A research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that stillbirths affect about 1 in 150 pregnancies in the US, higher than the CDC's reported rate of 1 in 175. "Both of these data sources -- the data in our study and the CDC data -- have potential flaws, but the main issue is that, regardless of data source, the rate of stillbirths is too high," researcher Jessica Cohen said.

What's needed: A large number of stillbirths occured in the absence of clinical risk factors, particularly late in pregnancy, and Cohen said it will take "attention, research, and resources" to lower the rate.

Research presented at a meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology found that 35.3% of patients with celiac disease have bile acid malabsorption, contributing to persistent diarrhea despite adherence to a gluten-free diet. The study found that patients who had a cholecystectomy had a greater likelihood of bile acid malabsorption, and those with bile acid malabsorption had faster colonic transit.

Women may need less exercise than men to protect against coronary heart disease, according to a study in Nature Cardiovascular Research. The study of more than 85,000 adults finds that women who engaged in four hours of moderate exercise weekly lowered their heart disease risk by 30%, whereas men needed eight hours for similar benefits.

Postmenopausal women who are using hormone therapy experience greater weight loss with tirzepatide than those who are not using hormone therapy, according to a study presented at the Menopause Society's annual meeting. The study found that postmenopausal women on hormone therapy also had more total body weight loss than premenopausal or perimenopausal women taking tirzepatide.

The US obesity rate has dropped to 37% from 39.9% three years ago, driven by increased use of injectable drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, according to a Gallup survey. However, access to these medications remains a challenge, as many insurers plan to stop coverage next year, potentially increasing out-of-pocket costs for patients.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found an AI-based diabetes prevention program was as effective as a human-led virtual program in helping adults with prediabetes maintain an A1C of less than 6.5%. The app program had higher completion rates and was seen as potentially more accessible for people with busy schedules.

The program: Study volunteers received a Bluetooth-enabled scale along with instructions for downloading an app that delivered push notifications. After one year, almost 32% of participants in both the AI-based and human-led study arms achieved the primary outcome, a composite of A1C, weight and physical activity measures.

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