1 in 6 patients without a history of depression developed it after COVID-19 Increases in new onset or recurring depression were seen among older Canadian adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a study shows. One in six patients without a history of depression before the pandemic developed it…
Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) have been awarded a $30,000 CHEST Foundation Research Grant to study racial differences in lung health among smokers, with an emphasis on African Americans. Lung function is an important health indicator and can be compromised by various factors, the most important of which…
Even as COVID-19 was correlated with worse outcomes for people with asthma, the number of people receiving care for asthmatic episodes decreased during the pandemic, according to three studies published in Thorax. Two focused on the United Kingdom, the first a study in England comparing general practitioner (GP) visits and hospital admissions, and the other…
People living with HIV are approximately two-thirds more likely to be current tobacco smokers than HIV-negative individuals, according to the findings of a global meta-analysis published in AIDS. Elevated smoking prevalence was observed in both men and women with HIV and in all world regions except the Western Pacific. “This systematic review and meta-analysis is…
Johnson & Johnson has begun shipping nearly 4 million doses of its newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine across the U.S., officials said Monday, and is expected to further scale up supply in the coming weeks and months. “We think literally within about the next 24 to 48 hours, Americans should start receiving shots in arms,” Alex…
The Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Science Committee recently released a report on COVID-19 and COPD. The committee does a great job of providing timely, consensus-based recommendations for all things COPD. The new report is a long, comprehensive document. Our goal here will be to highlight a…
Restrictions on flavored tobacco products are a great way to promote public health, and these restrictions work best if public health experts form partnerships with tobacco retailers, run intensive media campaigns, and advocate for comprehensive bans on the products. That is according to a study published in Tobacco Control from the University of Hawaiʻi at…
Everyone agrees about the good news — folks whose asthma is spurred on by allergies don’t appear to have an increased risk of life-threatening illness if they contract COVID-19. “Asthma has not risen as one of the top comorbid diseases for worse COVID-19 outcomes,” said Dr. Sandhya Khurana, director of the Mary Parkes Center for…