If you’re older and you want to prolong your life, try volunteering, new research suggests. “Humans are social creatures by nature. Perhaps this is why our minds and bodies are rewarded when we give to others,” said lead investigator Eric Kim. He is from the department of social and behavioral sciences and the Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston. For the study, Kim’s team looked at nearly 13,000 people older than 50 who took part in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study and were tracked for four years between 2010 and 2016. Compared to those who didn’t volunteer, those who volunteered at least 100 hours a year (about two hours per week) had a substantially reduced risk of death and of developing physical limitations during the study period, and higher levels of physical activity and improved sense of well-being. The study was published online June 11 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Our results show that volunteerism among older adults doesn’t just strengthen communities, but enriches our own lives by strengthening our bonds to others, helping us feel a sense of purpose and well-being, and protecting us from feelings of loneliness, depression and hopelessness,” Kim said in a journal news release. “Regular altruistic activity reduces our risk of death, even though our study didn’t show…  read on >

The grosser someone sounds when they cough or sneeze, the more likely you are to suspect they have a contagious infection — even if it’s not true. That’s the upshot of a new study in which participants were asked to judge whether people were — or weren’t — infected with a communicable disease by the sound of their coughs and sneezes. On average, they guessed about four out of 10 sounds correctly, according to researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The findings were recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. “We find no evidence that perceivers can reliably detect pathogen threats from cough and sneeze sounds, even though they are reasonably certain they can,” said study lead author Nicholas Michalak, a doctoral student in psychology. “Moreover, there was no evidence that accuracy improved when participants knew the true number of infectious sounds in advance or when participants focused on how clear or disgusting they perceived the sounds,” he added in a university news release. Michalak said it appears that people are convinced that sounds that disgust them represent a likely disease threat. And that could lead them to shun others who make disgusting but noninfectious noises, he noted. The study authors said the findings suggest that when you hear someone cough or sneeze, it might be…  read on >

The isolation of the coronavirus pandemic might be stunting the social growth of young children, experts say. Since schools closed across the United States this past spring to stem the spread of COVID-19, kids have been deprived of experiences that are essential to their emotional development — playing at recess, sharing lunch with classmates and learning together in the classroom. In a recent HealthDay Live! interview, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and Dan Domenech, executive director of The School Superintendents Association, discussed how children might be impacted by the closure of their schools and the disruption of time spent with their peers. Humans are “social animals,” and the limitations placed on social interactions during the pandemic may harm mental health, particularly among children, they said. “We didn’t evolve for this kind of interaction with each other,” Christakis explained. “You can see it in young children. An infant as young as 6 months will attend to another infant. They want to engage with them socially. So, withholding all of that from children is making them pay a price, at least in the short term.” When schools open up, Christakis and Domenech said teachers and administrators should be prepared for a surge of mental health concerns among their students. “We’re working for our teachers…  read on >

Governors across America have eased lockdowns, but a new analysis shows coronavirus cases are rising in nearly half of U.S. states. The rolling seven-day average of new cases per capita has been higher than the average seven days earlier in 21 states, the Associated Press analysis found. In Arizona, hospitals have been told to prepare for the worst. Texas has more hospitalized COVID-19 patients than at any time before, the analysis found. And the governor of North Carolina said recent jumps in cases caused him to rethink plans to reopen schools or businesses. In some states, more testing has uncovered more cases. But experts think at least some spikes are due to lifting stay-at-home orders, school and business closures, and other social distancing measures, the wire service reported. The increases aren’t coming in new cases only: At least nine states have seen spikes in hospitalizations since Memorial Day. In Arizona, Texas, North and South Carolina, California, Oregon, Arkansas, Mississippi and Utah, increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients are showing up at hospitals, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The hospitalization data challenges the notion that the country is seeing a spike in new coronavirus cases solely because of increased testing, the Post reported. By Friday, the U.S. coronavirus case count had passed 2 million as the death toll neared 114,000. “It is a disaster that spreads,” Dr.…  read on >

Washing your hands more often may do more than slow the spread of COVID-19: New research suggests it also lowers your exposure to toxic flame retardants. How? Scientists found that halogenated flame retardants used in plastic TV cases can travel from the TV to indoor air and dust, then to hands, and then to electronic devices such as cellphones. That means that you can be exposed to these chemicals every time you touch your cellphone, according to the study published June 9 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Halogenated flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, are known to be a health risk to children. Previous research has shown that exposure to these chemicals can cause lower IQ and behavioral problems in children. “It’s well-known that viruses are transferred between surfaces and hands,” said study co-author Miriam Diamond, a professor in the University of Toronto’s department of earth sciences. “Our study shows that toxic chemicals like flame retardants do the same. That’s another reason we should all wash our hands often and well,” Diamond said in a university news release. Study co-author Lisa Melymuk, an assistant professor of environmental chemistry at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, noted that “if a flame retardant is used in the TVs, we then find it throughout the house, including on the hands of the resident.” And…  read on >

The number of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases passed 2 million on Thursday, as public health experts warned of the emergence of new COVID-19 hotspots across the country. Just three weeks after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted the state’s stay-at-home order, there has been a significant spike in coronavirus cases, with lawmakers and medical professionals warning that hospitals might not be able to handle a big influx of new cases. Already, hospitals in the state are at 83 percent capacity, the Associated Press reported. But Arizona is not alone in seeing increases in hospitalizations: new U.S. data shows at least eight other states with spikes since Memorial Day. In Texas, North and South Carolina, California, Oregon, Arkansas, Mississippi and Utah, increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients are showing up at hospitals, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. For example, Texas has reported two consecutive days of record-breaking coronavirus hospitalizations. That state, which was one of the first to reopen, has seen a 36 percent increase in new cases since the end of May, with a record 2,056 hospitalizations recorded by Tuesday afternoon, the Post reported. The hospitalization data challenges the notion that the country is seeing a spike in new coronavirus cases solely because of increased testing, the Post reported. By Thursday, the U.S. coronavirus death toll passed 113,000. On Tuesday, another Post analysis showed that parts of…  read on >