LATEST NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Americans Aren't Sleeping Enough
A May 2026 CDC data brief reports that 30.5% of U.S. adults surveyed in 2024 are sleeping fewer than the recommended seven hours per night, a figure largely unchanged since 2020. Sleep insufficiency is clinically associated with cardiometabolic conditions including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
Approximately 15% of adults report difficulty falling asleep and 18% struggle to stay asleep. A concurrent publication indicates that roughly 13% of U.S. adults use sleep aids nightly — including prescription medications, OTC supplements, and cannabis-derived products — prompting clinical guidance that habitual self-medication warrants physician evaluation to identify potential underlying sleep disorders. Read more from NPR here.
FDA Study Finds Baby Formula Largely Safe from Heavy Metals
Federal health officials are undertaking the first review of infant formula standards in decades, with HHS Secretary Kennedy's Operation Stork Speed initiative examining potential heavy metal contaminants and the currency of existing nutrient guidelines.
The review carries significant public health implications given that most infants rely on formula, breast milk, or both as their sole nutrition source for the first six months of life. While administration officials have privately indicated sweeping regulatory changes are unlikely, Kennedy is scheduled to meet with major formula manufacturer CEOs to discuss modernizing FDA oversight.
Implementation details remain scarce, and industry representatives have affirmed existing quality protocols meet current regulatory requirements. Read more from the WSJ/MSN here.
36% of Adults Skipped Health Appointments Last Year Because of Cost
Recent data highlighted in an Elevance Health report underscore mounting cost-driven barriers to care access: 36% of U.S. adults report skipping physician visits due to cost, while family insurance premiums have increased 52% over the past decade, contributing to national health care expenditures exceeding $5 trillion annually.
Hospital spending rose 10% in 2023–2024—the fastest rate in over 30 years—and prescription drug spending climbed 8% in 2024. The report also identifies implementation failures in the No Surprises Act as an unintended cost driver. Proposed solutions center on site-neutral payment models, real-time data sharing, fraud reduction, and integrating social determinants into care coordination. Read the full article by Axios here.
FEATURED TOPICS
CDC Reports Emergence of Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigella
CDC analysis published in MMWR reports a marked rise in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella infections in the United States. Among 16,788 isolates collected from 2011–2023, 3% were XDR, increasing from 0% in 2011–2015 to 8.5% in 2023.
Most cases occurred in adult men, with limited travel history, suggesting domestic transmission. XDR strains are resistant to five key antibiotics, and no FDA-approved oral treatments are available.
CDC highlights the need for strengthened surveillance, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and rapid reporting, along with targeted prevention strategies to limit further spread and address growing antimicrobial resistance concerns. Read more in Food Safety Magazine here.
The White House Wants to Cut WIC Fruit and Vegetable Benefits by 75%—Here’s What Dietitians Warn
The White House’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal includes significant reductions to the WIC program’s fruit and vegetable benefits, lowering monthly allowances from $52 to $13 for breastfeeding mothers and from $27 to $10 for families with young children.
Public health and nutrition experts emphasize that WIC is strongly associated with improved child diet quality and health outcomes, largely due to its support for produce access during critical early-life stages. Dietitians warn that reducing benefits could widen existing nutrition gaps for low-income families, despite evidence that food access programs help reduce diet-related chronic disease and strengthen population health outcomes. Read more from Eating Well here.
MMWR: Kratom-Related Poison Center Reports Surge 1,200%
Published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, new data show kratom-related exposures reported to U.S. poison centers increased approximately 1,200% from 2015 to 2025, reaching a record high.
The findings highlight a shift toward higher-potency products and expanding use across demographic groups. Although many cases involved kratom alone, co-use with substances such as alcohol, opioids, and antidepressants was linked to more severe outcomes, including hospitalizations and deaths.
The report underscores the importance of continued surveillance, targeted public health education, and clinical awareness, particularly around polysubstance use. Read the MMWR here.
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