Kids growing up in poverty show the effects of being poor as early as age 5 — especially those who are Black, a new study suggests. The research adds to mounting evidence that children of Black parents who are also poor face greater health inequities than whites. “Our findings underscore the pronounced racialized disparities for young children,” said lead author Dr. Neal Halfon, director of the Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities at the University of California, Los Angeles. For the study, teachers administered a standardized test to measure physical, social, emotional and language development of kindergarteners in 98 school districts across the United States. More than 185,000 kids took the test from 2010 to 2017. Analyzing the data, the researchers found that 30% of the poorest children were vulnerable in one or more areas of health development, compared with 17% of children from wealthier areas. These differences in vulnerability varied among from different ethnic and racial groups. Black children were at the highest risk, followed by Hispanic children. Asian children were at the lowest risk. The difference between Black children and white children was most striking at the higher socioeconomic levels and tended to narrow for kids from lower-income areas. The disparities can have a profound effect on kids’ long-term development and lead to higher rates diabetes, heart disease, drug use, mental health…  read on >

The United States on Thursday recorded its second highest daily total of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with 75,000 new infections, while eight states broke single-day records of new cases. Also on Thursday, the antiviral medicine remdesivir became the first drug to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to fight COVID-19. Such drugs are urgently needed: Adding to bleak national numbers, 13 additional states have added more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch, The New York Times reported. The Midwest and Rocky Mountains are struggling to contain major outbreaks, while new hot spots are emerging in other parts of the country. Kentucky announced more than 1,470 cases on Thursday, the biggest one-day jump ever in that state. And Colorado reported more than 1,300 cases, setting another single-day record, the Times reported. In Chicago, a nightly curfew will start on Friday, after officials reported an average of 645 new cases a day this past week, the newspaper said. The current record for new daily cases was recorded in mid-July, when over 77,000 infections were recorded in one day. Coronavirus cases have also been climbing on college campuses, where more than 214,000 infections have been diagnosed this year, a Times survey showed. More than 35,000 of those cases have been reported since early October. While some colleges moved all…  read on >

As most of America prepares for the Nov. 1 return of standard time, 63% want one fixed, year-round time, a new survey finds. “Evidence of the negative impacts of seasonal time changes continue to accumulate, and there is real momentum behind the push to end seasonal time changes,” said Dr. Kannan Ramar, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), which favors a fixed, nationwide time. A recent position statement from AASM said public health and safety would benefit if seasonal time changes were eliminated. It called for permanent use of standard time, which it said more closely aligns with the daily rhythms of the body’s internal clock. More than 20 organizations have endorsed the statement. They include the National Safety Council, the National Parent Teacher Association and the World Sleep Society. AASM noted that time changes increase the risk of stroke, hospital admissions and sleep loss, and also add to inflammation, one of the body’s responses to stress. Researchers recently reported an 18% increase in adverse medical events due to human error in the week after switching to daylight saving time in the spring. “Permanent, year-round standard time is the best choice to most closely match our circadian sleep-wake cycle,” said Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, a specialist in sleep medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire, Wisc. “Daylight saving time results in…  read on >

Stuck at home, bored. Fiddling with their phone or playing video games. Munching on snack foods to while away the time. School-age children gaining excess pounds could be one lasting health problem caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with pediatricians and public health experts warning about a potentially dramatic increase in childhood obesity. “I think it is possible, and potentially even likely, that we may see childhood obesity rise following stay-at-home orders, virtual school and increases in home-schooling,” said Michelle Cardel, associate director of the Center for Integrative Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases at the University of Florida College of Medicine. “Children are trading in their structured time at school for screen time and 24/7 access to their kitchen.” Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. children was considered obese back in 2016, the last time the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assessed childhood obesity. There was good news in that CDC study, however — it appeared that the prevalence of childhood obesity had plateaued, thanks to a number of public health measures aimed at preventing weight gain in kids, said Dr. Amy Lee, a weight control expert. “They are now predicting that because of COVID and everything that’s happening, there may an undoing of that plateau,” Lee said. “We may see this heading the wrong direction.” It makes sense that kids kept home during lockdowns would…  read on >

