Health IQ: Breast cancer screening age guidance won’t be lowered

Canada’s recommended breast screening age remains unchanged

Despite mounting pressure from medical experts to lower the age to 40 from 50, Canada’s guidelines for routine breast cancer screenings will remain unchanged.

On May 30, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care released its updated guidelines, advising against routine mammograms for people in their 40s but urging them to request one if desired.

The current guidelines set by the task force are to begin routine breast cancer screening at age 50.

The task force said it holds firm on its position not to lower the recommended age due to concerns of over-diagnosis and unnecessary biopsies leading to anxiety in patients.

This decision prompted pushback from several health advocacy groups, including the Canadian Cancer Society and Dense Breasts Canada, both of which advocate for routine mammograms to begin at age 40.

The Canadian Cancer Society said in a release that it is “disappointed by the new breast screening guidelines” and “specifically the lack of a recommendation to lower the start age to systematically screen for breast cancer nationwide.”

Even the federal Health Minister, Mark Holland, expressed his disappointment with the decision and went as far as calling for a review of the membership of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.

Read more about what Holland had to say about the decision and why advocates are continuing to push for change.

Drowning rates rise in parts of Canada

As Canadians get their pools ready for the summer and venture to lakeside cabins for a swim, experts caution to prioritize water safety. With drowning rates spiking during the summer months, incidents can occur suddenly and without warning.

The caution comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 14 released a report stating that drowning deaths are on the rise in the country, following decades of decline. The report found that more than 4,500 people died due to drowning each year from 2020 to 2022, 500 more per year compared with 2019.

Although Canada does not have national statistics for the same years as the U.S., provincial data shows similar trends, especially in Ontario.

“In our most recent drowning report it shows the highest number of drownings that we have seen in over 15 years, and that’s actually as far as our digital records go back,” Stephanie Bakalar, corporate communications manager for the Lifesaving Society Ontario, told Global News. “We have not seen a spike like this in years.”

The Lifesaving Society’s 2024 Ontario Drowning Report examined data from 2016 to 2020 and found that 2020 had the highest number of drowning deaths, with 211 fatalities.

Read more about why drowning rates are on the rise and tips on how to stay safe around water this summer.

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Unlocking the mystery of ‘Ozempic babies’

— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —

Amidst the rising popularity of diabetes drug Ozempic for weight loss, a new phenomenon has emerged: ‘Ozempic babies.’ This term has sparked concern as more women come forward with stories of becoming pregnant after using the medication.

While there is no scientific research yet specifically looking at the “Ozempic babies” phenomenon, experts say the increasing anecdotal evidence is “not surprising.”

Many women who are living with obesity or have polycystic ovary syndrome will have irregular menstrual cycles and ovulation, which makes it difficult for them to get pregnant, said Daniel Drucker, senior scientist at Sinai Health’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto.

To increase their chances of conceiving, one of the recommendations is to lose weight, Drucker said.

“Obviously these medicines help women lose weight, and weight loss by itself will increase ovulation and increase the chance of a successful fertility event,” he said.

People in the higher obesity classes are generally on a “very effective” weight-loss medication, so it’s “not surprising” that their ovulation would be restored, said Naila Ramji, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Fredericton, N.B., and assistant professor at Dalhousie University.

It could also involve weight-loss drugs making birth control pills less effective, experts say.

For example, a warning label for weight-loss and diabetes drug tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro, states that oral birth control pills may not work as well while using this medication.