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Pregnant and postpartum women are dying of drug overdoses in record numbers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse, a new study shows. Deaths increased about 81% over the past four years, hitting a record high in 2020, according to researchers from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. “We’ve seen significant increases in fatal and nonfatal overdose in the general population during the pandemic,” said first study author Emilie Bruzelius, a doctoral student at Columbia. “It now appears that pregnant and postpartum women are being affected as well.” The researchers used national death certificate data, which lists whether someone was pregnant or recently pregnant, for the years 2017 to 2020. The investigation included calculating annual overdose death rates and examined the specific drug types involved in each overdose, then comparing those to overdose death rates in non-pregnant women of reproductive age. They found a total of more than 7,600 pregnancy-associated deaths. More than 1,200 of these were due to drug overdose. Overdose deaths spiked to a record high of just over 11.9 per 100,000 in 2020. This compares to a 38% increase among all reproductive-age women. Researchers found large increases in deaths involving fentanyl, methamphetamines and cocaine. Deaths from benzodiazepines, heroin and prescription opioids remained stable. “Pregnant and postpartum people are known to face barriers to accessing drug… read on > read on >

Depression may be a disorder of the brain, but new research adds to evidence that it also involves the gut. While depression is complex, recent research has been pointing to a role for bacteria that dwell in the gut — suggesting that certain bacterial strains might feed depression symptoms, while others might be protective. In a pair of new studies, researchers identified 13 groups of bacteria that were related to the odds of adults having depression symptoms. In some cases, the gut bacteria were depleted in people with depression, while in others they were present at relatively high levels. However, experts stressed that the findings do not prove that any of the gut bugs cause or protect against depression. So, it’s far too soon to recommend probiotics as a depression treatment. In fact, gut bacteria seem to change in their diversity and abundance when any chronic disease is present, said Dr. Emeran Mayer, director of the Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress at the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine. Mayer, who was not involved in the research, is also the author of the book “The Mind-Gut Connection.” He said the findings may reflect a “general disease effect,” rather than gut bacteria patterns that are specific to depression. The research, published Dec. 6 in the journal Nature Communications, is the latest… read on > read on >

Researchers may have sniffed out why colds are more likely in wintertime: The answer may lie within the nose. A previously unidentified immune response inside the nose is responsible for fighting off the viruses that cause upper respiratory infections, according to researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Northeastern University in Boston. Unfortunately, cold weather inhibits this protective response, making it more likely that a person will come down with anything from a cold to COVID-19. The new study offers the first biological explanation why respiratory virus infections are more likely to spike in colder seasons, researchers said. “Conventionally, it was thought that cold and flu season occurred in cooler months because people are stuck indoors more where airborne viruses could spread more easily,” said senior researcher Dr. Benjamin Bleier, director of Otolaryngology Translational Research at Mass Eye and Ear. “Our study, however, points to a biological root cause for the seasonal variation in upper respiratory viral infections we see each year, most recently demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in a hospital news release. The nose is a prime entry point for viruses or bacteria, which can either be inhaled or directly deposited if a person does something like rub their nose. Once inside the nose, germs work their way backward up the airway and into the body, infecting the cells along the… read on > read on >

Shehzin Tietjen was 27 years old when she felt a lump in one of her breasts while in the shower. That discovery led to a confirmation of breast cancer, an unexpected jolt at her age. “I was really shocked,” said Tietjen, who lives in Atlanta. Though breast cancer is more common in postmenopausal women, about 9% of new breast cancer cases occur in women under 45. Many breast cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, can affect fertility. While Tietjen soon began talking with doctors about preserving her fertility, that’s not a conversation all young women with a similar diagnosis have, according to a survey of more than 700 breast cancer patients by Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC), a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit. Only 49% of survey respondents reported discussing fertility issues with their health care providers, just slightly higher than eight years earlier. Two-thirds of women whose breast cancer was diagnosed before age 45 said it had significant impacts on their sexual health. But 86% said their health care provider was unable to address these issues. Study leader Arin Ahlum Hanson, director of outreach for LBBC, said addressing these fertility and sexual health issues is a critical need. “What is really important is that those conversations are had early on at that point of diagnosis to help young women make those decisions to pursue fertility preservation or just be… read on > read on >

Chips, pizza, cookies: Delicious, but a diet full of ultra-processed foods like these may contribute to brain deterioration, researchers report. Ultra-processed foods have lots of added and unhealthy ingredients, such as sugar, salt, fat, artificial colors and preservatives. Examples include frozen meals, soft drinks, hot dogs and cold cuts, fast food, packaged cookies, cakes and salty snacks. These foods have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome and obesity. Now, scientists in Brazil have tied them to a greater risk of declining brainpower. The study couldn’t prove cause-and-effect. However, “the cognitive decline could be the result of microvascular lesions in the brain, reduced brain volume or even systemic inflammation caused by the consumption of ultra-processed foods,” theorized study lead researcher Natalia Gomes Goncalves. She’s in the Department of Pathology in the School of Medicine at the University of Sao Paulo. “Dietary choices are a powerful way in helping maintain a healthy brain function,” Goncalves said, and it’s never too late to make healthy changes. “Middle age is an important period of life to adopt preventive measures through lifestyle changes, since the choices we make at this age will influence our older years,” she said. “This does not mean that [even] older adults will not see results if they adopt a healthier lifestyle,” Goncalves added, because “research has shown over and over… read on > read on >

