epicresearch

Influenza Season Is Here Early This Year

To see up-to-date trends for Influenza, visit the Communicable Diseases data tracker. Influenza rates are off to their earliest start in the post-pandemic era. The rate of influenza visits across ...
epicresearch

First Birth Cohort Eligible for Chickenpox Vaccine Had a Sharp Drop in Shingles Cases

The share of adults diagnosed with shingles between 2019 and 2026 rose steeply with age, from about 7 per 10,000 among those born between 2006 and 2008 to 182 per 10,000 among those born between 1968 ...
epicresearch

Low AST and ALT Levels Are Associated with Higher Likelihood of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer in Adults Under 45

Among adults aged 18–44 undergoing a first colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, a pre-screening AST below 14 U/L was associated with a 65% higher likelihood of an early-onset CRC diagnosis, and an ALT ...
epicresearch

Self-Pay Encounters Rose and Medicaid Fell Across All Care Settings from 2022 to 2026

The self-pay share of encounters rose in all four care settings studied between early 2022 and early 2026, but unevenly: the increase was steepest in the emergency department (5.5% to 7.6%), more ...
epicresearch

Neurodivergence Linked to Higher Rates of Connective Tissue Disorders

Compared with patients who had no neurodevelopmental diagnosis, patients with autism (ASD), ADHD, or both were more likely to have a connective tissue disorder diagnosis. The association was strongest ...
epicresearch

Most PHQ-9 Responses Are Submitted During the Day, but Those Submitted Overnight Show Higher Depression Severity and Thoughts of Self-Harm Rates

Most Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) responses, which are primarily patient entered, were submitted during the day; submission volumes peaked mid-morning and were lowest overnight, with only ...
epicresearch

Most Parkinson’s Diagnoses Occur After Age 70, with a Slight Rise in Diagnosis Age Since 2017

Among patients newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, 90.2% were aged 60 or older at diagnosis, with a median diagnosis age of 73. Diagnoses before age 50 were rare, accounting for 2.6% of patients ...
epicresearch

Hormone Therapy Use Nearly Doubled Since 2017, Led by Women in Their Late 40s and Early 50s

Among women seen in outpatient care, the rate of hormone therapy (HT) use rose from 1.7% in January 2017 to 3.6% in April 2026, a near-doubling. The increase was modest through 2022 and then ...
epicresearch

Patients Diagnosed with Autism Are Less Likely to Receive On-Time Cancer Screening, Except for Colorectal Cancer

Among patients newly eligible for cancer screening, those diagnosed with autism had a 35.6% lower likelihood of on-time screening overall compared to patients without autism. The gap was largest for ...
epicresearch

Gambling Disorder Diagnoses Have Risen More Than 60% in States That Legalized Sports Betting

Among adult patients living in states that have legalized sports betting, the quarterly rate of diagnosed gambling disorder rose from 3.0 per 100,000 patients in Q1 2018 to 4.8 per 100,000 in Q1 2026, ...
epicresearch

GLP-1 Use Has More Than Quadrupled Since 2021 as Obesity Rates Continue to Show Signs of Decline

Key Findings Two new data trackers from Epic Research now provide quarterly snapshots of GLP-1 use and BMI distribution in the U.S. adult population. GLP-1 prescriptions among U.S. adults rose from ...
epicresearch

Low-Dose Aspirin Usage for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Has Fallen by More Than Half Since 2018

The proportion of primary care encounters with low-dose aspirin on the medication list fell by more than half, from a peak of 7.4% in mid-2018 to 3.2% by the end of 2025, among patients without a ...