Working at home during a pandemic isn’t an option for about three-quarters of U.S. workers, putting them at increased risk of infection, a new study finds. Those 108 million workers tend to be among the lowest paid and are more likely to face pandemic-related job disruptions, including layoffs, furloughs or reduced hours. “This pandemic has really exacerbated existing vulnerabilities in American society,” said study author Marissa Baker. She’s an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Stress, anxiety and other mental health problems that can be brought on by job disruptions could persist after the economy reopens and social activities resume, she said in a university news release. The 25% of U.S. workers (35.6 million) who can do their jobs at home are typically in high-paid sectors such as finance, administration, engineering and technology, Baker noted. As the economy reopens, she said, these workers will continue to be less vulnerable to COVID-19 exposure and pandemic-related job disruptions but more likely to be able to care for a child at home — further widening the disparity between the top quarter of U.S. workers and others. “The most privileged workers will have a job that can be done at home, reducing their risk of exposure, and enabling them to continue to work even as office buildings were closed,” Baker…  read on >

COVID-19 is being diagnosed in Hispanic communities at a disproportionately high rate, a new study of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area shows. Researchers found that among nearly 38,000 patients tested for SARS-CoV-2 at Johns Hopkins Health System, 16% were positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. That figure was much higher — almost 43% — among Hispanic patients, according to findings published online June 18 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The results come amid growing recognition of the toll that COVID-19 has taken on racial minorities in the United States. Data from states and cities have been revealing differences in who is contracting the virus and who is dying. But this is among the first published studies to measure the impact, said researcher Diego Martinez, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The researchers found that while the Baltimore-D.C. area is not home to a large Hispanic population, those residents were testing positive for COVID-19 at a much higher rate. Of 4,169 Hispanic patients tested, nearly 43% were positive for the virus — compared to roughly 9% whites and 18% of Black patients. “The data corroborate what we’ve been seeing in the wards,” said co-researcher Dr. Kathleen Page, an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins. As for the underlying reasons, the study cannot answer that. But doctors’…  read on >

As the worldwide coronavirus case count passed 10 million and the death toll topped 500,000 on Sunday, 36 U.S. states continued to struggle with alarming spikes in COVID-19 infections. Experts cautioned that Florida could become the next epicenter for infections while Texas has seen record-breaking case counts and hospitalizations, CNN reported. Officials across the country are also warning of an increase in cases among younger people. Over the weekend, Florida shattered its previous records and reported 9,585 new cases on Saturday and 8,530 on Sunday, The New York Times reported. Six-hour lines formed in Jacksonville as thousands showed up to get drive-through tests. Orange County, home to Orlando, has seen an explosion of coronavirus: nearly 60 percent of all cases there have come in the past two weeks. Much of Florida’s surge in cases has followed the reopening of beaches, bars, restaurants and other social activities. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed the increase on a “test dump,” largely from younger residents getting themselves tested for COVID-19. “I’m one of the people who contributed to the 9,000-person day,” said Ian Scott, a 19-year-old college sophomore in Orlando who tested positive on Friday. He told the Times he has no idea how he got it. “We’re seeing positive, positive, positive, positive,” he said. “My generation says: ‘Let’s get this over with. Let’s suck it up for two…  read on >

Genetics play a major role in how affectionate women are, but the same does not hold true for men, new research shows. “When we measure people’s tendency to be affectionate and to receive affection from other people, almost without exception we find that women score higher than men,” said study leader Kory Floyd. He’s a professor in the University of Arizona’s department of communication, in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. For the new study, Floyd’s team assessed differences in the levels of affection expressed by 464 pairs of adult twins, aged 19 to 84. About half were identical twins and half were fraternal twins. In women, genes explain 45% of variability in affectionate behavior, while environmental influences such as the media, personal relationships and other unique life experiences explain 55% of the variability. However, genetics don’t seem to affect men’s levels of affectionate behavior. That seems to be solely influenced by environmental factors, according to the report published online recently in the journal Communication Monographs. It’s not known why affectionate behavior seems to be heritable in women but not men. However, previous research has shown that men tend to express less affection overall than women, Floyd said in a university news release. “The trait of being affectionate may be more adaptive for women in an evolutionary sense. There is some speculation that affectionate…  read on >

If you’re having nightmares during these stressful times, rest easy: A sleep expert says it’s to be expected. “Your experiences and interactions during the day can affect your dreams, and right now many of us are spending time watching the news or reading articles that are downright scary,” said Jennifer Martin, a director of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “It’s natural that the fears and stressors of daily life make their way into our dreams.” This is called dream incorporation, and it occurs when your real-life experiences show up in your dreams, she explained in an academy news release. Martin added that changes in sleep patterns — including fragmented sleep — can make people sleep less soundly, which means they remember more of their dreams. “Most of your dreams take place during the ‘rapid eye movement’ or REM sleep stage,” Martin said. “Typically, you’ll need to wake up during or shortly after a dream to remember it.” You can reduce disturbing dreams by getting a good night’s sleep, so Martin offered some tips. Have consistent times for going to sleep and waking up. Adults need seven or more hours a night on a regular basis for ideal health. Limit your exposure to stressful news near bedtime so you’re not dwelling on it as you try to doze off. For at least 30 minutes before…  read on >

Huge declines in patient visits during the coronavirus pandemic have slashed U.S. primary care doctors’ revenues, a new study finds. As a result of decreases in office visits and fees for services from March to May during the pandemic, a full-time primary care physician will lose an average of more than $65,000 in revenue in 2020. Overall, primary care practices nationwide stand to lose nearly $15 billion, according to the study led by a team from Harvard Medical School in Boston. “For many primary care practices, particularly those serving the most vulnerable populations, these losses could be catastrophic, with many practices being forced to close,” study author Dr. Sanjay Basu, a faculty affiliate at Harvard’s Center for Primary Care, said in a university news release. “This could weaken the U.S. health system dramatically at a time when we need it to be at its strongest.” Researchers warned that revenue losses would rise if there is a second wave of infection this year or reimbursement rates for telehealth visits return to pre-pandemic levels. Such losses could lead practices to close and worsen an existing shortage of primary care providers in the United States. “Our prior work shows that primary care saves lives, and loss of primary care practices will translate to lives lost across the United States,” said study co-author Dr. Russell Phillips, director of the…  read on >

More and more U.S. states are allowing marijuana to be taken as medicine, and a new study suggests that users do indeed feel better. In a survey of nearly 1,300 people with chronic health conditions, researchers found that those using “medicinal cannabis” reported less pain, better sleep and reduced anxiety. They also tended to use fewer prescription medications and were less likely to have been to the hospital recently. A majority of U.S. states have made marijuana legal for medical or recreational use, and studies have looked at whether those laws are linked to increased marijuana use, car accidents or emergency room visits. But little research has examined the impact of legalization on the people who use medicinal cannabis, said senior study author Ryan Vandrey, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The finding that cannabis users felt better than nonusers is not necessarily surprising, according to Vandrey. But it’s important to demonstrate it in a study, he said. The results do not prove, however, that medicinal cannabis is effective. It’s also unclear whether certain products were linked to particular benefits. Medicinal cannabis included not only formulations of THC — the chemical behind marijuana’s “high” — but also cannabidiol, or CBD, which does not create a high. Fifty-eight percent of users were taking “CBD-dominant” oils,…  read on >