Health News Roundup: McDonald's to curb antibiotic use in its beef supply; Many older adults don't take prescribed antidepressants

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. top court, Kavanaugh spurn Planned Parenthood defunding case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals by Louisiana and Kansas seeking to end their public funding to women's healthcare and abortion provider Planned Parenthood through the Medicaid program, with President Donald Trump's appointee Brett Kavanaugh among the justices who rebuffed the states. The justices left intact lower court rulings that prevented Louisiana and Kansas from stripping government healthcare funding from local Planned Parenthood affiliates. The case was one of a number of disputes working their way up to the Supreme Court over the legality of state-imposed restrictions involving abortion.

Many young physicians don't get doctor-recommended child and family leave

Physicians training at many of the top U.S. medical schools get much less time off for childbearing and family leave than the 12 weeks recommended by doctors, two new studies suggest. Only eight of the 15 hospitals affiliated with the top 12 medical schools in the U.S. have paid family or childbearing leave for doctors in training, even though all of the schools have leave policies for faculty physicians, one of the studies in JAMA found. Trainee doctors got an average of 6.6 weeks of paid leave, compared with 8.6 weeks for faculty physicians.

Weeding out foreigners: strains over Thailand's legalization of marijuana

Thailand is set to become the first Asian country to legalize medical marijuana, but a battle is brewing between local and foreign firms over control of a potentially lucrative market. With parliament set to approve the legislation as early as next month, Thai businesses and activists have raised concerns that a raft of patent requests filed by foreign firms could allow them to dominate the market and make it harder for researchers to access marijuana extracts.

Younger siblings of kids with autism and ADHD have higher risk of these disorders

Children who have an older brother or sister with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be more likely to develop these conditions than kids who don't have an older sibling with these neurological problems, a new study suggests. When an older sibling had autism, younger kids were more than 30 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism and three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children whose siblings didn't have these disorders, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics.

Delivering a baby increases - then lowers - risk of breast cancer: study

Having a baby temporarily increases the risk of breast cancer by about 80 percent compared to the risk in women who have never given birth, researchers behind a new study have concluded. But the 80 percent-higher breast cancer risk is not as scary as it first sounds because "fortunately, breast cancer is uncommon in young women," chief author Dr. Hazel Nichols told Reuters Health in a telephone interview.

U.S. veterans' hospitals often better than nearby alternatives

U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals may provide better quality care than other hospitals in many American communities, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers looked at 121 regional health care markets with at least one VA hospital and one non-VA facility. Altogether they assessed 135 VA hospitals and 2,988 non-VA hospitals using Hospital Compare, a public database that ranks hospitals on quality measures like mortality rates for common diseases and preventable complications.

McDonald's to curb antibiotic use in its beef supply

McDonald's Corp said on Tuesday it plans to reduce the use of antibiotics in its global beef supply, fueling projections that other restaurants will follow suit. The move by the world's biggest fast-food chain addresses concerns that the overuse of antibiotics vital to fighting human infections in farm animals may diminish the drugs' effectiveness in people.

Hospital discharge during December holidays tied to more readmissions, deaths

Patients sent home from the hospital around Christmas time are more likely to have bad outcomes compared to those discharged at other times, a Canadian study suggests. Researchers poring through data from Ontario hospitals found that patients discharged during the Christmas season were more likely to die or to be readmitted during the following 30 days compared to patients discharged in late November or late January.

Many older adults don't take prescribed antidepressants

Older adults who are prescribed medication for depression by primary care physicians often fail to start taking these drugs or to continue using them as directed, a Dutch study suggests. While people with severe and chronic mental illness may see a psychiatrist for medications, many patients with depression may not see a mental health professional and instead get care from a primary care provider.

Emergency allergy shots less effective after heat exposure

The medicine in emergency allergy shots like the EpiPen can deteriorate when exposed to heat, so don't leave them in the car on a hot day, researchers warn. Patients with serious allergies typically carry an emergency autoinjector - such as the EpiPen made by drugmaker Mylan NV - at all times. The devices are used to deliver an emergency dose of the hormone epinephrine to patients who may go into life-threatening anaphylactic shock.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)