Adolescents who live in California may be more likely to use marijuana since adult recreational marijuana use was legalized in 2016, according to a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. “The apparent increase in marijuana use among California adolescents after recreational marijuana legalization for adult use in 2016 is surprising […]
Feeling lonely during the pandemic? You’re up to 10 times more likely to have worse mental health
While COVID-19 may itself compromise a person’s mental health, the social conditions of the pandemic are also having a negative impact. Economic hardship, heavy COVID-related media exposure, reduced social contact and domestic violence are just some factors that may have affected people. Indeed, studies have shown that mental health has declined during the pandemic. Our […]
Flu and other infections are down, likely due to COVID-19 social distancing
The usual broken bones and other trauma are being treated this winter at the emergency department of St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. But one category of medical complaints has all but disappeared: infectious disease. Take influenza, for example. Typically between December and April, nurses and doctors at the Philadelphia hospital see hundreds of children with […]
Pregnant or postpartum Black women are 45% more likely to die in the hospital and are at higher risk for heart problems
In her last trimester, in the midst of dealing with family and work issues as well as preparing for a new baby, Michelle Emebo felt stressed. “I didn’t realize how much it was impacting me until I went to see my health care provider and my blood pressure was up,” she said. Doctors monitored her […]
Three-quarters of U.S. adults likely to get COVID-19 vaccine
(HealthDay)—More than three-quarters of U.S. adults report being “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study published online Jan. 3 in the Journal of Community Health. Jagdish Khubchandani, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, and colleagues conducted an online survey of 1,878 U.S. adults to […]
COVID-19 likely lingered longer than reported in Wuhan: study
Wuhan City in China was the first place to report COVID-19 in the world and—between December 2019 and May 2020—caused nearly two-thirds of all COVID-19 cases in China. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have tested more than 60,000 healthy individuals in China for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and concluded that thousands of Wuhan residents […]
Antibody testing likely undercounts past covid infections by 28%
Antibody testing likely undercounts the number of people who have had COVID-19: More than 25% of infected health care workers had NO signs of it in their blood work 60 days later CDC researchers found that 6% of more than 3,000 health care workers they tested had antibodies to coronavirus Within 60 days, when they […]
Blood test picks out cancers likely to benefit from targeted drugs
A simple and inexpensive blood test could pick out patients with stomach or oesophageal cancer who are likely to benefit from targeted treatment, a new study shows. The test, known as a liquid biopsy, detects cancer DNA in the bloodstream to reveal if stomach and oesophageal cancers are being driven by the presence of too […]
Homeless more likely to die after heart attack
(HealthDay)—Homeless people are three times more likely to die after a heart attack than other patients, a new study finds. “Our study shows a dramatically higher rate of mortality after heart attacks in people experiencing homelessness compared to non-homeless patients,” said researcher Dr. Samantha Liauw of the University of Toronto. “More research is needed to […]
Female surgeons perform less complex cases than male peers, likely due to systemic bias
Female surgeons at a large academic medical center perform less complex surgical procedures than their male counterparts, according to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). This study, published in Annals of Surgery, is one of the first to measure the problem of underemployment among female surgeons in the United States, which […]