Public Health

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COVID-19 patients can be categorized into three groups Phenotypes I, II and III

COVID 19 patients can be categorized into three groups Phenotypes - انواع سه گانه ابتلا به کووید19

In a new study, researchers identify three clinical COVID-19 phenotypes, reflecting patient populations with different comorbidities, complications and clinical outcomes. The three phenotypes are described in a paper published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Most patients included in the study (613 patients, or 60 percent) presented with what the researchers dubbed “phenotype II.” 236 patients (23.1 percent) presented with “phenotype I,” or the “Adverse phenotype,” which was associated with the worst clinical outcomes; these patients had the highest level of hematologic, renal and cardiac comorbidities (all p<0.001) and were more likely to be non-White and non-English speaking. 173 patients (16.9 percent) presented with “phenotype III,” or the “Favorable phenotype,” which was associated with the best clinical outcomes; surprisingly, despite having the lowest complication rate and mortality, patients in this group had the highest rate of respiratory comorbidities (p=0.002) as well as a 10 percent greater risk of hospital readmission compared to the other phenotypes. Overall, phenotypes I and II were associated with 7.30-fold (95% CI 3.11-17.17, p<0.001) and 2.57-fold (95% CI 1.10-6.00, p=0.03) increases in hazard of death relative to phenotype III.

Release date: 02 April 2021
Source: US News Mail

Those Late-Night Snacks May Be Hurting You at Work

Those Late Night Snacks May Be Hurting You at Work - ارتباط تغذیه و عملکرد شغلی

A recent study finds that unhealthy eating behaviors at night can make people less helpful and more withdrawn the next day at work.

“For the first time, we have shown that healthy eating immediately affects our workplace behaviors and performance,” says Seonghee “Sophia” Cho, corresponding author of the study and an assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina State University. “It is relatively well established that other health-related behaviors, such as sleep and exercise, affect our work. But nobody had looked at the short-term effects of unhealthy eating.”

The study, is published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Release date: 07 April 2021
Source: North Carolina State University

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Masks, Ventilation Stop COVID Spread Better than Social Distancing

Masks, Ventilation Stop COVID Spread Better than Social Distancing - ماسک و تهویه مهم تر از فاصله

The results indicate masks and proper ventilation may be key to allowing more capacity in schools, businesses and other indoor areas.

A new study from the University of Central Florida suggests that masks and a good ventilation system are more important than social distancing for reducing the airborne spread of COVID-19 in classrooms.

The research, published recently in the journal Physics of Fluids, comes at a critical time when schools and universities are considering returning to more in-person classes in the fall.

Release date: 05 April 2021
Source: University of Central Florida 

Sugar not so nice for your child’s brain development

Sugar not so nice for your child’s brain development - تاثیر مخرب مواد قندی بر رشد ذهنی کودکان

Children are the highest consumers of added sugar, even as high-sugar diets have been linked to health effects like obesity and heart disease and even impaired memory function.

However, less is known about how high sugar consumption during childhood affects the development of the brain, specifically a region known to be critically important for learning and memory called the hippocampus.

Release date: 31 March 2021

New research led by a University of Georgia faculty member in collaboration with a University of Southern California research group has shown in a rodent model that daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages during adolescence impairs performance on a learning and memory task during adulthood. The group further showed that changes in the bacteria in the gut may be the key to the sugar-induced memory impairment.

Release date: 31 March 2021
Source: University of Georgia

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Evidence supports Covid hearing loss link

Evidence supports Covid hearing loss link - کرونا علتی جدید برای ناشنوایی

Hearing loss and other auditory problems are strongly associated with Covid-19 according to a systematic review of research evidence led by University of Manchester and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) scientists.

Professor Kevin Munro and PhD researcher Ibrahim Almufarrij found 56 studies that identified an association between COVID-19 and auditory and vestibular problems.

They pooled data from 24 of the studies to estimate that the prevalence of hearing loss was 7.6%, tinnitus was 14.8% and vertigo was 7.2%.

They publish their findings in the International Journal of Audiology.

