Women Earn Less From Drug, Device Firms; New Rules on Nondrug Cancer Pain Therapy; and Coffee Cuts Cardio Illness

Women Earn Less From Drug, Device Firms

Female physicians earn far less in compensation from drug and medical device companies than do their male peers, new research shows.

In fact, the gender-based pay disparity widened from 2013 to 2019, according to a study published in JAMA Surgery by faculty from the University of California and Weill Cornell Medicine surgery departments.

The study analyzed publicly reported financial compensation data in the Open Payments database from the 15 highest-grossing drug and medical device companies.

Big disparity: Female physicians received $41,320 on average compared with the $1,226,377 paid to male physicians, the study found.

Clear difference: Men received higher payments even after adjusting for academic rank, specialty, and the number of articles published, the study found.

New Rules on Nondrug Cancer Pain Therapy

New recommendations for the management of adult cancer pain give more attention to nondrug techniques such as massage, acupuncture, and music therapy.

The new guidelines were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and include discussion of integrative pain management techniques in a joint effort between the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Society of Integrative Oncology (SIO).

The recommendations reflect a growing body of evidence suggesting that integrative therapies can be useful in cancer pain management.

Step forward: Previous ASCO guidelines only touched on evidence related to nonpharmacologic options for pain management.

Guidance needed: Clear clinical guidance on when and when not to use nondrug approaches is lacking, said Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, co-chair of the SIO Clinical Practice Guideline Committee.

Coffee Cuts Cardio Illness

A new study found that two to three cups of coffee daily may reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease and death.

Caffeinated ground and instant coffee were linked with reduced risk for new-onset arrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation, according to an analysis of the prospective UK Biobank published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Drinking up to five cups of coffee per day was associated with significant reductions in the risk for incident coronary heart disease, congestive cardiac failure, and ischemic stroke, with the lowest risk for people who consumed two to three cups per day.

Risk reduction: Death from any cause was significantly reduced for all coffee consumption, with the greatest risk reduction observed in people who drank two to three cups per day, whether caffeinated or not.

Why coffee? Caffeine has antiarrhythmic properties through adenosine A1 and A2A receptor inhibition. Coffee also has vasodilatory effects and contains antioxidant polyphenols, which reduce oxidative stress and modulate metabolism.

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