By Tina Reed

Data: JAMA Internal Medicine; Chart: Axios VisualsAvoidable mortality rose across every U.S. state between 2009 and 2019, jumping about 25 deaths per 100,000 people across states over that time frame, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.Why it matters: At the same time, many of America’s peer nations in the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) were seeing improvements.What they found: Avoidable mortality refers to annual deaths in the population before 75 years “that could have been prevented through timely, effective health care and public health interventions.”Between 2009 and 2019, total avoidable mortality in the U.S. increased from nearly 256 deaths per 100,000 people to 280.There was a wide variation in avoidable deaths state-to-state compared with other countries.Reality check: Between 2019 and 2021, avoidable mortality increased for all U.S. states and nearly all comparator countries, the authors pointed out.The bottom line: “Despite spending more on health care than every other high-income country, the U.S. had comparably higher avoidable mortality,” the authors wrote.”U.S. policymakers should more closely examine population health across states in international comparative studies with the U.S., particularly as health policy and responses to health shocks vary across states,” they wrote.from STAT:23andMe’s bankruptcy is bad for all parties involved The news that 23andMe has field for bankruptcy is, of course, bad for co-founder Anne Wojcicki and for investors, but it’s worst of all for the company’s customers, my colleague Matt Herper writes.At best, customers likely face the loss of the good aspects of the company, such as patient networking and the possibility of developing treatments. In a worse scenario, they may also face new risks to the security of their genetic data if that data are sold off in pieces.It’s unclear how much value lies in the genetic data that 23andMe has collected. The company was aiming to use the data to power scientific discoveries and speed the development of new treatments. Its tests were limited, though, as they yielded only a certain number of genetic locations, not full DNA sequences. The situation is further complicated by the possibility that customers may ask 23andMe to delete their data, which would make its databases less valuable.Read more.The ‘devastating’ blow to cancer research under Trump For decades, cancer held a near-sacred spot in the American biomedical enterprise, commanding the lion’s share of research dollars and support from both Democrats and Republicans. Now, not even cancer is protected from political change, STAT’s Angus Chen writes. More than a dozen people in the cancer field told STAT that government and congressional actions since President Trump’s inauguration are threatening treatment for cancer patients and the development of new therapies or cures. Between cuts, delays, and policy changes to science, the community is bracing for impact.Even the Cancer Moonshot — President Biden’s flagship initiative to slash cancer rates — was flagged as a “controversial” term at NIH. More from Angus.

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