Does Illicit Drug Use Increase Stroke Risk?

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Their results, published in the International Journal of Stroke, showed substantial differences in stroke risk associated with several drugs. Cocaine and amphetamine use were each linked to roughly twice the risk of stroke (cocaine increased the risk by 96%, amphetamines by 122%), while cannabis use was associated with an increase of about 37%. Opioid use, by contrast, showed no statistically significant association with stroke risk.

The researchers also examined people under age 55 separately. Within this younger group, amphetamine use was associated with nearly three times the risk of stroke (an increase of 174%). Cannabis was linked to a smaller 14% increase in stroke risk, while cocaine use was associated with a 97% increase. University of Cambridge. “Cannabis use linked to 37% higher stroke risk in massive study.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260822015215.htm (accessed August 23, 2026).

Journal Reference:

  1. Megan Ritson, Hugh S Markus, Eric L Harshfield. Does illicit drug use increase stroke risk? A systematic review, meta-analyses, and Mendelian randomization analysis. International Journal of Stroke, 2026; 21 (6): 788 DOI: 10.1177/17474930261418926

Yikes.

Statins and Seniors

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For clinicians, these findings reinforce the importance of individualised decision making rather than a single preferred approach. For older adults who are tolerating statin therapy and wish to continue treatment, evidence from SAGA/SITE provides little reason to recommend routine discontinuation. Conversely, for patients who prioritise reducing medication burden, have limited life expectancy, have substantial polypharmacy, or whose goals of care have changed, discontinuation might be a reasonable option. Rather than supporting a default strategy, the trial broadens the evidence available for treatment decisions that reflect each patient’s individual clinical circumstances and preferences.2,3 Statin discontinuation in older adults: changing the conversation, not the default – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(26)00072-3/fulltext

Discontinuation of statins for primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in adults aged 75 years or older (SAGA/SITE): a multicentre, open-label, pragmatic, non-inferiority randomised trial Bonnet et al.

The Lancet Healthy Longevity August 11, 2026

WOO HOO (maybe).

Life is short and science takes too long.

Scary Charts – 08.16.26

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Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 1,591 U.S. adults ages 22–75, this research uncovers a five-year difference between when current retirees, on average, actually left the workforce (age 57) and when future retirees expect to retire (age 62), with half of those planning to retire anticipating they’ll need to delay even further. Future retirees are shifting away from traditional income sources like Social Security and pensions, planning instead to rely more heavily on personal savings and continued employment. Career interruptions remain a significant but underappreciated threat to retirement security, as half of U.S. adults have left the workforce for more than a year.

The entire study Bridging retirement expectation gaps New evidence and insights can be downloaded here:

https://www.tiaa.org/public/institute/publication/2026/bridging-the-gaps-in-retirement-expectations

Remember my earlier post The Fear Shared By Most (Not Just Another Random Thought on Retirement) describes the greatest fear in retirement is outliving your savings. And Economist Teresa Ghilarducci is of the opinion working longer is not a plan but an illusion.

Yikes.

Scary Charts – 08.08.26

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The class disparity in happiness is nothing new. The GSS data reveal that college-educated men were happier than their less-educated peers going back to the 1980s. And while the GSS shows somewhat steady levels of happiness from the 1980s through the 2000s, other well-being metrics suggest rising discontent in earlier decades. Mortality data, for instance, shows a steady and concerning rise in what researchers call “deaths of despair”—fatalities attributable to drug overdoses, suicide, and alcoholism. The rise in “deaths of despair” has been especially dramatic among white working-class men. Our analysis of death records and population estimates finds that the suicide rate per 100,000 white non-Hispanic men ages 25 to 44 has risen from 31 in 1992 to 54 in 2023, a shocking 71% increase over just three decades.

The entire study and more scary charts can be downloaded here:

The Roots of Working-Class Men’s Discontent

https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/the-roots-of-working-class-mens-discontent

Data Centers Can (are) Ruining People’s Lives

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As construction began, Newsom says he spoke with Amazon and Clark Construction representatives, who knocked on his door and, as they put up the fencing around the construction site, told him that if he ever had issues to come to them as they’d “make it right.”

“Then I started having problems, lots of problems,” he says. Innumerable dump trucks came down the road and sent dust through the air day after day. Flashing blue lights from security cameras poured into his bedroom all night. The roads became covered in mud. And eventually, that mud made its way into Newsom’s well, he claims.

“A lot of people in this county have what’s called a bored well, which is a shallow surface water well. So when they’re moving this amount of dirt and earth, digging and vibrations—all those microvibrations over time will work that sediment into the water stream, into that well, and flow straight into my water,” he explains.

He adds that a hydrologist he brought in agreed that the work was disturbing the water table. But when he tried to get in touch with the Amazon superintendent who promised to help address issues, he was met with silence.

A Virginia Homeowner Is Suing Amazon Over a Data Center Being Built by His Home—That He Says Is Already Making Life Unbearable https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/virginia-homeowner-suing-amazon-over-data-center-unbearable/

YIKES. And now a word or two from the great 20th century philosopher Willie:

Amen.

Get FIT!

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide.

In this retrospective, population-based, descriptive cohort study, organized FIT-based screening was associated with a sustained decline in CRC mortality, particularly among individuals aged 50 to 69 years. Colorectal Cancer Mortality Following an Organized Fecal Immunochemical Test–Based Screening Program – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2852451

A Striking Concentration of First-born Excess in Neuropsychiatric Conditions – Scary Charts 08.03.26

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The study has a number of limitations and…

This study was supported by award no. 1R01MH137646-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institutes of Health to S.A.K. and A.R. The funders had no role in study design, data collection or analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Birth order and disease risk across the human phenome – https://www.nature.com/articles/s44360-026-00177-z#Abs1

I’m a first-born.

YIKES.

Scary Charts (Prescription Drug edition) – 08.02.26

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Today, three PBMs, CVS Caremark (34% market share), Express Scripts (23%, owned by Cigna’s Evernorth), and Optum Rx (22%, owned by UnitedHealth Group), control nearly 80% of all U.S. prescription claims. In exchange for placing a manufacturer’s drug on the formulary, or giving it preferred status over competing therapies, the PBM negotiates rebates, administrative fees, and performance payments from the manufacturer. A portion of those payments flows back to the health plan, while the PBM retains part of the negotiated revenue.

One feature of today’s market that surprises many people is how vertically integrated it has become. The largest PBMs are no longer independent middlemen. They sit inside healthcare conglomerates that also own insurers, pharmacies, physician groups, specialty pharmacies, and mail-order pharmacies. For example, CVS Health owns Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Pharmacy, MinuteClinic, and Signify Health. UnitedHealth Group owns UnitedHealthcare, Optum Rx, and Optum Health. Cigna owns Express Scripts through Evernorth. This consolidation has fueled ongoing debate about whether these organizations can optimize each part of the supply chain independently or whether incentives increasingly favor the parent company as a whole. Mark Cuban on Breaking the Drug Pricing Cartel: Inside Cost Plus Drugs – https://pearhealthcareplaybook.substack.com/p/mark-cuban-on-breaking-the-drug-pricing

Hat Tip – https://ritholtz.com/2026/08/10-sunday-reads-239/

Yikes.