other collaborators proposed a project entitled “Nano-Scale Research Center for Heterogeneous Integration Platforms.” This project would aim to leverage the existing infrastructure and expertise of the DOE user facilities and partnering institutions and develop ways to insert new materials into standard silicon fabrication processes.

Now greenlit with DOE’s recent announcement, the project will bring together resources from all five Nanoscale Science Research Centers. It will also include researchers from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

They will build on previous research in what scientists call heterogeneous integration. This means using many kinds of materials to make computer chips, all monolithically integrated into a silicon backbone. The tricky part is to ensure electrons and information flow seamlessly between different materials.

Sandia and its collaborators are aiming for breakthroughs that could help industry create much more energy-efficient computer chips.

“By collaborating across multiple national laboratories and universities, our goal is really to accelerate the innovation discovery process and make a positive impact on economic and national security,” Nelson said.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.

New study links millions of diabetes and heart disease cases globally to sugary drinks

Research reveals the health impacts of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages

Tufts University

 

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Soda bottle on its side

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Credit: Alonso Nichols/Tufts University

A new study from researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, which published in Nature Medicine on January 6, estimates that 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease occur each year globally due to consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

In developing countries, the case count is particularly sobering. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the study found that sugar-sweetened beverages contributed to more than 21% of all new diabetes cases. In Latin America and the Caribbean, they contributed to nearly 24% of new diabetes cases and more than 11% of new cases of cardiovascular disease.

Colombia, Mexico, and South Africa are countries that have been particularly hard hit.  More than 48% of all new diabetes cases in Colombia were attributable to consumption of sugary drinks. Nearly one third of all new diabetes cases in Mexico were linked to sugary drink consumption. In South Africa, 27.6% of new diabetes cases and 14.6% of cardiovascular disease cases were attributable to sugary drink consumption.

Sugary beverages are rapidly digested, causing a spike in blood sugar levels with little nutritional value. Regular consumption over time leads to weight gain, insulin resistance, and a host of metabolic issues tied to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two of the world’s leading causes of death.

“Sugar-sweetened beverages are heavily marketed and sold in low- and middle-income nations. Not only are these communities consuming harmful products, but they are also often less well equipped to deal with the long-term health consequences,” says Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author on the paper and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School.

As countries develop and incomes rise, sugary drinks become more accessible and desirable, the authors say. Men are more likely than women to suffer the consequences of sugary drink consumption, as are younger adults compared to their older counterparts, the researchers say.

“We need urgent, evidence-based interventions to curb consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages globally, before even more lives are shortened by their effects on diabetes and heart disease,” says Laura Lara-Castor, NG24, first author on the paper who earned her Ph.D. at the Friedman School and is now at the University of Washington.

The study’s authors call for a multi-pronged approach, including public health campaigns, regulation of sugary drink advertising, and taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.  Some countries have already taken steps in this direction. Mexico, which has one of the highest per capita rates of sugary drink consumption in the world, introduced a tax on the beverages in 2014. Early evidence suggests that the tax has been effective in reducing consumption, particularly among lower-income individuals. 

“Much more needs to be done, especially in countries in Latin America and Africa where consumption is high and the health consequence severe,” says Mozaffarian, who is also Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School. “As a species, we need to address sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.”

 

Research reported in this article was supported by the Gates Foundation, the American Heart Association, and the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico. Complete information on authors, methodology, limitations, and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders. 

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Journal

Nature Medicine

DOI

10.1038/s41591-024-03345-4 

Article Publication Date

6-Jan-2025

Fluoride once again scrutinized for possible effect on children's brains

Erika Edwards
Mon, January 6, 2025


Fluoride once again scrutinized for possible effect on children's brains
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

A new report once again raises the question of whether there is a link between fluoride in drinking water and lower IQ levels in children.

The research, published in JAMA Pediatrics on Monday, is a review of 74 other studies exploring how the mineral may affect children’s IQ levels.

The analysis found a statistically significant association between higher fluoride exposure and lower children’s IQ scores. It showed that "the more fluoride a child is exposed to, the more likely that child’s IQ will be lower than if they were not exposed,” Kyla Taylor, author of the study and a health scientist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Studies at the National Institutes of Health, wrote in an email. Taylor was not available for an interview.

