Category: Health alert
Six cases of new coronavirus variant found in India
India’s Health Ministry has found positive cases of the more infectious strain of the novel coronavirus in six people who returned from Britain in recent weeks. Discovery of the new coronavirus variant in Britain weeks ago has prompted India to suspend all flights from the country. The ban will remain until the end of the […]
Inter-arm differences in blood pressure increases cardiovascular disease risk
An expansive study led by researchers at the University of Exeter, UK, is the first to find that increasing differences in the blood pressure between each arm is linked to poorer cardiovascular health – the greater this differential in pressure, the greater the patient’s risk of heart attack, stroke and early death. Blood pressure rises […]
WHO: health harms from prolonged sitting can be offset by exceeding weekly recommended physical activity levels
New research involving some 44,000 people across four countries highlights a grim reality: a high daily tally of sedentary time (10 or more hours) i.e. prolonged sitting is linked to a significantly heightened risk of premature death, particularly among people who are already unfit or physically inactive. However, according to guidelines set out in the […]
People with Parkinson’s more likely to die from COVID-19
New analysis based on patient data in the TriNetX COVID-19 research network in the US suggests that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) disease have a higher risk of dying from COVID-19. According to neurologists Qiang Zhang and Nandakumar Narayanan at the University of Iowa Health Care (UI), at least 21.3% of COVID-19 patients with PD […]
Two tropical, mosquito-borne viruses linked to neurological damage, stoke
While the world focuses on COVID-19 and its many debilitating complications, UK researchers and Brazilian collaborators have found that an infection from mosquito-borne viruses, namely the Zika and chikungunya viruses can cause stroke and extensive problems in brain function.These viruses mostly circulate in the tropics and are known to cause large outbreaks of rash and […]
Blood test predicts risk of developing psychotic disorders in childhood
A fraction of young people who display mild, transitory psychotic signs and symptoms at an early age will go on to develop a serious psychotic disorder. Researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) have compiled datasets from several 12-year-olds classified as at a clinically high-risk of psychosis and used machine learning to […]
Researchers find dementia gene mutation doubles risk of severe COVID-19 infection
An international team of researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School (Exeter), UK, and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine (UConn Medicine), US, have found high risk of severe COVID-19 infection among participants of European ancestry who carry two faulty copies of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene – the APOE gene is involved […]
Adults with dysfunctional childhoods more at risk of heart disease, health issues
A high level of childhood family environment adversity has been shown to increase a person’s risk of having heart disease in their 50s and 60s. Children who experience trauma, abuse, neglect and family dysfunction are also likely to report higher rates of stress, smoking, anxiety, depression and sedentary lifestyle – which persist well into adulthood. […]
S. Koreans on alert over possible rise in coronavirus cases after 2020 general election
Following South Korea’s general election this past week – the world’s first nationwide election held during the COVID-19 pandemic – health authorities are concerned that new infection clusters could pop up and again contribute to the death toll. This round of polls reportedly had a 66% voter turnout, the highest in almost three decades, with […]
Maintaining mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Loneliness and social isolation may increase the risk of premature death by nearly 50%, according to two meta-analyses from Brigham Young University in Utah, US, in 2017. However, as many people’s freedom of movement is now severely limited thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding loneliness and keeping mentally healthy could become increasingly difficult. Experts from […]
