Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 16 March 2026
Follow @Annalsofim on X , Facebook , Instagram , Bluesky , and LinkedIn
Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine . The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.
----------------------------
1. ACP supports AAP’s evidence‑based childhood vaccine schedule
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-26-00773
URL goes live when the embargo lifts
American College of Physicians (ACP) is warning that recent federal changes to introduce a new, more limited vaccination schedule for US children based on the Danish childhood vaccine schedule abandons long‑standing, science‑based standards and could put children at risk. ACP is supporting the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) independently developed 2026 schedule, which it says better reflects evidence, on effectiveness and safety and current disease epidemiology. The paper is published in Annals of Internal Medicine .
To maintain science‑driven guidance, ACP’s Immunization Committee reviewed the AAP’s independently produced 2026 schedule. ACP concluded that the AAP recommendations are more evidence based than the current CDC recommendations, particularly in three key areas: expanded options for protecting infants from RSV, targeted COVID‑19 vaccination based on updated risk patterns, and earlier initiation of HPV vaccination. ACP argues that these evidence‑based updates better protect children and support public health than the CDC’s newly issued guidance. The authors also note that it’s important for internal medicine physicians to address childhood vaccination because well vaccinated children are an essential component of a population health strategy and adult patients often ask their own physicians’ views on issues related to their children’s health.
Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Gabby Macrina at gmacrina@acponline.org. To speak with someone at ACP please email Angela Collom at acollom@acponline.org.
----------------------------
2. Nearly 30 million Americans bought guns after the pandemic, with 11 million becoming first-time gun owners
Most first-time gun owners were women, Hispanic, or people of color.
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-05181
A national survey estimates that nearly 30 million U.S. adults acquired firearms between 2021 and 2024, including more than 11 million people who became gun owners for the first time. These new owners also introduced guns into millions of households that previously had none, newly exposing about 9 million adults and 6.6 million children to firearms in their homes. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers from Northeastern University and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a national, probability-based survey in December 2024 of more than 4,000 firearm owners to measure how many Americans acquired firearms after 1 January 2021, how many were first-time owners, and how many people were newly exposed to guns in their households. They found that from 2021 to 2024, about 29.8 million adults bought guns, including 11.2 million new owners, corresponding to 4.2% of U.S. adults. Many of these first-time buyers lived in homes without firearms at the time, resulting in millions of adults and children being newly exposed to household guns. Additionally, a disproportionally large share of new gun owners were members of subgroups historically underrepresented among gun owners. Women made up 46.3% of new owners and 46.1% of new gun owners were Hispanic and/or people of color. According to the authors, these patterns highlight the need for ongoing monitoring of firearm exposure and suggest that well-established risk of violent death associated with living in a home with guns has likely risen for millions of Americans who had previously been living in homes without guns.
Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Gabby Macrina at gmacrina@acponline.org. To contact corresponding author Matthew Miller, MD, MPH, ScD please email ma.miller@neu.edu.
3. New hypertension guideline does not recommend routine treatment for all adults over 65
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-04519
An analysis of the 2025 AHA/ACC hypertension guidelines found that under the new guidelines, about 11% of adults ages 65 to 79 with stage I hypertension would no longer qualify for blood pressure medication, a major shift from previous rules that recommended treatment for all adults in this age range. The newly exempt group is made up of generally healthy, lower‑risk older adults whose predicted 10‑year cardiovascular risk falls below the new treatment threshold. The analysis is published in Annals of Internal Medicine .
Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation assessed how the updated 2025 hypertension guidelines, which now recommend treatment based on predicted cardiovascular risk rather than age alone, would change who qualifies for medication. Researchers analyzed national health survey data from 2013–2020 for adults ages 65 to 79, identifying those with stage I hypertension who were not already on treatment. They found that while all older adults in this category would have been recommended medication under previous guidelines, the new risk‑based approach reclassifies about one in nine as not needing immediate pharmacotherapy. These individuals were typically women in their mid‑60s with otherwise low cardiovascular risk scores. The authors conclude that the updated guideline better targets treatment to those most likely to benefit and reflects a shift toward more personalized, risk‑based care for older adults.
Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Gabby Macrina at gmacrina@acponline.org. To contact corresponding author Michael G. Nanna, MD, MHS, FSCAI, FACC please email Colleen Moriarty at colleen.moriarty@yale.edu.
Also new this issue:
Advancing Clinical Mastery: An Essential Element of Primary Care Revitalization
Richard L. Kravitz, MD, MSPH
Ideas and Opinions
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-05152
Incentivizing Deprescribing for Health Care Quality Not Quantity
Aili V. Langford, BPharm (Hons), PhD, et al.
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-04855
New GRADE Evidence-to-Decision Framework for Pairwise and Multiple Comparisons (GRADE Guidance 45)
Jessica Beltran, MD, et al.
Research and Reporting Methods
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-04273
Annals of Internal Medicine
News article
People
The Importance of the Childhood Immunization Schedule for Internal Medicine
17-Mar-2026