For every small increase of fluoride found in kids' urine, Taylor wrote, “there is a decrease of 1.63 IQ points in children.”

The researchers did not suggest that fluoride should be removed from drinking water. According to the study authors, most of the 74 studies they reviewed were low-quality ones. All were done in countries other than the United States, such as China, where researchers analyzed fluoride levels in water and in urine. Fluoride levels in China and other countries tend to be much higher than in the U.S., the researchers noted.

Fluoride has been added to public water supplies in the U.S. for decades. No studies in the U.S. have flagged any measurable decreases in children's cognitive development since fluoride was introduced.

There has been a growing pushback against fluoridated water in a number of communities across the country.

Some have already voted to remove fluoride from public water supplies.

Dentists worry the findings will be potentially damaging to public health.

"What we have seen in areas where fluoride has been removed, is that dental decay rates have increased dramatically," said Dr. Erica Caffrey, a pediatric dentist and chair of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Council on Clinical Affairs.

Major public health groups, including the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dental Association, support the use of fluoridated water.

An ADA spokesperson, Dr. Scott Tomar, said that if more robust studies prove a link between fluoride and brain development, public health leaders should take a closer look at the mineral's effects. That proof doesn't exist yet, he said.

Fluoride exposure and children’s IQ scores

 News Release 6-Jan-2025

JAMA Network

About The Study:

 This systematic review and meta-analysis found inverse associations and a dose-response association between fluoride measurements in urine and drinking water and children’s IQ across the large multi-country epidemiological literature. There were limited data and uncertainty in the dose-response association between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ when fluoride exposure was estimated by drinking water alone at concentrations less than 1.5 mg/L. These findings may inform future comprehensive public health risk-benefit assessments of fluoride exposures.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kyla W. Taylor, PhD, email kyla.taylor@nih.gov.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.5542)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

#  #  #

Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.5542?guestAccessKey=f61d2921-6a2b-436a-8710-c9623f148bdf&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=010625

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Journal

JAMA Pediatrics

TRUTH ABOUT U$ TRANS YOUTH

Gender-affirming medications rarely prescribed to US adolescents

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Key points:

• Less than 0.1% of U.S. adolescents were transgender and gender diverse (TGD) and prescribed puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones in a study of private insurance claims representing 5.1 million patients ages eight to 17.

• No TGD patients under age 12 received hormones.

• According to the researchers, the findings counter a growing concern among policymakers that gender-affirming care is frequently over-prescribed to children.

Boston, MA—Puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones are rarely prescribed to U.S. transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and FOLX Health.

The study will be published Jan. 6 in JAMA Pediatrics.

“The politicization of gender-affirming care for transgender youth has been driven by a narrative that millions of children are using hormones and that this type of care is too freely given. Our findings reveal that is not the case,” said lead author Landon Hughes, Yerby Fellow in Harvard Chan School’s Department of Epidemiology and postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Chan School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute’s LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence.

A 2024 study led by researchers at Harvard Chan School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute documented the rarity of gender-affirming surgeries among adolescents. But little is known about hormone use among transgender and gender diverse adolescents. The researchers analyzed private insurance claims data from 2018 to 2022, representing more than 5.1 million young patients ages eight to 17. They identified transgender or gender-diverse patients based on a gender-related diagnosis and then checked if they received puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones. They then calculated the rate of adolescents who are TGD and receiving this care per 100,000 privately insured adolescents according to age and sex assigned at birth.

The study found that less than 0.1% of minors with private insurance are TGD and received puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormone treatment. No TGD patients under age 12 were prescribed gender-affirming hormones. Use of puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones was more common among TGD adolescents assigned female sex at birth than those assigned male sex at birth.

The researchers noted that higher rates of puberty blocker and hormone prescriptions for TGD patients assigned female sex at birth aligned with an earlier onset of puberty for people who are female vs. male sex assigned at birth.

