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More American children have autism than previously thought, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. It also finds that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed diagnosis for many, which could have lasting impact. Data from 11 communities in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which tracks the number and characteristics of children with autism and other developmental disabilities, revealed that at age 8, about 1 in 36 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That’s 2.8% of 8-year-olds, according to an analysis published Thursday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. A previous estimate, done in 2018, pegged prevalence at 1 in 44 children, or 2.3%. A second report found that progress in early detection of autism among 4-year-olds in the same 11 communities slowed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were less likely to be screened or identified with ASD than current 8-year-olds were at the same age. “Disruptions due to the pandemic in the timely evaluation of children and delays in connecting children to the services and support they need could have long-lasting effects,” said Dr. Karen Remley, director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “The data in this report can help communities better understand how the pandemic impacted early identification of autism in young children and anticipate future needs as these… read on > read on >

For some older adults, thinning bones may be a harbinger of waning memory, a new study suggests. The study, of more than 3,600 older adults, found that those with relatively low bone density were at greater risk of being diagnosed with dementia within the next decade. The one-third of participants with the lowest bone mass at the hip faced double the risk of dementia as the third with the strongest hip bones. Researchers said the findings — published March 22 in the journal Neurology — do not mean that thinner bones help cause dementia. Instead, they suspect that declining bone mass is one part of the early dementia process — before problems with memory and thinking skills become apparent. And that implies that doctors should pay attention to bone health as soon as older adults are diagnosed with dementia, said senior researcher Dr. Mohammad Arfan Ikram. One of the main reasons that people with dementia end up in nursing homes is poor mobility and falls, noted Ikram, a professor at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. “We know that low bone mineral density is a strong risk factor for poor mobility, and falls and fractures,” he said. “Therefore, it can be helpful in persons with early-stage dementia to also pay proper attention to their bone health — and where possible optimize it.” The… read on > read on >

Global warming is fostering the spread of a deadly flesh-eating bacteria along the northeastern coast of the United States, researchers report. Vibrio vulnificus bacteria grow in warm shallow coastal waters and can infect a person via a cut or insect bite during contact with seawater. The bacteria is found as far north as Philadelphia and is spreading even further north as ocean waters warm. Between 2041 and 2060, infections may spread to waters around New York, the investigators said. “Climate change is likely to lead to Vibrio vulnificus wound infections being found in more northern states along the U.S. East Coast. Case numbers of these serious and potentially fatal infections will increase,” said lead researcher Elizabeth Archer, a postgraduate researcher at the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. There needs to be increased awareness of V. vulnificus infections among people who take part in coastal activities and health care professionals, she said. “This is especially the case in Northeast states where infections are currently rare or do not occur,” Archer said. “It is very important that any suspected Vibrio vulnificus infections receive medical attention quickly, as cases can become severe very quickly. Although the number of cases in the U.S. is small, someone infected with Vibrio vulnificus has a one-in-five chance of dying.” Many people who survive a… read on > read on >

Curated images of perfect bodies — often highly filtered and unrealistic — are common on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. And a broad new review of 50 recent studies across 17 countries finds that relentless online exposure to largely unattainable physical ideals may be driving up the risk for eating disorders, particularly among young girls. This study, said co-author Komal Bhatia, is “significant because it tells us how social media can lead to body image concerns, through constant social comparison, internalization of thinness and self-objectification.” Girls and others with weight challenges and/or concerns about body image are among those most vulnerable to the “self-perpetuating cycle of risk” highlighted by the research review, she added. Bhatia, a research fellow in adolescent health at University College London, pointed out that even though roughly of half of the world’s population — about 4 billion people — has access to social media, social media platforms “are largely unregulated.” And many users are young; researchers noted that more than 90% of American and British teens regularly engage with such platforms. Fully half are believed to jump online at least once an hour. The studies covered in this review were conducted between 2016 and 2021. Most took place in wealthy countries, with the United States and Australia accounting for nearly half. Studies from Canada, Italy, Singapore, United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, Belgium,… read on > read on >

A new study has some heartening news for coffee lovers: That morning cup is unlikely to make your heart skip a beat. The study, published March 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that drinking coffee does not seem to predispose healthy people to premature atrial contractions. PACs are a normal occurrence for a healthy heart, but some people sense them as a “skipped” or extra heartbeat — which can be unsettling. And if they do arise frequently, that might foretell a more serious heart arrhythmia down the road. Experts said the new findings are in line with the body of research on coffee and heart health: Despite caffeine’s bad reputation, many studies have found that coffee drinkers have lower risks of various diseases — including heart disease — than non-drinkers. But while those past studies have offered reassurance, they also had limitations, said first study author Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco. There could be many differences between coffee drinkers and abstainers that affect their disease risks, Marcus said. And even though studies try to control for those differences, he added, it’s impossible to account for everything. So Marcus and his colleagues conducted a clinical trial to actually test whether coffee can have particular acute effects on the heart. Their primary question was whether… read on > read on >

