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There’s been a nearly 60% drop in broken bones among U.S. children during the coronavirus pandemic, but the rate of fractures that occur at home has climbed, a new study finds. The researchers analyzed data on 1,735 youngsters treated for acute fractures at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) between March 15 and April 15, and compared that data with the same time period in 2018 and 2019. There was a nearly 2.5-fold decline in the number of daily fracture cases during the coronavirus pandemic, compared with the two previous years, the investigators found. There was a particularly sharp fall in sports-related fractures. They accounted for just 7.2% of all fractures during the during the recent time period, compared with 26% of all fractures in the same time period in 2018 and 2019. However, there was a more than 25% increase in fractures that occurred at home this year, and a 12% increase in fractures caused by high-energy falls, such as fractures from trampoline and bicycle falls. Due to social distancing measures — including the closure of schools and parks and the cancellation of team sports during the coronavirus pandemic — families are spending more time at home. The shift in causes of fractures is due to parents seeking other recreational activities for their children, said the authors of the study published online recently in… read on >

For many, work-at-home orders aimed at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic have had an unintended side effect: sleep loss. “We’ve seen a significant increase in reports of stress-related insomnia in recent months,” said Julio Fernandez-Mendoza of the Penn State Health Sleep Research and Treatment Center in Hummelstown, Penn. Stress and worry about the pandemic is one reason and the novelty of working at home is another, Fernandez-Mendoza said in a Penn news release. Here are some tips to help you get a good night’s sleep: Have a daily routine. Do regular tasks like waking up, showering, eating, engaging in leisure activities and going to bed at set times. “Sticking with regular habits keeps your circadian rhythm anchored like a boat in the ocean,” Fernandez-Mendoza said. Keep work and sleep areas separate. The bedroom should be for sleep and sex — and no electronics. Pick another place for work. Keep your work area lit during the day. Get as much natural light as possible. At night, close the blinds and dim the lights at least two hours before bedtime. Take 15-minute breaks from the computer. Take a coffee break, go for a walk or do an activity. Stay hydrated. Spend time outdoors. Check email or work-related texts only during work hours. Set a schedule with your employer and use autoreply to tell people you’ll reply to overnight… read on >

As the U.S. coronavirus case count eclipsed 1.8 million and the death toll passed 107,000 on Thursday, America’s jobless rolls swelled to nearly 43 million. That’s close to one-quarter of the country’s work force. The U.S. Labor Department reported 1.9 million more people filed new unemployment claims last week, a sobering reminder of the economic toll the coronavirus pandemic has taken on Americans, CNN reported. At the same time, fears of a spike in new infections were stoked by a new review that shows that crowded protests against police brutality have occurred in every one of the 25 U.S. communities with the highest concentrations of new COVID-19 cases. The Associated Press analysis also found that some cities — Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles among them — have witnessed protests on multiple days. In some communities, such as Minneapolis where the protests started, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has also been rising, the news agency added. The close proximity of protesters and their failure in many cases to wear masks, along with police using tear gas, could fuel new transmissions. Tear gas can cause people to cough and sneeze, as can the smoke from fires set in some instances, the AP said. Both factors can also prompt protesters to remove their masks. Putting arrested protesters into jail cells can also increase the… read on >

Pregnant women who live near active oil and gas wells may be at risk for having low birth weight infants, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed nearly 3 million births to Californians living within six miles of an oil or gas well between 2006 and 2015. It was found that women living within less than a mile of a well were 40% more likely to have low birth weight infants and 20% more likely to have babies who were small for their gestational age, compared with women who lived farther away from wells. “Being born of low birth weight or small for gestational age can affect the development of newborns and increase their risk of health problems in early childhood and even into adulthood,” said researcher Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor of public health and environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley. Full-term babies near wells were an average of 1.3 ounces (36 grams) smaller than babies who were not near wells, according to the findings. “When you see a shift of over 30 grams of birth weight among term infants, from an individual clinical perspective, it may not seem like a lot,” Morello-Frosch said in a university news release. “But when you see that kind of large population shift in birth weight — that can have significant population level implications for… read on >

Four of the earliest U.S. cases of a rare inflammatory syndrome in kids with COVID-19 are described in a study that offers insight into the condition. The four children — aged 5, 10, 12 and 13 — arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City with what is known as exaggerated cytokine storm, an abnormal autoimmune response to the new coronavirus. Nasal swab tests for the virus were negative, but antibody testing confirmed previous COVID-19 infection. The previously healthy children were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and were given intravenous immunoglobulin and tocilizumab, an immunosuppressive drug often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Study co-author Dr. Jennifer Sanders said severe reactions to COVID-19 infection in kids remain rare. But even if their initial infection was very mild, some become critically ill several weeks later due to this exaggerated immune response. It’s known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C. Sanders is an assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The cases underscore the need for emergency doctors to be on the lookout for the syndrome among kids who have been infected with COVID-19, even if they initially appear to be well, said Dr. Temima Waltuch, a pediatric emergency medicine fellow. “This syndrome appears to be its own entity but patients are presenting with symptoms… read on >

