Hershey, Pa. — Financial instability, lack of infrastructure, a deteriorating sense of community and family fragmentation are key contributors to diseases of despair in Pennsylvania communities, according to Penn State College of Medicine and Highmark Health researchers. The researchers conducted…
Tag: DEATH/DYING
Gender-affirming hair removal, mental health outcomes
What The Study Did: In this analysis of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, gender-affirming hair removal procedures were associated with lower odds of past-month severe psychological distress, past-year smoking and past-year suicidal ideation. Authors: Michelle S. Lee, B.A., of Harvard…
The Lancet: Experts call for urgent action to improve physical activity worldwide
Not enough progress has been made to address physical inactivity worldwide, with adolescents and people living with disabilities (PLWD) among the least likely populations to have the support needed to meet the World Health Organization (WHO)’s physical activity guidelines. Global…
More than 1.5M children lost a primary or secondary caregiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Addressing the impact of caregiver deaths critical for pediatric mental health, authors note
The Lancet: 1.5 million children worldwide have lost parent, grandparent, caregiver due to COVID-19
Study offers first global estimates of the number of children who experienced the death of a parent, grandparent, or primary caregiver from COVID-19. Researchers estimated figures based on COVID-19 mortality data from March 2020 through April 2021, and national fertility…
Examining association between cycling, risk of death among people with diabetes
What The Study Did: This study investigated the association between time spent cycling and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease or any other cause among people with diabetes. Authors: Mathias Ried-Larsen, Ph.D., of Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, is the corresponding…
Exploring gap between excess mortality, COVID-19 deaths in 67 countries
What The Study Did: N ational health care systems have different capacities to correctly identify people who died of COVID-19. Researchers in this study analyzed the gap between excess mortality and COVID-19 confirmed mortality in 67 countries to determine the…
Outcomes of patients treated by female vs male physicians
What The Study Did: Researchers investigated whether death, other hospital outcomes and processes of care differed between patients cared for by female and male physicians at hospitals in Canada. Authors: Fahad Razak, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Toronto in…
New WHO study links moderate alcohol use with higher cancer risk
One in four new breast cancers and one in five colon cancers in Canada attributed to alcohol
COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality: Sex differences
New Rochelle, NY, July 13, 2021–Males with COVID-19 had significantly higher rates of hospitalization and of transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) according to a new study. A higher percentage of males died of COVID-19 compared to females, as…
Survival for babies born with a birth defect – a “post-code lottery”
Survival for a baby born with a birth defect – otherwise known as a congenital anomaly – is a “post-code lottery”, according to scientists from 74 countries. A study published today in The Lancet , led by researchers from King’s…
Preferred life expectancy and its association with hypothetical adverse life scenarios
July 12, 2021– A new study sheds light on how the specter of dementia and chronic pain reduce people’s desire to live into older ages. Among Norwegians 60 years of age and older the desire to live into advanced ages…
New study supports medical safety of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Research may help to address prejudice and discrimination associated with well-established mental health treatment
New study: Lack of consideration of sex and gender in COVID-19 clinical studies
Although Covid-19 affects men and women differently, the large majority of current clinical studies of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 makes no mention of sex/gender. Indeed, only a fraction, 4 percent, explicitly plan to address sex and gender in their analysis, concludes…
US saw surge in firearm purchases and violence during first months of COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers found an association between an increase in gun purchases and domestic violence, but not other firearm violence
Early blood-sugar levels in type 2 diabetes crucial for future prognosis
People who get type 2 diabetes need to gain control of their blood-sugar levels — fast. The years immediately after diagnosis are strikingly critical in terms of their future risk for heart attacks and death. This is shown by a…
Climate change will increase temperature-attributable mortality
If global warming is not curbed, the increase in heat-related deaths will outstrip the decline in cold-related mortality, especially in the Mediterranean Basin
Factors associated with deaths in US ICE detention facilities
What The Study Did: The characteristics and factors associated with deaths among individuals detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities from 2011 to 2018 were examined in this study. Authors: Parveen Parmar, M.D., M.P.H., of the Keck School…
Dignity support at end of life
How a two-way approach can promote quality care
Interleukin-6 antagonists improve outcomes in hospitalised COVID-19 patients
Findings from a study published today [6 July] in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ) have prompted new World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to use interleukin-6 antagonists in patients with severe or critical COVID-19 along with…
Do heart medications affect COVID-19 outcomes?
Cardiovascular drugs do not affect COVID-19 outcomes–such as disease severity, hospitalizations, or deaths–according to an analysis of all relevant studies published as of November 2020. The findings are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology . Investigators included 429…
New online calculator can help predict death and end-of-life care needs for older adults
Although most Canadians die from predictable causes and have health needs that can be met at home, only 20% of people receive a physician home visit in their last year of life. To help understand the changing care needs of…
Could genetics hold the key to preventing SIDS?