Release date: 22 March 2021
Source: Taylor & Francis Group

Cardiorespiratory fitness improves grades at school

Cardiorespiratory fitness improves grades at school - ورزش و پیشرفت تحصیلی

By confirming the link between children’s cardiorespiratory fitness and their school results, researchers at the UNIGE underline the importance of physical education classes at school.

Recent studies indicate a link between children’s cardiorespiratory fitness and their school performance: the more athletic they are, the better their marks in the main subjects – French and mathematics. Similarly, cardiorespiratory fitness is known to benefit cognitive abilities, such as memory and attention. But what is the real influence of such fitness on school results? To answer this question, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland tested pupils from eight Geneva schools. Their results, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, show that there is an indirect link with cardiorespiratory fitness influencing cognitive abilities, which in turn, influence school results.

Release date: 30 March 2021
Source: Université de Genève

Selenium supplementation protects against obesity and may extend lifespan

Selenium supplementation protects against obesity and may extend lifespan - اثرات ضدچاقی سلنیوم

Supplementation of the nutrient selenium protects against diet-induced obesity and may extend the lifespan of mice by controlling energy-regulating hormones.

Adding the nutrient selenium to diets protects against obesity and provides metabolic benefits to mice, according to a study published in eLife .

The results could lead to interventions that reproduce many of the anti-aging effects associated with dietary restriction while also allowing people to eat as normal.

Several types of diet have been shown to increase healthspan – that is, the period of healthy lifespan. One of the proven methods of increasing healthspan in many organisms, including non-human mammals, is to restrict dietary intake of an amino acid called methionine.

Release date: 30 March 2021
Source: eLife

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Insomnia, disrupted sleep, and burnout linked to higher odds of severe COVID-19

Insomnia disrupted sleep and burnout linked to higher odds of severe COVID19 - اهمیت خواب در زمان همه گیری کرونا

Each 1-hour increase in sleep associated with 12% lower odds of infection among clinicians

Insomnia, disrupted sleep, and daily burnout are linked to a heightened risk of not only becoming infected with coronavirus, but also having more severe disease and a longer recovery period, suggests an international study of healthcare workers, published in the online journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health.

Every 1-hour increase in the amount of time spent asleep at night was associated with 12% lower odds of becoming infected with COVID-19, the findings indicate.

Disrupted/insufficient sleep and work burnout have been linked to a heightened risk of viral and bacterial infections, but it’s not clear if these are also risk factors for COVID-19, say the researchers.

To explore this further, they drew on the responses to an online survey for healthcare workers repeatedly exposed to patients with COVID-19 infection, such as those working in emergency or intensive care, and so at heightened risk of becoming infected themselves.

Release date: 23 March 2021
Source: BMJ

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Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain

Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain - از اثرات مثبت ورزش بر مغز

The results add to growing evidence that exercise programs may help older adults slow the onset of memory loss and dementia. It’s not just your legs and heart that get a workout when you walk briskly; exercise affects your brain as well. A new study by researchers at UT Southwestern shows that when older adults with mild memory loss followed an exercise program for a year, the blood flow to their brains increased. The results were published online today in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Release date: 23 March 2021
Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Drinking a strong coffee half an hour before exercising increases fat-burning

Drinking a strong coffee half an hour before exercising increases fat burning - قهوه و ورزش

Scientists from the University of Granada also found that, if the exercise is performed in the afternoon, the effects of the caffeine are more marked than in the morning

Scientists from the Department of Physiology of the University of Granada (UGR) have shown that caffeine (about 3 mg/kg, the equivalent of a strong coffee) ingested half an hour before aerobic exercise significantly increases the rate of fat-burning. They also found that if the exercise is performed in the afternoon, the effects of the caffeine are more marked than in the morning.

In their study, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the researchers aimed to determine whether caffeine—one of the most commonly-consumed ergogenic substances in the world to improve sports performance—actually does increase oxidation or “burning” of fat during exercise. Despite the fact that its consumption in the form of supplements is very common, the scientific evidence for its beneficial claims is scarce.

Release date: 22 March 2021
Source: University of Granada