Health & Fitness

By Nancy Lapid (Reuters) - The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. COVID-19 worsens asthma in children Asthma in children may worsen after an infection with the coronavirus, doctors warn. They studied nearly 62,000 U.S. children with asthma who had PCR tests for the virus in the first year of the pandemic, including more than 7,700 who tested positive. Infected children had significantly more asthma visits, hospitalizations, emergency inhaler use, and steroid treatments during the six months after their illness compared to children who tested negative and to their own prior history, researchers reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical...

Enlarge / A medical worker arranges nucleic acid samples at a makeshift nucleic acid testing site on May 3, 2022 in Beijing, China. The omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 is poised to become dominant in the US, currently accounting for an estimated 36.5 percent of all US SARS-CoV-2 cases, according to the latest estimates released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subvariant's ascent is the latest rapid succession of omicron subvariants, from the sky-scraping peak of cases from the initial omicron subvariant BA.1 in January, to the current bump driven by the subvariant BA.2, which achieved dominance in March. As before, the reason for the viral usurping is that omicron subvariants continue to evolve advantages: BA.2.12.1...

New research claims to have found the ideal amount of sleep for middle-aged adults and senior citizens. The meta-analysis found seven hours of sleep improved cognitive abilities, protected the brain from dementia, and improved mental health. Experts say that the quality of sleep is also important, and achieving deep sleep as we age is crucial for brain health. We’ve been told time and time again that adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night, but new research points to the exact amount of quality Z’s that may support our cognitive abilities, ward off early signs of dementia, and even protect our mental health. The new study published in the journal Nature Aging found that around seven hours of sleep is ideal for middle and older-aged adults. The research found any...

Medical research Some people experience lingering cognitive decline, with degree of impairment linked to illness severity People who have been hospitalised with Covid may be left with difficulties in thinking comparable in magnitude to ageing 20 years, research suggests.As the pandemic swept the world it became apparent that coronavirus could not only cause immediate health problems but also leave some people with often debilitating symptoms – a condition known as long Covid.According to one UK study, about a third of patients who experienced symptoms after being hospitalised felt fully recovered a year later, with little improvement for most patients in areas including physical function and cognitive impairment. Now experts have revealed that some patients were left with, on average, a ...

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a national health alert regarding a mysterious cluster of severe hepatitis in pediatric patients in Alabama, at least ten additional states are reporting similar cases that are now part of larger international outbreak, according to an ABC7 Chicago report.   The children are between the ages of 1 month to 16 years old with typical symptoms of acute hepatitis, including jaundice, abdominal pain and diarrhea.   A girl clutches her stomach.  (iStock) The CDC reported the first cases in Alabama did not have significant medical problems, and ranged from ages younger than two to older than five years old, with five out of nine patients contracting adenovirus type...

The omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 that has swept across the U.S. since late last year has taken a grimmer toll than earlier variants, including in people who were vaccinated and even had booster shots. That’s according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that 42% of COVID fatalities in January and February were of vaccinated people, compared with 23% of the dead in September, when the delta variant was still dominant. The data are based on the date of infection and limited to a sampling of cases in which vaccination status was known, the paper reported. The deaths were mostly in elderly people and people with compromised immune systems. Almost two-th...

Eight more countries have reported cases of a mystery hepatitis in children in the past week, the World Health Organization has confirmed. It brings the total number of countries with cases to 20.  Globally, 228 children have been sickened with an unusual form of the liver disease and another 50 suspected cases are being probed. One death has been confirmed but four more are suspected, and 18 children have required a liver transplant. Experts say the current count could be the 'tip of the iceberg', with many countries only now stepping up surveillance for the unusual complication. Most of the cases so far have been detected in Europe but there are others in the Americas, the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia.  Scientists are puzzled by the spate of cases because none of the affected chil...

Being hospitalised with Covid could age your brain by two decades, a Government-funded study warned today. Cambridge University experts say the effect is the equivalent of losing roughly 10 IQ points.  Dozens of studies have found Covid damages brain function, but the scientists claim this is first of its kind to rigorously assess the impact.  A new study has found survivors of severe Covid infection performed worse on cognitive tests than members of the public six months after recovery. The left chart shows how Covid survivor scored on 'accuracy' in a cognitive test, with a negative score being worse than the general public. The right chart shows the Covid survivors scores in terms of time taken with a positive score indicating they took longer than the average perso...

The worst avian flu outbreak in years is ripping through the United States, leading to the deaths of more than 24 million birds. The H5N1 virus has ravaged commercial and backyard poultry in 29 states, with nearly 250 outbreaks, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  American consumers have felt the bird flu in the form of higher egg prices, which more than doubled in March. But on Thursday, the CDC reported the first human case of the current dominant bird flu virus in the United States. An inmate in Colorado contracted the flu after exposure while working at a poultry farm. Still, public health officials say the risk of transmission in the general public is low.  Bird flu's economic impact:Worst bird flu in years drives up egg prices, prompts precautions against spread to humans...

A seventh flock has tested positive for avian flu in Lancaster County.The U.S. Department of Agriculture says this is the first duck farm in the area to be impacted. On Monday, 19,000 birds were killed to try to contain the bird flu.This latest case also expands Pennsylvania's control zone further north (see map below). The expanded zone includes portions of:Lancaster County Lebanon CountyYork CountySeventh avian flu caseThe case marks the seventh in the state since the bird flu was identified in late April at the Kreider Farms egg-laying facility in Donegal, Lancaster County. So far, nearly 4 million chickens have been killed in an effort to contain the avian flu.Poultry is a $7 billion industry in Pennsylvania.Report avian flu casesIf you suspect live poultry is infected, you are a...