A state-of-the-art genetic biobank could hold the key to preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), potentially saving the lives of hundreds of babies who die from the devastating condition each year. Developed by the University of South Australia, the biobank*…
Screening for dementia with artificial intelligence
The NIH has pledged nearly $4M to help researchers develop computer algorithms capable of detecting early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease
Low-income patients may be less likely to receive medical assistance in dying
Study shows socioeconomic status influences a patient’s access to medical assistance in dying in Canada
Near-death experiences, a survival strategy ?
A study in the journal Brain Communications by Danish and Belgian researchers attributes for the first time a biological purpose to near-death experiences (NDEs)
Leaders’ pandemic policies engendered varying levels of trust
As the COVID-19 pandemic exploded across the globe in early 2020, the world’s leaders were faced with a flurry of tough moral dilemmas. Should schools and businesses shut down, and if so, for how long? Who should receive scarce resources,…
Online symposium addresses issues of cancer research and palliative care
Why does pancreatic cancer develop, what new therapies might be effective against metastasis formation, and what is to be considered in palliative care? Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina will address these questions at the virtual symposium…
Using computation to improve words: Novel tool could improve serious illness conversations
Conversations between seriously ill people, their families and palliative care specialists lead to better quality-of-life. Understanding what happens during these conversations – and particularly how they vary by cultural, clinical, and situational contexts – is essential to guide healthcare communication…
Ben-Gurion U. develop new measure continuous traumatic stress impact
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, June 22, 2021 — Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have developed the first methodology to assess symptoms associated with continuous exposure to traumatic stress from rocket attacks and other security threats, which are not currently…
COVID-19-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults: rare but possible
In rare cases, adults who have recovered from COVID-19 may develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome, and clinicians should consider this possibility in adults with specific symptoms, as physicians describe in a case published in CMAJ ( Canadian Medical Association Journal )…
We cannot cheat ageing and death
New study finds fresh evidence for our inevitable death
Children with asymptomatic malaria a ‘hidden risk’ to disease control efforts
Study in Uganda highlights potential for school-aged children to be targeted for malaria control interventions
Scientists prepare for next coronavirus pandemic, maybe in 2028?
New drug target found for future and current coronaviruses
Having a strong life purpose eases loneliness of COVID-19 isolation
Those who felt their life was guided by meaningful values or goals were more willing to engage in COVID-19 protective behaviors
Common cold combats COVID-19
Exposure to the rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, can protect against infection by the virus which causes COVID-19, Yale researchers have found. In a new study, the researchers found that the common respiratory virus jump-starts the…
Over half of cardiovascular disease deaths worldwide occur in Asia
Paper urges identifying epidemiological features of CVD in Asian countries to combat epidemic
Suicidal thoughts, attempts among US adolescents
What The Study Did: Differences by sex and race/ethnicity in suicidal thoughts and nonfatal suicide attempts among U.S. adolescents over the last three decades were assessed in this survey study. Authors: Yunyu Xiao, Ph.D., of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis,…
Study reveals COVID-19 risk factors for those with IDD
Syracuse, N.Y. – A study of nearly 550 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving residential services in New York City found that age, larger residential settings, Down syndrome and chronic kidney disease were the most common risk factors for…
Autopsy Study of Patients With/Without COVID-19
JAMA Neurology
Researchers test model to predict drug overdose deaths in US
Predictive tools could help counties preemptively deliver public health resources
Hush little baby don’t say a word…
Giving a voice to child victims of family abuse and neglect
Study: Maternal adult characteristics do not predict stillbirth, early neonatal death
University of Illinois Chicago researchers studying birth outcomes in marmoset monkeys found there were no adult maternal characteristics like age or weight gain during pregnancy to predict stillbirth or early neonatal death, but that a mother’s birth weight or litter…
Have trouble sleeping? You’re at higher risk of dying, especially if you have diabetes
Those with diabetes, frequent sleep problems were 87% more likely to die in following 9 years
People who have trouble sleeping are at a higher risk of dying – especially diabetics
In a paper published by the Journal of Sleep Research , researchers reveal how they examined data* from half a million middle-aged UK participants asked if they had trouble falling asleep at night or woke up in the middle of…
New heart metric may increase survival for heart-failure patients
A new physiological measurement of heart function developed at UVA Health could improve survival for people with heart failure by identifying high-risk patients who require tailored treatments, a new study suggests. The study is the first to show a survival…
Gap between death rates in rural and urban areas tripled during past two decades
Discrepancy driven primarily by an increase in death rates in middle-aged white people. Death rates among Black people remained highest overall, however, gap with those of white people halved
Hospitalized individuals with active cancer more likely to die from COVID-19
Patients with blood cancers at greatest risk of COVID-19 death
Important to reduce patients’ time respiratory intensive care with mechanical ventilation
More active efforts to reduce patients’ time on a ventilator in an ICU can both spare their suffering and free up intensive care resources, a thesis at the University of Gothenburg shows. Mechanical ventilation (MV) in an intensive care unit…
Drop in convalescent plasma use at US hospitals linked to higher COVID-19 mortality rate
Analysis suggests decline in convalescent plasma use in US hospitals from November 2020 to February 2021 may have led to as many as 29,000 excess COVID-19 deaths