What We're Reading: Climate Resilience Pledge; Improving Addiction Care; Weak Grip Strength May Signal Biological Aging

Health Care Organizations Sign Climate Resilience Pledge

HHS announced Thursday that 102 health care organizations representing 837 hospitals have signed the White House/HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge that seeks to reduce emissions and promote climate resilience. Initially launched on Earth Day 2022, the pledge serves as a voluntary commitment that includes cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The HHS delegation also noted plans to collaborate with the National Health Service of England on a proposal to align procurement requirements as much as possible.

Intervention Improves Health Outcomes for Patients With Addiction

A study published in JAMA Network Open found that linking patients in addiction treatment with a primary care practitioner resulted in long-term benefits over 5 years, including greater primary care use and reduced risk of substance-related emergency department visits. As a 5-year follow-up of the LINKAGE trial (NCT01621711), patients being treated at the Kaiser Permanente outpatient addiction clinic were randomly assigned to usual care or the intervention that provided strategies for communicating with clinicians, how to use the electronic patient portal, and how to set recovery- and health-related goals.

Grip Strength Inversely Linked With Biological Age

Muscle weakness characterized by grip strength was associated with biological age acceleration. Findings published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle indicated that older men and women who had weak grip strength reported accelerated age clocks based on DNA methylation, a process that provides a molecular biomarker and estimator of the pace of aging, after 8 to 10 years of follow-up.