Chronic Disease & Food as Medicine

Chronic Disease & Food as Medicine

Trends in chronic disease rates, research on risk factors, and efforts to manage and treat chronic disease.

• Diabetes Mortality: New research shows the diabetes mortality rate in the U.S. dropped from 28.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 2000 to 19.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2019, a 32.1% decline. The research team suggests that the decline may be driven by improved diabetes management, including advances in medications such as newer insulins and Glucagon-like peptide-1s (GLP-1s), increased use of statins, more intensive control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, as well as changes in diagnostic criteria.
  
• Alzheimer's Increases: New data from the 2025 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures Report shows an estimated 7.2 million Americans ages 65 and older now have Alzheimer's dementia, up from 6.9 million last year. Health and long-term care costs for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are projected to reach $384 billion in 2025.
  
• Ultra-Processed Foods: A new, global study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that for each 10% increase in the contribution of ultra-processed foods to total calorie intake, the risk of mortality from all causes rises by 2.7%. This translates to over 124,000 preventable deaths in the U.S. each year. A separate study found certain common combinations of emulsifiers, colorings, and sweeteners were linked to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes—beyond the risk posed by the individual additives alone.
  
• Food is Medicine: A new Health Affairs commentary explores the history of the Food Is Medicine movement and proposes a generative model of Food Is Medicine centered on community-based organizations and local food systems.
  

Resources & Initiatives

• A Healthier Michigan has released a Preventive Care Podcast Series on what you can and cannot control about your health.
• The BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation is investing in three new BlueCross Healthy Place projects that aim to create and revitalize public spaces that encourage neighbors to come together, connect with one another and enjoy healthy activity.
• Florida Blue, in partnership with Sanitas Medical Centers and The Oncology Institute launched a new comprehensive oncology care model to provide faster access to cancer care.
• TrueFood, a new online tool developed by a team at Mass General Brigham, provides nutrition facts and ingredient information on more than 50,000 processed foods available at Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods.
• Learn more about Blue Cross NC Foundation’s $6 million investment to support, and learn from, 10 community-based Food is Medicine programs throughout North Carolina, and Elevance Health Foundation’s ongoing efforts to support Food as Medicine programming, including a new, five-year commitment to enhance and improve the efficacy of the initiatives.
  
• In response to the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) goal to eliminate artificial food dyes, the Food and Drug Administration recently announced the approval of three new color additives made from natural sources.
  

Health Industry News

• Health Insurance: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance on various approaches states and insurers may use to prepare themselves if Congress funds cost-sharing reduction payments. New data from the National Academy for State Health Policy shows high enrollment in state-based marketplaces (SBM) in 2025, primarily driven by federal premium tax credits, that helped lower insurance premiums for SBM consumers. As high enrollment in SBMs continues, Aetna exits Affordable Care Act marketplaces, resulting in 1 million Aetna enrollees in 17 states needing to seek new health coverage next year.
• Weight Loss Drugs: GLP-1 drugs can slow the growth of medical costs within two years for employers, according to a recent study. The reduction in cost was primarily driven by a 44% reduction in major cardiovascular issues. Findings from another study show weight loss drugs can reduce Alzheimer’s risk for people with diabetes. However, the percentage of risk varies and is dependent on the type of weight loss medication. Disparities persist in access to weight loss drug prescriptions. Hims & Hers Health and Novo Nordisk are collaborating to sell weight loss treatments.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): New research shows large language models can imitate medical devices in clinical care scenarios. Academic researchers have created AI tools used to fast track new health treatments and detect diseases in radiology. As AI advances, UnitedHealth has 1,000 AI applications in use across multiple units of their business. As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, the generated hallucinations may be worsening.
• Cancer Research: University of Michigan researchers found the proportion of patients undergoing prostate surgery for the lowest-risk type of prostate cancer dropped over fivefold between 2010 to 2024. A recent immunotherapy clinical trial led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center resulted in most cancer patients seeing their tumors disappear or not recur. New research on triple negative breast cancer, which disproportionately affects Black women, provides additional evidence for expanding targeted treatments.

Health Policy Watch

Ongoing reductions in agency funding, tariff concerns, and changes to virus research.

