Research brings grim findings for these economically tough times: People who must move because they can’t make the rent often miss out on needed medical care. The study, of over 146,000 California residents, found a connection between unaffordable housing and health care use: Of people who’d moved in the past five years because they couldn’t afford the mortgage or rent, about 27% had skipped or delayed necessary medical care. That was higher than the rates among Californians who’d stayed put and those who’d moved for reasons other than housing costs. The findings do not necessarily mean that the moves, per se, led to difficulties in getting health care. But it makes sense that there’s a connection, the researchers said. “The findings are intuitive,” said Dr. Katherine Chen, a fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, who worked on the study. People who struggle to afford housing, she said, are likely to face other financial hardships. Housing is such an essential need that people will put rent or mortgage payments ahead of all else, said Corianne Scally. Scally, who was not involved in the new research, studies housing issues at the Urban Institute, in Washington, D.C. She said that resource-strapped families can be forced to choose which basics they can afford. Medical care may be far down on the list, behind housing, food and bills.…  read on >  read on >

Research brings grim findings for these economically tough times: People who must move because they can’t make the rent often miss out on needed medical care. The study, of over 146,000 California residents, found a connection between unaffordable housing and health care use: Of people who’d moved in the past five years because they couldn’t afford the mortgage or rent, about 27% had skipped or delayed necessary medical care. That was higher than the rates among Californians who’d stayed put and those who’d moved for reasons other than housing costs. The findings do not necessarily mean that the moves, per se, led to difficulties in getting health care. But it makes sense that there’s a connection, the researchers said. “The findings are intuitive,” said Dr. Katherine Chen, a fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, who worked on the study. People who struggle to afford housing, she said, are likely to face other financial hardships. Housing is such an essential need that people will put rent or mortgage payments ahead of all else, said Corianne Scally. Scally, who was not involved in the new research, studies housing issues at the Urban Institute, in Washington, D.C. She said that resource-strapped families can be forced to choose which basics they can afford. Medical care may be far down on the list, behind housing, food and bills.…  read on >  read on >

It may be no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing some Americans significant psychological distress. That mental trauma hit people hard, even early in the pandemic, new research shows. A new RAND Corporation study reports that more than 10% of Americans surveyed said they experienced psychological distress during April and May of 2020 — the same number as in all of 2019. “Elevated psychological distress has been observed during prior disasters, but it has never before been seen as a persistent and complex stressor affecting the entire U.S. population,” said lead author Joshua Breslau, a senior behavioral scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “Policymakers should consider targeting services to population groups at high risk for elevated psychological distress during the pandemic, including people vulnerable to the economic consequences of social distancing,” he said in a RAND news release. The survey was based on responses from a nationally representative online panel. In February 2019, 2,555 participants responded; in May 2020, 1,870 did. Participants were asked about their level of psychological distress at various points during the preceding year. About 11% of participants to the second survey reported experiencing serious psychological distress in the past month, up from 10.2% in the 2019 survey. People who were distressed prior to the pandemic were more likely to report distress during the pandemic. Only about 3% of people…  read on >  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 >