“Our study found that, overall, very few TGD youth access gender-affirming care, which was surprisingly low, given that over 3% of high school youth identify as transgender .” said senior author Jae Corman, head of analytics and research at FOLX Health. “Among those that do, the timing of care aligns with the standards outlined by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Endocrine Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

The researchers also noted that the study likely reflects the highest rates of puberty blocker and hormone use by adolescents, given the study used private insurance data, likely reflecting greater access to gender-affirming care. Lower rates would be expected among the uninsured, Medicaid recipients, and those with less comprehensive private insurance.

Isa Berzansky, research analyst at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and Brittany Charlton, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School and founding director of the LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence, were co-authors.

“Gender-Affirming Medications Among Transgender Adolescents in the US, 2018-2022,” Landon D. Hughes, Brittany M. Charlton, Isa Berzansky, Jae D. Corman, JAMA Pediatrics, January 6, 2025, doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.6081

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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is a community of innovative scientists, practitioners, educators, and students dedicated to improving health and advancing equity so all people can thrive. We research the many factors influencing health and collaborate widely to translate those insights into policies, programs, and practices that prevent disease and promote well-being for people around the world. We also educate thousands of public health leaders a year through our degree programs, postdoctoral training, fellowships, and continuing education courses. Founded in 1913 as America’s first professional training program in public health, the School continues to have an extraordinary impact in fields ranging from infectious disease to environmental justice to health systems and beyond.

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Journal

JAMA Pediatrics

DOI

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.6081 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Gender-Affirming Medications Among Transgender Adolescents in the US, 2018-2022

Article Publication Date

6-Jan-2025

 

Economics research stumbled under Soviet regime, while mathematics thrived

Radboud University Nijmegen

Political and ideological barriers can shape the progress of academic disciplines, warns Ivan Boldyrev. In a new paper, the historian of economics at Radboud University explores the complex history of Soviet science and warns that a new Cold War might once again hinder academic progress. His findings have been published in the Journal of Economic Literature.

Starting in the 1930s and World War 2, the field of economics research changed greatly. ‘Prior to the 1930s, economic theory was much less formal’, explains Boldyrev. ‘Then, new publications led to the so-called mathematization of economics: more rigorous models were used to conceptualize the economy.’ 

This academic change encompassed almost all international economics research, except in the Soviet Union where most economists either emigrated or were repressed . As a result, there were few if any notable papers published by Soviet economists in this period.

Ideology over academics

In his paper, Boldyrev explores some of the factors that limited research by Soviet economists. ‘The Soviet government valued ideology over academic rigor, and there was a hostility to the direction of Western economics in the 1930s and 1940s. This, in turn, led to censorship on many levels. By the government, trying to keep out Western thought, but also by scholarly institutions careful to avoid pressure from the government. That led to self-censorship, too, as researchers did not feel able to freely write and contribute to the ‘new’ style of economics research. Academic exchange was severely restricted during this time between Soviet and non-Soviet economists.’ 

Remarkably, some of the Soviet work did contribute greatly to research in non-Soviet economics, Boldyrev explains. However, it wasn’t economists, but mathematicians who were mostly able to keep contributing, despite many Cold War obstacles. Soviet mathematics was under less pressure and remained internationally competitive in many fields.

Learning from the past

‘Throughout the Soviet regime, formal technical contributions in the fields of mathematics (optimization, games, probability) were applied to various fields of non-Soviet economic theory. And some of the Soviet mathematical work was actually directly inspired by economic applications. Unfortunately, the support and contributions of mathematicians were never enough to outweigh the lack of a free and internationally open research environment.’

As Boldyrev explains, understanding the history of economics research and international communication of ideas is crucial to advancing the field. ‘Science can only succeed in the right context, by understanding what happened before and learning from that. That’s why our students of economics all study the history of the field. It’s also important to not repeat the mistakes of the past. The global situation now is not so different from that of the Cold War, and this paper shows in more detail how limiting that can be for academic research.’ 

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Journal

Journal of Economic Literature

DOI

10.1257/jel.20241699 

Article Title

Soviet Mathematics and Economic Theory in the Past Century: A Historical Reappraisal