Public Health

,

Gender Differences in Fear and Risk Perception During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Gender Differences in Fear and Risk Perception During the COVID-19 Pandemic - ترس کرونایی مردانه و زنانه

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many people to suffer from emotional distress. Previous studies suggest that women process and express affective experiences, such as fear, with a greater intensity compared to men. We administered an online survey to a sample of participants in the United States that measures fear of COVID-19, perceptions about health and financial risks, and preventative measures taken. Despite the empirical fact that men are more likely to experience adverse health consequences from COVID-19, women report greater fear and more negative expectations about health-related consequences of COVID-19 than men. However, women are more optimistic than men regarding the financial consequences of the pandemic. Women also report more negative emotional experiences generally during the pandemic, particularly in situations where other people or the government take actions that make matters worse. Though women report taking more preventative measures than men in response to the pandemic, gender differences in behavior are reduced after controlling for fear. These results shed light on how differences in emotional experiences of the pandemic may inform policy interventions. Frontiers in Psychology

Release date: 5 August 2021
Source:  PubMed

,

Detection of SARS-CoV-2-Specific IgA in the Human Milk of COVID-19 Vaccinated Lactating Health Care Workers

Detection of SARS-CoV-2-Specific IgA in the Human Milk of COVID-19 Vaccinated Lactating Health Care Workers - شیر مادر و ایمنی کرونایی

SARS-CoV-2 IgA is secreted in human breast milk after vaccination. These suggest the potential protection to nursing infants and may show influence in vaccination strategies.

In 2019, a deadly virus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), emerged. In December 2020, two mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines were approved for use in the United States, which provide immunity to those receiving the vaccine. Maternally derived antibodies are a key element of infants’ immunity. Certain vaccines given to pregnant and lactating mothers provide immunity to infants through transmission across the placenta, umbilical cord (IgG), and human milk (IgA). Human milk produced by mothers with a history of COVID-19 infection contains SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG. The purpose of this study is to determine whether SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulins are found in human milk after the COVID-19 vaccination, and to characterize the types of immunoglobulins present.

Results show that the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines induce SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA and IgG secretion in human milk. Further studies are needed to determine the duration of this immune response, its capacity to neutralize the COVID-19 virus, the transfer of passive immunity to breastfeeding infants, and the potential therapeutic use of human milk IgA to combat SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19.

Release date: 20 August 2021
Source: University of Florida

,

Antibodies elicited by COVID-19 vaccination effective against delta variant

Antibodies elicited by COVID19 vaccination effective against delta variant - تاثیر واکسن های معتبر بر سویه دلتا

Findings help explain why vaccinated people at low risk during delta surge.

Despite causing a surge in infections this summer that has resulted in thousands of hospitalizations and deaths, the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is not particularly good at evading the antibodies generated by vaccination, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The researchers analyzed a panel of antibodies generated by people in response to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and found that delta was unable to evade all but one of the antibodies they tested. Other variants of concern, such as beta, avoided recognition and neutralization by several of the antibodies.

The findings, published Aug. 16 in the journal Immunity, help explain why vaccinated people have largely escaped the worst of the delta surge.

Release date: 17 August 2021
Source: Washington University School of Medicine

,

Small changes in diet could help you live healthier, more sustainably

Small changes in diet could help you live healthier more sustainably - تغذیه تغییراتی اندک تبعاتی بزرگ

Eating a hot dog could cost you 36 minutes of healthy life, while choosing to eat a serving of nuts instead could help you gain 26 minutes of extra healthy life, according to a University of Michigan study.

The study, published in the journal Nature Food, evaluated more than 5,800 foods, ranking them by their nutritional disease burden to humans and their impact on the environment. It found that substituting 10% of daily caloric intake from beef and processed meats for a mix of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and select seafood could reduce your dietary carbon footprint by one-third and allow people to gain 48 minutes of healthy minutes per day.

Release date: 18 August 2021
Source: University of Michigan

, ,

Problems in thinking and attention linked to COVID-19 infection

Problems in thinking and attention linked to COVID19 infection - عوارض ذهنی کرونا

Evidence of cognitive deficits in people who have recovered from COVID-19 has been discovered in a new study of over 80,000 individuals.

The research found that those with more severe COVID-19 symptoms scored lower on an online series of tests, with performance on reasoning and problem-solving tasks being most affected. Further analysis of the data indicated that those who received mechanical ventilation to help them breathe whilst in hospital had the greatest impairment on cognitive tasks.

Out of the 81,337 who provided complete data, 12,689 people suspected they had COVID-19. Participants reported a range of severity of illness, with many experiencing respiratory symptoms whilst still being able to stay at home (3,559 participants). Nearly 200 were hospitalised (192 participants) and about a quarter of these (44 participants) required mechanical ventilation.

The time since illness onset was around 1-6 months, meaning the study could not draw any definitive conclusions about whether these effects on cognition were long-lasting.