That road noise outside your window could be wreaking havoc on your blood pressure. A new study published March 22 in JACC: Advances found that the roaring engines, blaring horns and wailing sirens can themselves elevate high blood pressure (hypertension) risk, aside from questions about the impact of air pollution. “We were a little surprised that the association between road traffic noise and hypertension was robust even after adjustment for air pollution,” lead author Jing Huang said in a journal news release. She is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Peking University in Beijing. To study this, Huang and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 240,000 people in the UK Biobank. They were 40 to 69 years of age and did not have high blood pressure when the study began. Road traffic noise estimates were based on residential addresses and a European noise assessment tool. Using data over a median of about eight years, researchers found that participants who lived near road traffic noise were more likely to develop high blood pressure and that their risk rose as noise increased. The finding held even after researchers adjusted for exposure to fine particles and nitrogen dioxide in the air. People who had high exposure to both traffic noise and air pollution had the highest risk for high blood pressure. “Road traffic… read on > read on >

A rare strain of the parasite Toxoplasma has killed four sea otters along the California coast, raising concerns about a potential public health risk. “The appearance of this lethal type of Toxoplasma in coastal California is concerning for two main reasons: First, because of potential population health impacts on a threatened species, and second, because this parasite could also affect the health of other animals that are susceptible to Toxoplasma infection,” said study co-author Devinn Sinnott of the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. This rare strain has never been reported in aquatic animals, she and her colleagues said in a university news release. While toxoplasmosis is common and sometimes deadly in sea otters, this unusual Toxoplasma gondii appears to be especially virulent and capable of rapidly killing healthy adult otters, according to the study. It likely arrived on the California coast only recently, the study authors noted. It could pose a public health risk, but no infections with the strain have been reported in humans, the researchers noted. “Because this parasite can infect humans and other animals, we want others to be aware of our findings, quickly recognize cases if they encounter them and take precautions to prevent infection,” said co-author Melissa Miller of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We encourage others to take extra precautions if they observe inflamed… read on > read on >

The death of a parent is heartbreaking for a child or teenager, and those who experience it are known to be at an increased risk for depression and other mental health issues later in life. But a new study finds that children who participated in a bereavement program with their families following the loss of a parent were significantly less likely to experience depression up to 15 years later. Soon, the program will be available online. Study author Irwin Sandler, an emeritus professor with Arizona State University affiliated with the ASU REACH Institute in the Department of Psychology, said he and the other researchers had a theory about whether they could prevent depression in children after parent loss with the program. “It turns out we were right,” Sandler said. The program enrolled 244 kids ages 8 to 16 who had lost a parent between three months and 30 months before the study. It also enrolled their surviving caregivers, which is an important part of the program. This randomized, controlled trial included a total of 156 families. The families were either in the control group, mailed three age-appropriate books about dealing with grief, or they participated in 12 sessions of the bereavement program. Those who did the program had specific caregiver sessions, separate youth sessions, and then came together for two joint sessions to practice their… read on > read on >

If you’ve been suffering from caregiver stress, you’ve got plenty of company. It affects about 36% of the 53 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States, according to a recent report by the AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving — and it can ultimately lead to caregiver burnout. To give you some tools to better recognize caregiver stress and burnout, let’s explore some of the symptoms. Plus, experts offer several ways you can better manage caregiver stress, and when it’s time to seek help to prevent it from reaching the level of burnout. What is caregiver stress? Caregiver stress occurs when the emotional, mental and physical impacts of being a caregiver become overwhelming. It can happen to anyone who takes care of a person with a disability, health condition or injury or someone who is elderly. However, more women say they experience stress from caregiving than men, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women’s Health. One of the main challenges for a lot of caregivers is having too little time for themselves or their family and friends. “Family caregivers spend an average of over 24 hours a week providing care — that’s more than an entire day you don’t have for yourself,” Laura Kotler-Klein, a social work manager at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said… read on > read on >

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for severe COVID-19, and researchers think they’ve uncovered a possible reason why. Obese folks appear to have a blunted inflammatory response to COVID, leaving their immune systems less capable of fighting it, according to a recent study. The findings were a surprise to researchers, given that severe COVID often has been tied to an overactive immune response that produces damaging levels of inflammation in humans. People who are obese already have higher levels of inflammatory biochemicals in their blood, so it was suspected that COVID’s damaging inflammation would be even worse, noted researcher Menna Clatworthy, a clinician scientist at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. “During the pandemic, the majority of younger patients I saw on the COVID wards were obese,” Clatworthy said in a university news release. “Given what we know about obesity, if you’d asked me why this was the case, I would have said that it was most likely due to excessive inflammation. What we found was the absolute opposite.” For this study, Clatworthy and her colleagues analyzed blood and lung samples taken from 13 obese patients with severe COVID who required mechanical ventilation and intensive care. They compared those samples against 20 COVID patients who weren’t obese and didn’t require ventilation. The researchers found the obese patients had underactive immune and inflammatory responses… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

1 in Every 36 U.S. 8-Year-Olds Has Autism

Weaker Bones, Weakening Brain? Study Makes the Connection

Warming Climate Could Bring Flesh-Eating Bacteria to More U.S. Waters

Too Much Social Media Could Raise Risk for Eating Disorders

Drink Up: Coffee Won’t Affect Your Heart Rhythms

Living Near Noisy Roads Can Raise Your Blood Pressure

New Parasite Is Killing Sea Otters, and Might Pose Threat to People

When Kids Lose a Parent, New Therapy Might Prevent Long-Term Mental Harm

Dealing With Caregiver Stress & Burnout: A Guide

‘Muted’ Immune Response May Explain Why COVID Is Tougher for Obese People