A new review shows that protests have now unfolded in every one of the 25 U.S. communities with the highest concentrations of new COVID-19 cases, stoking fears of a spike in new infections. The Associated Press analysis also found that some cities — Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles among them — have witnessed protests on multiple days. In some communities, such as Minneapolis where the protests started, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has also been rising, the news agency added. The close proximity of protesters and their failure in many cases to wear masks, along with police using tear gas, could fuel new transmissions. Tear gas can cause people to cough and sneeze, as can the smoke from fires set by people bent on destruction, the AP said. Both factors can also prompt protesters to remove their masks. Putting arrested protesters into jail cells can also increase the risk of spread, and an AP tally shows that more than 5,600 people have already been taken into custody. Finally, photos of protesters and police shouting at one another nose-to-nose is also sounding alarms, the wire service reported. “As a nation, we have to be concerned about a rebound,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser warned Sunday, the AP reported. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also worried out loud that hundreds could potentially have… read on >

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis is devastating, no matter your sex. But the disease strikes far more women than men. Journalist and author Maria Shriver is determined to help researchers figure out why women make up two-thirds of those with Alzheimer’s disease. And why certain races and ethnicities are harder hit, too. “Some of the biggest research challenges in terms of gender disparity reach back to the many years of neglect by researchers to include women in their studies,” said Shriver, 64. “The lack of female representation in scientific research has left critical gaps in knowledge about the gender differences that exist in our unique bodies and responses to treatment. So we’re starting out from behind,” she explained. To address some of these issues, Shriver founded the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM). In partnership with AARP, her group just released a new report called “It’s Time to Act: The Challenges of Alzheimer’s and Dementia for Women.” Seventy-five Alzheimer’s and dementia researchers contributed to the report, which includes a 10-year strategic plan for researchers, policymakers and caregivers. During a virtual meeting to announce the report, Jo Anne Jenkins, CEO of AARP, said, “The lifetime risk for women to develop Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia after age 45 is estimated to be one in five. For men it’s one in 10.” And the report noted that by the time… read on >

Michigan prepared to lift its stay-at-home order on Tuesday — one of the last states to do so. But in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned that protests rampant in numerous American cities could trigger a second wave of COVID-19 infections. “Protest, just be smart about it,” Cuomo said. New York plans to reopen all of the state, including New York City, on June 8. State public health officials urged protesters to wear face coverings, use hand sanitizer, maintain social distancing and get tested for the coronavirus, The New York Times reported. At the same time, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted a stay-at-home order for the state’s 10 million residents, saying that groups of 100 people or less would be allowed to gather outdoors, the Times reported. Restaurants are also allowed to reopen, though tables must be at least six feet apart. And Louisiana’s governor said the state would begin easing its social distancing restrictions on Friday, allowing venues including churches, malls, bars and theaters to increase capacity to 50 percent. But the mayor of New Orleans quickly tweeted that New Orleans would not be following the state’s lead. But as the number of U.S. coronavirus cases passed 1.8 million on Tuesday, a new poll shows that a majority of Americans still think it’s more important to control the virus’ spread than to restart the… read on >

(HealthDay News) — The drug Tagrisso could offer hope to patients battling a form of lung cancer that typically hits people with little or no history of smoking, a new trial finds. Taken after surgery to remove the lung tumor, Tagrisso (osimertinib) greatly extended the average survival of people battling a non-metastatic form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which makes up the vast majority of lung cancers. The NSCLC tumors that were the focus of the new trial were characterized by the presence of an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation on cells. This subset of tumors “are present in roughly 10% of Caucasian patients, with much higher estimates of other patient populations, such as Asian patients,” said Dr. Kevin Sullivan, a lung cancer specialist who wasn’t involved in the new trial. “Most patients with these mutations are non-smokers or former very light smokers,” noted Sullivan, who works in the division of medical oncology at Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Lake Success, N.Y. Typically, he said, patients diagnosed with these tumors get surgery followed by standard chemotherapy — if the cancer hasn’t already spread beyond the lung. That standard follow-up chemotherapy “provides a small but significant survival benefit — meaning, it improves the cure rate,” Sullivan explained. And if the cancer comes back, which it often does, it can prove incurable. The new study,… read on >

Preschoolers may spend more time on smartphones or tablets than their parents realize, and some use apps intended for teens and adults, researchers report. A new study tracked mobile device use among 350 children aged 3 to 5 over nine months and compared their findings with parents’ estimates of their use. Preschoolers with their own smartphones or tablets averaged two hours of screen time a day. Nearly three-quarters of their parents underestimated it. More than half of kids used devices for an hour or more, including 15% who spent at least four hours a day on mobile devices. Thirty-four percent of kids in the new study had their own digital device, according to the findings published recently in the journal Pediatrics. Kids in the study used between one and 85 apps. The most commonly used apps included YouTube, YouTube Kids, browsers, and streaming services such as Netflix. However, some apps related to gambling, violent games and general audience games without restrictions on the data they collect or share with third-party advertisers. “We found that most parents miscalculated their children’s time on mobile devices,” said lead author Dr. Jenny Radesky, a behavioral pediatrician at Michigan Medicine’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. “They may also not be aware of what content is being shared or what apps are being marketed to children while they’re using… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Kids Breaking Fewer Bones During Pandemic, But More Fractures Happening at Home

How to Get Better Sleep While Working at Home

Pandemic Has Left Nearly 43 Million Americans Without Work

Living Near Oil, Gas Wells Tied to Low Birth Weight Infants

Case Study Examines What’s Behind Severe Kids’ Illness After COVID-19

Many Protests Happening in Cities With High Numbers of New COVID-19 Cases

Maria Shriver and AARP Take on Alzheimer’s in Women

Final States Reopen Amid Worries That Protests Will Spark New COVID Infections

Drug Could Boost Survival From Lung Cancer Affecting Non-Smokers

Parents Unaware of Young Kids’ Smartphone Use: Study