After 13 years, thanks and farewell
This is my last posting for Second Opinion; I’ve decided to retire from the column.
In Second Opinion, Susan Perry helps readers make their way through the thicket of health trends, studies and research.
This is my last posting for Second Opinion; I’ve decided to retire from the column.
The survey also revealed that telehealth services grew by 833 percent since the start of the pandemic. More than 80% of the physicians surveyed said their patients are satisfied with receiving care this way.
The cases may be linked to rises in temperature and tiny particulates that occur before storms, the study’s authors say. Both factors exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma and COPD.
Researchers at Yangzhou University have reported that flushing a toilet or urinal sends a cloud of tiny aerosol particles into the air.
“In many cases, political group membership mattered even more for expected friendship outcomes than length/closeness of the friendship,” the researchers said.
Fine particulate matter comes from a variety of sources, including motor vehicles, power plants, airplanes, residential wood burning, forest fires and dust storms.
The study also shows that one out of every 108 Americans will die of a gunshot wound during their lifetime if current death rates hold.
The study appears to be the first to directly compare smell and taste symptoms in people with COVID-19 with those in people with upper respiratory illnesses.
Blacks make up 6.8% of Minnesota’s population, but represented 24.9% of the hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the U of M study. It analyzed the 12 states that reported ethnic and racial data on hospitalized COVID patients.
The authors of the study also estimate that one in eight early deaths in the U.S. may be linked to people becoming overweight or obese during early and mid-adulthood.
While yoga can help ease symptoms of anxiety in adults, it’s not as effective or as long-lasting as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), according to the study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Researchers calculated the pandemic’s doubling time — how long it took for confirmed COVID-19 cases to double — before and during the stay-at-home periods.
After adding moderate-level physical activity to their daily lives, people tend to think they haven’t made a positive behavior change at all, the study found.
Almost half of the study’s participants overstated the amount of whole grain in different products after reading the food labels.
Both mental health problems and economic hardship are higher in the U.S., the Commonwealth Fund reports.
Depression and other psychiatric problems explain more of the cognitive decline among baby boomers than all other diseases combined, the researchers say.
The American Heart Association says research to date has found no cardiovascular benefits from the use of marijuana. It also cites harms from smoking or vaping it.
“There was no significant benefit from the supplement for this purpose. It did not prevent depression or improve mood,” says Dr. Oliva Okereke, the study’s lead author.
“Our study shows that the common idea that ‘music makes children smarter’ is incorrect,” says Giovanni Sala, the lead author of the meta-analysis.
Evidence suggests a strong connection between exposure to UV radiation during childhood and adolescence and skin cancer later in life.