Health
Trump Administration Sends Politically Charged Survey to Researchers
The Trump administration has asked researchers and organizations whose work is conducted overseas to disclose ties to those regarded as hostile, including “entities associated with communist, socialist or totalitarian parties,” according to a questionnaire obtained by The New York Times.
The online survey was sent this week to groups working abroad to research diseases like H.I.V., gather surveillance data and strengthen public health systems. Recipients received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Agency for International Development and other federal sources.
The questionnaire appears to be very similar to one sent earlier this week to partners of the United States Agency for International Development, which has been all but dismantled by the Trump administration. Both were titled “Foreign Assistance Review.”
Recipients were instructed to respond within 48 hours. Some grantees interviewed by The Times feared that impolitic or unsatisfactory answers could lead to cancellation of funding.
“Taxpayer dollars must not fund dependency, socialism, corrupt regimes that oppose free enterprise, or intervene in internal matters of another sovereign nation,” the questionnaire said.
“A truly prosperous America prioritizes domestic growth, innovation, and economic strength over foreign handouts,” it added.
A spokesman for the White House did not return a request for comment about the survey.
The form asks a series of questions that touch on collaborators, including whether grant recipients work with drug cartels or “groups that promote mass migration.”
It asks about the impact of programs, such as whether they have an effect on “promoting religious freedom and combating Christian persecution” in other nations.
It asks grant recipients if they or their organizations collaborate with or have received funding from Russia, Cuba, Iran or China — including the Confucius Institute, which works with China’s Ministry of Education to promote language and cultural exchanges with American students.
Some federal officials who oversee grants said they were particularly dismayed by a question asking grantees to disavow associations with communist entities. The United States assists with health work in a number of communist countries, including Vietnam.
“Some of my grantees are literally the public health government structures in a communist country,” said one federal official, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution. “This is painful.”
Awards and contracts to aid groups have been under review during a 90-day pause on foreign aid, but in some instances they have been canceled and restored over the past few weeks. The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the federal government to resume the payments.
Various versions of the questionnaires were sent out starting Wednesday, and the deadlines appear to range from midnight on Friday to 5 p.m. Monday. But the process has been riddled with confusion.
Some grantees appear to have been given extensions, while others were denied. Some noted that the deadline seemed to shift as more copies of the questionnaire were received each day.
The recipients included scientists at large universities and research programs in the United States, as well as tiny organizations abroad. Some questionnaires were apparently sent in error; one was received by Maine’s health department.
A principal investigator with two C.D.C. grants for domestic research projects received the email Thursday evening, only to receive another Friday morning telling him to ignore the previous missive.
The answers are meant to be filled out by a single person in one sitting, with no way to save responses for a break. The form estimates the task to take 30 minutes, including the time required for gathering the necessary data and documents.
“The chaotic way in which these stop work orders, terminations, waivers, reinstated awards, surveys — all with rapid deadlines and minimal communication — have been sent is distracting and incredibly disruptive,” said one scientist, who spoke anonymously for fear of losing funding.
Some American grantees have turned to lawyers for advice about how to phrase the responses.
Organizations that are based overseas are most at a disadvantage. The communications pause the Trump administration imposed several weeks ago still prevents them from talking to federal officials who might be able to assist, according to one C.D.C. official.
Grantees are allowed only to talk to American officials in the countries where they are based.
“They could lose the vital funds they need to do their work if they don’t answer these questions appropriately,” said a federal official, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution.
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Stat of the week
More than 59% of women may have high blood pressure by 2050, according to a new report from the American Heart Association.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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