Advertising would have you believe that a big bowl of sugary cereal or a syrupy iced coffee drink will make you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning. But that sort of sugar-laden breakfast may be one of the worst things you can do to help you wake up alert and refreshed. A major new sleep study shows a breakfast rich in complex carbohydrates — think a big bowl of steel-cut oatmeal, with some strawberries for flavor — is key to waking up without feeling sluggish. “We found that when you have spike in your blood glucose after breakfast, you’re going to feel less alert, you’re going to feel more sleepy after that breakfast,” said lead researcher Raphael Vallat, a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Human Sleep Science. “You want to avoid foods that will drastically increase your blood glucose.” Actually, a good breakfast is only one part of a three-step prescription for avoiding morning grogginess, Vallat and his team reported recently in the journal Nature Communications. People who want to wake up alert also should get more than their usual amount of physical activity the day before, Vallat said, and they should sleep a little longer into the morning. “If you wake up later than usual, you’re going to feel a little more alert,” Vallat explained. These recommendations are based on… read on > read on >

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned fruit-flavored vaping products in early 2020, the idea was to reverse the rapid rise in electronic cigarette use among youths. Now, a new survey of adult e-cigarette users finds that instead of quitting e-cigarettes, most vapers switched to flavored products not covered by the ban, or even went back to smoking traditional cigarettes. The ban does not appear to be working and use of flavored products continues, contends study co-author Deborah Ossip. She’s a professor in the department of public health sciences and Center for Community Health and Prevention at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in New York. “It really gets to the issue of, if you want to meaningfully restrict the use of flavored products, you really need to close those loopholes,” Ossip said. “And to combine that with the program of enforcing the regulations, and I think a very large public awareness campaign about why that’s happening, because there’s a lot of confused messaging around use of flavored products and e-cigarettes.” The FDA ban was on products using flavored cartridges and pods. It did not include tanks. It also did not ban disposable, flavored e-cigarette products that soared in popularity after the ban. Menthol products were also not part of the ban, said lead study author Dongmei Li, an associate professor of clinical… read on > read on >

Infants and young children could soon receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine as part of their three-dose series. Pfizer Inc. on Monday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have the vaccine that targets the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 replace the third dose in the series for children aged 6 months through 4 years old. Children in that age group would still receive two doses of the original COVID vaccine prior to the Omicron-targeted dose. Though children aged 5 and up and adults need only two doses to complete a primary series, younger children need three doses, CNN reported. “With the high level of respiratory illnesses currently circulating among children under 5 years of age, updated COVID-19 vaccines may help prevent severe illness and hospitalization,” the company said in a news release. It is unknown whether parents will choose to get the third shot for their children even if it’s approved. Fewer than 5% of children younger than 5 have been fully vaccinated for COVID, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Uptake is higher in children aged 5 and older, 73% of whom are vaccinated and 13% of whom have also received boosters, CNN reported. Meanwhile respiratory illnesses are surging for this population, including COVID-19 cases, flu and another virus known as RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). No vaccine exists for… read on > read on >

Money may not buy happiness, but it might give low-income obese people an extra incentive to lose weight, a new study suggests. The study, of people from urban neighborhoods, found that cash rewards encouraged participants to shed some extra pounds, versus a weight-loss program with no financial bonuses. And the effects were similar whether people were rewarded for reaching their weight-loss goals, or simply for making healthy lifestyle changes. Over six months, 39% to 49% of people given cash incentives lost at least 5% of their starting weight. That compared with 22% of study participants given no monetary motivation. The caveat, experts said, is that no one knows how financial rewards pan out in the long run. In this study, the weight-loss differences among the groups had begun to narrow by the one-year point. “This would only be impactful if people could keep losing weight at this rate over the longer term,” said Karen Glanz, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics in Philadelphia. Glanz, who was not involved in the study, said that researchers still have much to learn about the role for financial incentives in weight loss — including how and when it’s best to use them. The concept itself is not new. Studies have suggested that offering people money in exchange for lost pounds can bear fruit… read on > read on >

Finally, more than two years into the pandemic, Americans are sleeping better. A new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) found that 31% of people have had insomnia since the pandemic began. That was much lower — a 25% decrease — compared to the 2021 survey that found 56% of people were experiencing pandemic-linked insomnia. “The stress and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic led to an increase in disruptions in our sleep quality and quantity,” Jennifer Martin, a licensed clinical psychologist and president of the AASM, said in an academy news release. “While some people continue to experience subpar sleep, the good news is that the population is feeling the impact of ‘COVID-somnia’ less now than last year. For those still experiencing ongoing sleep problems, it may be time to speak with your doctor to determine the best course of action for improving your essential nightly sleep,” Martin suggested. Among those surveyed who were still having sleep disturbances, 61% were having trouble falling asleep. About 47% were experiencing worse quality sleep, 39% were sleeping less and 33% were having more disturbing dreams. The academy recommends that those having sleep problems try some “sleep hygiene” techniques: First, maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Get at least seven hours of sleep each night. Go to bed and wake up about the same time each day,… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Record Number of Fatal Drug ODs for Pregnant, Postpartum Women

Could Bacteria in Your Gut Help Spur Depression?

Cooler Noses May Be Key to Winter’s Spike in Colds

Concerns Around Sex, Fertility Often Ignored in Breast Cancer Care: Survey

Eating Lots of ‘Ultra-Processed’ Foods Could Harm Your Brain

Science Reveals 3 Keys to an Energized, Alert Day

Banning Flavored Vapes Didn’t Spur Folks to Quit

Pfizer Asks FDA to Approve Tweaked COVID Booster as Third Shot for Kids Under 5

Bribing Folks Can Help Them Meet Weight-Loss Goals, Study Finds

‘COVID-somnia’ May Be Easing as Americans Report Better Sleep