Loss of smell is common in COVID-19, but fewer people say they have this symptom than objective tests reveal, a new study finds. In fact, about 77% of COVID-19 patients who were directly measured had smell loss, but only 44% said they did, researchers found. Direct measures of smell involve having patients smell and report on actual odors, while self-reporting includes getting data through patient questionnaires, interviews or electronic health records, the study authors explained. “Objective measures are a more sensitive method to identify smell loss related to COVID-19,” said study co-author Mackenzie Hannum, a postdoctoral fellow at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. Subjective measures, “while expedient during the early stages of the pandemic, underestimate the true prevalence of smell loss,” said Vicente Ramirez, a doctoral student at the University of California, Merced, and summer intern at Monell. The research suggests subjective measures underestimate the true extent of smell loss and that it may be an effective tool for diagnosing COVID-19 early, the authors said in a Monell news release. For the study, the researchers reviewed previously published studies on COVID-19 and loss of smell. Their findings were published online recently in the journal Chemical Senses. Senior author Danielle Reed, associate director at Monell, suggested that “measuring people for smell loss may become as routine as measuring body temperature for fever.” More information For…  read on >

The new coronavirus holds no political views. The pathogen’s only aim is to infect, spread and thrive. But in what is surely no surprise in a deeply divided America, it turns out that your political views play a large role in your attitude towards COVID-19 prevention efforts. Republicans tend to be much less worried than Democrats about the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore less likely to take steps to ward off infection, according to a new HealthDay/Harris Poll survey. Twice as many Republicans believe the U.S. reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic is overblown, 52% versus 26% of Democrats, the survey shows. Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to be optimistic that COVID-19 will be under control by early 2021 (66% versus 48%). Perhaps as a result, about seven in 10 Republicans said they accept certain risks when it comes to COVID-19 so they can go on with life as they choose, compared with about four out of 10 Democrats. Additionally, eight out of 10 Democrats (82%) said they “always” wear a mask when they go out, compared with 66% of Republicans. Similarly, twice as many Republicans think that restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19 should be lifted across the country, 55% versus 26% of Democrats. “American attitudes around COVID-19 have been deeply swayed by their political leaning,” said Robyn Bell Dickson, managing director of The…  read on >

TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Seeking to slow the spread of coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on Monday that face masks be worn by everyone in all public transportation settings. That includes both passengers and people working in stations, terminals and airports across the country, CBS News reported. So far, the Trump administration has not issued any national mandate on face coverings, instead leaving that decision to state and local leaders. In the new interim guidance, the CDC called masks “one of the most effective strategies available for reducing COVID-19 transmission.” Wide use of masks helps protect those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 as well as workers who frequently come into close contact with other people in airports, bus terminals, train stations and seaports, the guidance stated. Most U.S. airlines, Amtrak and many other transport companies already require passengers and staff to wear masks, CBS News reported. The CDC urged passengers and workers on all airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares to follow suit. For months, research has shown that face masks help curb the spread of COVID-19. In the new guidance, the CDC said everyone “should wear masks that cover both the mouth and nose when waiting for, traveling on, or departing from public [transportation]. People should also wear masks at…  read on >

Measures enacted to slow the spread of the new coronavirus also appeared to reduce hospitalizations for asthma, a new study finds. Researchers compared weekly data on hospitalizations at 272 hospitals in Japan in the first five months of 2020 to the same period in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Asthma hospitalizations in 2017-19 and 2020 showed similar trends until week eight, but in 2020 hospitalizations began to decline in week nine, the study found. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 were first recorded during week seven of 2020. Further analysis found a significant decrease in the average number of asthma hospitalizations during weeks nine to 22 of this year compared to 2017-19. The findings were published Oct. 13 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. “Asthma hospitalizations usually indicate that an individual’s asthma is not currently under control,” corresponding author Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki, of the University of Tokyo, said in a journal news release. “This would suggest that asthma control improved during the pandemic. It illustrates the importance of environmental factors when it comes to treating and managing patients with asthma.” One possible explanation is that increased hygiene to prevent COVID-19 would also reduce exposure to asthma triggers, according to the researchers. Enhanced precautions — such as frequent cleaning and reduced smoking — by people concerned that COVID-19 may trigger asthma may also have helped reduce…  read on >