AMA CEO calls for federal action to protect patients, physicians from deepfake doctors
In an opinion piece published in STAT, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, American Medical Association (AMA) CEO John Whyte, M.D., M.P.H., warned that artificial intelligence (AI)-generated “deepfake” videos impersonating real physicians are posing a growing threat to public health. Scammers are cloning doctors’ faces and voices without consent to promote fake weight-loss drugs, bogus “GLP-1 alternatives” and other unproven treatments on social media. Whyte said the increasingly sophisticated videos risk steering patients toward unsafe or ineffective products while further eroding trust in medical institutions. He called on federal and state regulators to protect physician identities, require clear labeling of AI-generated content and hold bad actors accountable, and urged social media platforms to strengthen enforcement against medical impersonation. Read the full article in STAT.
1 in 5 U.S. households report child mental health treatment need
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. households with children reported that at least one child needed mental health treatment in the prior month, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Among those households, 24.8% reported an unmet need, 16.6% said it was very difficult to access care and 21.8% cited access difficulty as the reason their child did not receive treatment. Unmet need was higher in households with multiple children, single-parent households and those with homeschooled children. Uninsured and Medicaid-covered households had similarly high rates — about 40% — of going without care due to access barriers, underscoring ongoing challenges in connecting children to mental health services.
Muscle strength tied to lower death risk in women over 60
Women over 60 with greater muscle strength had a significantly lower risk of death over eight years, according to a study of more than 5,000 women published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers found that stronger grip strength and faster performance on five unassisted chair stands were both associated with lower mortality, even after accounting for physical activity, sedentary time, cardiovascular fitness and inflammation. For every 7-kilogram increase in grip strength, mortality risk was 12% lower on average, while faster chair-stand times were linked to a 4% lower risk in 6-second increments. The findings suggest maintaining muscle strength may be as important as aerobic activity for healthy aging, especially as the population of women over 80 continues to grow.