• Proposed Budget Cuts: The latest White House budget proposal calls for $33 billion in cuts across the HHS, including $18 billion from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The budget would reduce the NIH’s 27 centers to 5, limiting work on nursing and complementary medicine, and at least temporarily eliminating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Chronic Disease Prevention unit. The budget is not yet finalized and many agency functions may be folded into other divisions of HHS.

• Tariff Impact: Medtech companies are rapidly responding to the potential effects of tariffs by increasing U.S. manufacturing, trimming spending, and stocking up on products. Johnson & Johnson, GE Healthcare, Abbott, and others say they are hoping to avoid raising prices for hospitals. MilleporeSigma will add a tariff surcharge to syringes, centrifuges, and other products used in research that are sold to the U.S., while pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. surged ($50 billion in one month) as manufacturers sought to avoid possible tariff related price increases.

• Transforming Drug Pricing: A new Trump Administration executive order would require American pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices in the U.S. to match those they charge in other countries. The Most Favored Nation policy gives pharmaceutical companies 30 days to comply, but it is unclear how the order may be enforced.
• New Approach to Virus Research: The NIH will conduct research into the development of a universal vaccine that might address future strains of the flu and coronavirus, but health experts express concern over a new Trump executive order that will restrict “gain of function” research, which involves experimenting with pathogens and viruses.
• Federal Cuts Hurt Food Banks: The Trump Administration’s $500 million cut to the Emergency Food Assistance Program is causing shortages at food banks. The strain is occurring at a time of increased demand for food assistance, especially in rural areas such as Idaho and Nevada.
  
• Fluoride Bans: Florida has become the second state to ban fluoride in drinking water, following Utah. Dental health experts express concern that the bans will lead to an increase in dental disease, especially among children.

Suicide Prevention & Mental Health

Updates on suicide risk and prevention efforts, mental health research, age-related population trends and access to available support.

• Suicide Reduction & Risk: A new study finds health systems could reduce suicide attempts by as much as 25% by implementing the Zero Suicide practice model, which includes suicide risk screening, assessment, brief interventions, and behavioral health treatment. A team of researchers is offering insights into how different professional occupations can affect an individual’s suicide risk.
• Youth Mental Health: A recent study in JAMA Pediatrics finds that youth mental health in the U.S. began declining even before the COVID-19 pandemic, with the proportion of young people experiencing anxiety or depression increasing from 2016 to 2022. In a separate study, UC Berkeley researchers reveal self-harm has increased among California adolescents, especially among young women and multiracial girls.
  
• Reduced Access to Mental Health Support: The Trump Administration cancels $1 billion in federal grants used to hire school mental health professionals, such as counselors and social workers. Staffing cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration may impact the delivery of existing services, including raising awareness for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
  

Resources & Initiatives

• The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas awarded grants to 12 initiatives addressing behavioral health in Arkansas, including Project Renew, a peer-led suicide prevention initiative aimed at improving mental health awareness.
• In North Carolina, leaders, experts, funders and community partners have launched a comprehensive initiative to expand access to behavioral health services for youth in the state. Initial funding was provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and its Foundation.
• The Wellmark Foundation announced a $5 million grant for helping rural school districts in Iowa provide timely and convenient mental and behavioral health services to youth.
• The Florida Blue Foundation has awarded $2.4 million to seven mental health nonprofits to support programs such as Teen Mental Health First Aid training and initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of teens from low-income families facing behavioral health challenges.
• Several Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, including Arkansas Blue Cross, Louisiana Blue, and Florida Blue, have partnered with Lucet Health to enhance access to and quality of behavioral health care.
  

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you’re not alone. Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline—help is available 24/7.

Measles Update

Measles cases in the U.S. have surpassed 1001 total cases, according to a recent report from the CDC. Amid rising cases and low MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccinations, researchers are concerned about measles becoming endemic within the U.S. A simulation model in JAMA predicts a slight increase in MMR vaccinations could reduce the spread of measles. To curb the spread of measles, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. pushes for a new measles treatment including vitamins. Concurrently, the HHS is being sued for cutting over $11 billion in funding for infectious disease programs.

Resources & Initiatives

• Harvard Health discusses the populations that may benefit from receiving a measles booster shot.
• NBC News continues to track measles.
  
• Boston University launches a new tool to help monitor infectious diseases around the globe.