HEALTH & WELLNESS

Racism linked to cognitive decline in African American women

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Racism linked to cognitive decline in African American women

African Americans have higher rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than white Americans. Chronic stress, associated with cognitive impairment and reduced volume in the brain’s memory area, could be a culprit. But racism may be one of the ultimate causes. And for African American women, the problem may be particularly pernicious. We are epidemiologists at Boston University. Our work is focused on the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS), a landmark investigation that has followed 59,000 African American women since 1995. Previous data from our study showed that racism experiences are associated with increased risks of premature birth, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, uterine fibroids, adult-onset asthma and insomnia. More recently, we wanted to see how racism might impact cognition in African...

Deciding how and whether to reopen schools is complex – here’s how rocket scientists would develop a plan

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Deciding how and whether to reopen schools is complex – here’s how rocket scientists would develop a plan

Dealing with the social and economic upheaval from the coronavirus pandemic will require the skills and talents of many types of professions – medical personnel, public health experts, parents, students, educators, legislators, enforcement authorities and many others. Until now, though, the U.S. has struggled to mount a coordinated national response to effectively stamp out COVID-19, even as other countries in Europe and East Asia have shown that the disease can be controlled. In the past, the United States has successfully mobilized to address deeply complex challenges and I believe one of those – sending astronauts to the Moon – can be instructive today, even though a pandemic is a very different challenge. Twelve years after the famed Project Apollo to land men on the Moon in 1969, Ge...

Enslaved people’s health was ignored from the country’s beginning, laying the groundwork for today’s health disparities

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Enslaved people’s health was ignored from the country’s beginning, laying the groundwork for today’s health disparities

Some critics of Black Lives Matter say the movement itself is racist. Their frequent counterargument: All lives matter. Lost in that view, however, is a historical perspective. Look back to the late 18th century, to the very beginnings of the U.S., and you will see Black lives in this country did not seem to matter at all. Foremost among the unrelenting cruelties heaped upon enslaved people was the lack of health care for them. Infants and children fared especially poorly. After childbirth, mothers were forced to return to the fields as soon as possible, often having to leave their infants without care or food. The infant mortality rate was estimated at one time to be as high as 50%. Adult people who were enslaved who showed signs of exhaustion or depression were often beaten. As a profe...

African American teens face mental health crisis but are less likely than whites to get treatment

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

African American teens face mental health crisis but are less likely than whites to get treatment

Black youth in the U.S. experience more illness, poverty, and discrimination than their white counterparts. These issues put them at higher risk for depression and other mental health problems. Yet Black youth are less likely to seek treatment. About 9% of them reported an episode of major depression in the past year, but less than half of those – about 40% – received treatment. By comparison, about 46% of white youth who reported an episode were treated for depressive symptoms. Instead, some turn to suicide, now the second leading cause of death among Black children ages 10 to 19. That rate is rising faster for them than any other racial or ethnic group. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the rate of suicide attempts for Black adolescents rose 73% from 1991 to ...

Random testing in Indiana shows COVID-19 is 6 times deadlier than flu, and 2.8% of the state has been infected

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Random testing in Indiana shows COVID-19 is 6 times deadlier than flu, and 2.8% of the state has been infected

Since day one of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. has not had enough tests. Faced with this shortage, medical professionals used what tests they had on people with the worst symptoms or whose occupations put them at high risk for infection. People who were less sick or asymptomatic did not get tested. Because of this, many infected people in the U.S. have not been tested, and much of the information public health officials have about the spread and deadliness of the virus does not provide a complete picture. Short of testing every person in the U.S., the best way to get accurate data on who and how many people have been infected with the coronavirus is to test randomly. I am a professor of health policy and management at Indiana University, and random testing is exactly what we did in ...

Could employers and states mandate COVID-19 vaccinations? Here’s what the courts have ruled

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Could employers and states mandate COVID-19 vaccinations? Here’s what the courts have ruled

A safe and effective vaccine could end the coronavirus pandemic, but for it to succeed, enough people will have to get inoculated. Recent polls suggest that the U.S. is far from ready. Most surveys have found that only about two-thirds of adults say they would probably get the vaccine. While that might protect most people who get vaccinated, research suggests it may be insufficient to reach herd immunity and stop the virus’s spread. As a law professor who has written about the legal questions around vaccination laws, employment discrimination and religious exemptions, I see four possible approaches that governments and employers can take to ensure enough Americans are immunized against COVID-19. Which ones are legal might surprise you. Can governments require vaccinations? The most intr...

Is telehealth as good as in-person care? A telehealth researcher explains how to get the most out of remote health care

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Is telehealth as good as in-person care? A telehealth researcher explains how to get the most out of remote health care

COVID-19 has led to a boom in telehealth, with some health care facilities seeing an increase in its use by as much as 8,000%. This shift happened quickly and unexpectedly and has left many people asking whether telehealth is really as good as in-person care. Over the last decade, I’ve studied telehealth as a Ph.D. researcher while using it as a registered nurse and advanced practice nurse. Telehealth is the use of phone, video, internet and technology to perform health care, and when done right, it can be just as effective as in-person health care. But as many patients and health care professionals switch to telehealth for the first time, there will inevitably be a learning curve as people adapt to this new system. So how does a patient or a provider make sure they are using telehealth...

A new anti-platelet drug shows potential for treating blood vessel clots in heart attacks, strokes and, possibly, COVID-19

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS, SCIENCE

A new anti-platelet drug shows potential for treating blood vessel clots in heart attacks, strokes and, possibly, COVID-19

Clots obstruct blood vessels and can be deadly. They cause heart attack, stroke and are also a major problem in severe cases of COVID-19 patients. Treating clots with available drugs, however, can cause blood vessel leaking and bleeding, which can also be deadly in some circumstances. To address this problem, my colleagues and I have engineered a new anti-platelet drug designed to prevent vessel-blocking blood clots without causing bleeding. This drug shows promise in treating heart attack and may also be useful for other severe conditions caused by clots, such as stroke and COVID-19 patients with clots and blood vessel leaks. As a scientist studying the biology of blood cells and vessels, I am particularly interested in understanding how platelets – a kind of blood cells important in cl...

Chief Justice John Roberts’ recent fall underscores the vulnerability of people 65 and older to falling

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Chief Justice John Roberts’ recent fall underscores the vulnerability of people 65 and older to falling

Chief Justice John Roberts often makes headlines for his legal opinions, but the 65-year-old recently made news for a different – and dangerous – reason. As thousands of older people do each year, Roberts fell. The fall occurred on June 21, 2020 at a Maryland country club. Roberts cut his head and was hospitalized. The event, which had two precedents, was reportedly due to dehydration. Roberts is reportedly recovered and fine. But the issue of falls, which are the leading cause of accidental death in people 65 and older, is growing more pressing each day. More adults than ever – 46 million – are 65 and older, and their numbers are increasing rapidly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in four older adults will fall each year. Besides being the leading cause...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Yes, Keep Wearing Masks. Here’s Why

With the advent of an infectious disease outbreak, epidemiologists and public health officials quickly try to forecast deaths and infections using complex computer models. But with a brand-new virus such as the one that causes COVID-19, these estimates are complicated by a dearth of credible information on symptoms, contagion, and those who are most at risk. My team at the Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research has developed a free, user-friendly computer model with a different goal. It demonstrates how infections and deaths progress daily over a three-month period depending on how people behave in the outbreak. This model allows the public to input data that demonstrate how changes in safety measures in their communities, including wearing face covering and social distancing, can signif...