Morning Medical Update: Eyedrops to slow progression of nearsightedness; U.S. life expectancy problem; 1 in 5 physicians intend to leave medicine in next 2 years

Eyedrops to slow progression of nearsightedness

A clinical trial of drug atropine showed promising results in reducing nearsightedness in children 6 to 10 years old. It works by inhibiting the elongation of the eye, the cause of nearsightedness. According to the article, nearly 1 in 3 adults in the world are nearsighted. That number is predicted to rise to 50% by 2050.

U.S. life expectancy problem

While life expectancies outside of the U.S. get longer, life expectancies inside the U.S. shorten. A new report says that they have been dropping since the 1950s. “The number of countries outperforming the United States is much larger than we thought,” study author Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and health at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond said in the article. The current life expectancy is 76.1 years, the lowest it’s been since 1996.

1 in 5 physicians intend to leave medicine in next 2 years

Burnout levels in physicians rose during the pandemic and have not decreased afterward. To be exact, burnout levels pre pandemic were around 38% and post pandemic they are 63%. As a result, many physicians are looking to leave medicine. “At a time like this, where we know patients are experiencing long wait times to get appointments, we just can’t afford to have that happen,” Dr. Jack Resneck, the department chair for dermatology at UCSF and acting president of the American Medical Association said in an interview.