Published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, the research was a collaboration between King’s College London, Imperial College London and Cambridge University.

Release date: 11 August 2021
Source: King’s College London

, ,

Having a Good Listener Improves Your Brain Health

Having a Good Listener Improves Your Brain Health- شنونده خوبی پیدا کنید

Supportive social interactions in adulthood are important for your ability to stave off cognitive decline despite brain aging or neuropathological changes such as those present in Alzheimer’s disease, a new study finds.

In the study, published in JAMA Netw Open, researchers observed that simply having someone available most or all of the time whom you can count on to listen to you when you need to talk is associated with greater cognitive resilience—a measure of your brain’s ability to function better than would be expected for the amount of physical aging or disease-related changes in the brain, which many neurologists believe can be boosted by engaging in mentally stimulating activities, physical exercise, and positive social interactions.

Release date: 16 August 2021
Source: NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine

, ,

Adding color to your plate may lower risk of cognitive decline

Adding color to your plate may lower risk of cognitive decline - میوه هایی به رنگ سلامت مغز

A new study shows that people who eat a diet that includes at least half a serving per day of foods high in flavonoids like strawberries, oranges, peppers and apples may have a 20% lower risk of cognitive decline. The research is published in online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at several types of flavonoids, and found that flavones and anthocyanins may have the most protective effect.

Flavonoids are naturally occurring compounds found in plants and are considered powerful antioxidants. It is thought that having too few antioxidants may play a role in cognitive decline as you age.

Release date: 28 July 2021
Source: American Academy of Neurology

,

Early COVID-19 symptoms differ among age groups

Early COVID19 symptoms differ among age groups - علایم اولیه کرونا متفاوت برحسب سن و جنس

Symptoms for early COVID-19 infection differ among age groups and between men and women, new research has found.

These differences are most notable between younger age groups (16-59 years) compared to older age groups (60->80 years), and men have different symptoms compared to women in the early stages of COVID-19 infection.

The paper, published in The Lancet Digital Health . The researchers modelled the early signs of COVID-19 infection and successfully detected 80% of cases when using three days of self-reported symptoms.

18 symptoms were examined, which had different relevance for early detection in different groups. The most important symptoms for earliest detection of COVID-19 overall included loss of smell, chest pain, persistent cough, abdominal pain, blisters on the feet, eye soreness and unusual muscle pain. However, loss of smell lost significance in people over 60 years of age and was not relevant for subjects over 80. Other early symptoms such as diarrhoea were key in older age groups (60-79 and >80). Fever, while a known symptom of disease, was not an early feature of the disease in any age group.

Men were more likely to report shortness of breath, fatigue, chills and shivers, whereas women were more likely to report loss of smell, chest pain and a persistent cough.

While these models were generated in the COVID Symptom study app, models were replicated across time suggesting they would also apply to non-app contributors. Although the models were used on the first strain of the virus and Alpha variants, the key findings suggest the symptoms of the Delta variant and subsequent variants will also differ across population groups.

Release date: 30 July 2021
Source: King’s College London

,

PCR of Gargle Lavage Samples as Effective as Nasopharyngeal Swabs to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Infection

PCR of Gargle Lavage Samples as Effective as Nasopharyngeal Swabs to Identify SARSCoV2 Infection - تشخیص کرونا از راهی بسیار ساده تر

Twenty-six subjects from a cohort of 80 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 via nasopharyngeal swab, and all 26 tested positive using gargle lavage (mouthwash), according to new research published in Microbiology Spectrum, the new open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. That’s good news, because nasopharyngeal swabbing, currently the gold standard for collecting samples for COVID testing, has a low rate of acceptance due to the discomfort of having a nasal passage swabbed .The detection method for testing samples used in this study is the highly sensitive real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Our results show that in all cases, where people were positively tested by the gold standard nasal swabbing, one could also detect the virus in gargle lavage by the same RT-PCR method.

Release date: 21 July 2021
Source: American Society for Microbiology

,

Fruit Compound May Have Potential to Prevent and Treat Parkinson’s Disease

Fruit Compound May Have Potential to Prevent and Treat Parkinson Disease - اثر ضد پارکینسونی میوه ها

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have added to evidence that the compound farnesol, found naturally in herbs, and berries and other fruits, prevents and reverses brain damage linked to Parkinson’s disease in mouse studies.

The compound, used in flavorings and perfume-making, can prevent the loss of neurons that produce dopamine in the brains of mice by deactivating PARIS, a key protein involved in the disease’s progression. Loss of such neurons affects movement and cognition, leading to hallmark symptoms of Parkinson’s disease such as tremors, muscle rigidity, confusion and dementia. Farnesol’s ability to block PARIS, say the researchers, could guide development of new Parkinson’s disease interventions that specifically target this protein.

Results of the new study, published in Science Translational Medicine, detail how the researchers identified farnesol’s potential by screening a large library of drugs to find those that inhibited PARIS.

Release date: 28 July 2021
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine