Wildfire Smoke Making COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Worse
Razi Berry Thousands of COVID-19 cases and deaths in California, Oregon, and Washington between March and December 2020 may be attributable to increases in fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study is the first to quantify […]
Obesity is a MAJOR Determining Factor of Covid-19 Consequences
Razi Berry A Cleveland Clinic study shows that survivors of COVID-19 who have moderate or severe obesity may have a greater risk of experiencing long-term consequences of the disease, compared with patients who do not have obesity. The study was recently published online in the journal of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Multiple studies have identified […]
Long Term Effects of COVID-19 – Increased Death Rate and Other Diseases
Razi Berry As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, it has become clear that many survivors — even those who had mild cases — continue to manage a variety of health problems long after the initial infection should have resolved. In what is believed to be the largest comprehensive study of long COVID-19 to date, researchers […]
Why Do Smells Make You Remember
Razi Berry A new Northwestern Medicine paper is the first to identify a neural basis for how the brain enables odors to so powerfully elicit those memories. The paper shows unique connectivity between the hippocampus — the seat of memory in the brain — and olfactory areas in humans. This new research suggests a neurobiological […]
You May be Seeing a Robot as a Doctor in the Future
Razi Berry In the era of social distancing, using robots for some health care interactions is a promising way to reduce in-person contact between health care workers and sick patients. However, a key question that needs to be answered is how patients will react to a robot entering the exam room. Researchers from MIT and […]
Intellectual Disability is Second Greatest Risk for Death From COVID-19
Razi Berry Intellectual disability puts individuals at higher risk of dying earlier in life than the general population, for a variety of medical and institutional reasons. A new study from Jefferson Health examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected this group, which makes up 1-3% of the US population. The study, published today in the […]
Linking PTSD to Fears Surrounding Pandemic
Razi Berry Even at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, people around the world became more fearful of what could happen to them or their family. A new Flinders University study of 1040 online participants from five western countries published in PLOS ONE explores people’s response to the stresses of the escalating pandemic, […]
Post-COVID Stress Disorder
Sarah Cimperman, ND The COVID-19 pandemic has caused nearly 1.5 million deaths worldwide as of late November 2020.1 It’s also been the source of considerable suffering as people struggle with economic devastation, food insecurity, unemployment, workplace safety concerns, the loss of loved ones, and social isolation. Even after individuals infected with coronavirus recover, the psychological […]
Stress Management: 6 Strategies Just for Kids
Sarah Cimperman, ND Students, teachers, and parents have had an unprecedented start to the new school year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Everyone is facing new challenges and new sources of stress. Some kids are struggling with distance learning and separation from friends while others are adjusting to social distancing inside schools, wearing masks all […]
Pandemic’s Mental Health Effects for Many Vulnerable Individuals
Razi Berry In just a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic swiftly and substantially worsened mental health among U.S. hourly service workers and their children — especially those experiencing multiple hardships, according to new research from the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University and Barnard College. COVID-19 pandemic swiftly and substantially worsened mental […]