Insomnia may significantly increase the risk that older adults will be unable to shake off depression, researchers say. For the study, the investigators analyzed data on nearly 600 people over age 60 who visited primary care centers in New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. All had some level of depression. Compared to patients whose sleep improved, those with worsening sleep problems were about 28 times more likely to be diagnosed with major depression at the end of the 12-month study. Patients whose sleep worsened also had nearly 12 times the odds of minor depression and were 10% more likely to report having suicidal thoughts, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study. The report was recently published online in the journal Sleep. Compared to patients whose sleep improved, those with persistent, but not worsening, insomnia were more likely to have lasting depression. But their risk was not as high as patients whose sleep got worse. “These results suggest that, among older adults with depression, insomnia symptoms offer an important clue to their risks for persistent depression and suicidal ideation,” said study senior author Adam Spira, a professor of mental health at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. “We can’t say that the sleep disturbances we’re seeing are necessarily causing the poor depression outcomes,” he said in a Hopkins news release. “But the results suggest…  read on >

The coronavirus pandemic has been tough on Americans of all ages, but parents need to watch their teens for signs of depression, anxiety, anger and other emotional and mental health problems, a leading pediatricians’ group says. “It’s normal for teens to feel sad during this time, crying sometimes because they miss their friends or because sports and musical productions were canceled,” said Dr. Sara Goza, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). But some teens may find it especially difficult to cope, and parents should watch for the following signs that their teen may need more support, according to the AAP: Changes in mood, ongoing irritability, or feelings of hopelessness or rage. Changes in behavior, such as stepping back from personal relationships. Changes in weight or eating patterns. Changes in appearance, such as lack of basic personal hygiene. A lack of interest in activities the teen previously enjoyed. Difficulty falling or staying asleep, or starting to sleep all the time. Problems with memory, thinking, or concentration. An increase in risky or reckless behaviors, such as using drugs or alcohol, and thoughts about death or suicide, or talking about it. Parents should keep lines of communication open and check in with their teens often to discuss how they’re feeling and managing, and to watch for signs of mental health struggles. It’s important for parents to…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — While most U.S. states had loosened social distancing restrictions by Monday, new data shows the number of coronavirus cases in the country has dropped in recent days. According to The New York Times, in New York state case counts have dropped over the last month, and they have also plunged in hard-hit Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Some states, including Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska, are seeing hardly any new cases at all, the newspaper said. “We’re seeing a decline; undoubtedly, that is something good to see,” Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, told the Times. “But what we are also seeing is a lot of places right on the edge of controlling the disease.” Of course, testing will be key to further efforts to control the spread of the new coronavirus. But only about 3% of the population has been tested, with nearly 1.5 million cases recorded so far. And more than 1,000 Americans died from COVID-19 almost every day this past week, as the U.S. death toll neared 90,000 on Monday, the Times reported. Meanwhile, a new survey from the Washington Post reveals another dilemma: Though tests for the virus are finally becoming widely available, too few people are lining up to get them. The poll of governors’ offices and state health departments found at least a dozen states where testing…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — President Donald Trump told the World Health Organization on Monday that the United States would permanently end all funding to the organization if it did not agree to make significant changes in the next 30 days. The threat was delivered in a letter that Trump posted on his Twitter account. Sent to WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the letter also warned that the United States would reconsider its membership in the WHO because it was soft on China and “so clearly not serving America’s interests.” “It is clear the repeated missteps by you and your organization in responding to the pandemic have been extremely costly for the world,” the four-page letter said. Also in the letter, Trump claims that the WHO “consistently ignored credible reports of the virus spreading in Wuhan in early December 2019 or even earlier, including reports from the Lancet medical journal.” But the prestigious British medical journal shot back at that accusation in a statement released Tuesday, saying “The Lancet published no report in December, 2019, referring to a virus or outbreak in Wuhan or anywhere else in China. The first reports the journal published were on January 24, 2020.” Last year, the United States contributed about $553 million of the WHO’s $6 billion budget, with China providing $43 million, The New York Times reported. Before…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — As U.S. coronavirus cases topped 1.3 million and the death toll was set to pass 80,000 on Monday, three of the nation’s top health officials have started to quarantine themselves after being exposed to two White House aides who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The officials include Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the Washington Post reported. Fauci said Sunday that he was told his exposure risk was low, and that he plans to wear a mask at all times in public but will not completely isolate himself because he needs to attend certain meetings at the White House and work at the National Institutes of Health, the Post reported. He will be tested every time he goes to the White House. All three officials are members of the White House coronavirus task force. So far, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for COVID-19, the White House said. Meanwhile, troubling news emerged from New York City: Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that 38 children in the city had contracted a new, serious inflammatory syndrome that seems to be linked to COVID-19 infection. Three of those patients,…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — As states across America move through the early phases of reopening their economies, the nation’s top infectious disease expert plans to issue an ominous warning during a Senate hearing on Tuesday: Open too quickly, and “needless suffering and death” will follow. Dr. Anthony Fauci is one of four top health officials who will testify remotely before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the New York Times reported. “The major message that I wish to convey to the Senate HLP committee tomorrow is the danger of trying to open the country prematurely,” he wrote to a Times reporter late Monday night. “If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.” Fauci is one of three top health officials who have begun to quarantine themselves after being exposed to two White House aides who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The other officials are Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Washington Post reported. Fauci said Sunday that he was told his exposure risk was low,…  read on >

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, rates of hospital admission and death from COVID-19 have been significantly higher in men than women. Now, new Dutch research suggests a reason why: Compared to women, men have higher concentrations of a blood enzyme that helps the new coronavirus infect human cells. The enzyme is called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). “ACE2 is a receptor on the surface of cells,” explained lead researcher Dr. Adriaan Voors, a professor of cardiology at the University Medical Center Groningen, in the Netherlands. His team published their findings May 11 in the European Heart Journal. ACE2 “binds to the coronavirus and allows it to enter and infect healthy cells,” Voors explained in a journal news release. “High levels of ACE2 are present in the lungs and, therefore, it is thought to play a crucial role in the progression of lung disorders related to COVID-19.” Because of the importance of ACE2 in heart failure, the Dutch team was already exploring the enzyme’s role in cardiovascular health long before the new coronavirus appeared on the scene. In their study, the researchers tracked ACE2 concentrations in the blood of almost 1,500 men and more than 500 women. All were older people treated for heart failure at medical institutions in 11 European countries. In a long list of possible factors that might influence ACE2 concentrations in the blood,…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — Even as the country’s top health officials testified to Congress on Tuesday about the dangers of reopening too quickly, a new report shows millions more Americans are now venturing out in public. About 25 million more people went out on an average day last week than did during the six weeks of the U.S. lockdown, a New York Times analysis shows. From March 20, when states began urging people to stay home, to April 30, when many states started easing those restrictions, 43.8 percent of U.S. residents stayed home, the Times analysis showed. But last week, only 36.1 percent of Americans stayed home. The biggest drop in share of people staying home was in Michigan, where stay-at-home orders are actually still in place, the analysis showed. But during testimony delivered remotely on Tuesday to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned of the dangers of that trend, the Times reported. While more than 82,000 Americans have already perished from COVID-19, Fauci cautioned that the number is likely higher and will spike even more if some parts of the country reopen prematurely, the Times reported. “If that occurs, there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control,” Fauci testified. That could result not only in “some suffering and…  read on >