Former Smokers See Even Better Outcomes With Healthier Lifestyles
Former smokers still face higher disease and premature death risks, but they were able to cut down on that mortality risk by sticking with a healthy lifestyle, according to a prospective cohort study. Among people who used to smoke, higher total adherence scores to healthy lifestyle recommendations (e.g., healthy weight, balanced diet) were linked with […]
Post-COVID Neurologic, Psychiatric Symptoms May Persist for 2 Years
Up to 2 years after infection, people who had COVID-19 continued to face increased risks of neurologic and psychiatric sequelae compared with people who had other respiratory infections, a retrospective study showed. Health records of nearly 1.3 million people — mostly in the U.S. — showed that risks of cognitive deficit (brain fog), dementia, psychotic […]
No Early Cardiovascular Risks With Testosterone Treatment
Testosterone treatment for hypogonadism did not increase short- or medium-term risks for cardiovascular events, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cardiovascular risks were similar between men in the testosterone group and those in the placebo group (7.5% vs 7.2%; OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.81-1.42, P=0.62), reported Channa Jayasena, PhD, of Imperial College London, at […]
FDA Advisers Back Authorization of Novavax COVID Shot
The benefits of Novavax’s adjuvanted protein-based COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) said in a near-unanimous vote on Tuesday. With 21 members voting yes, and one abstention, VRBPAC recommended Novavax’s two-dose vaccine for adults, saying that it met the criteria for FDA emergency use authorization (EUA). […]
Physician Group Releases Guidance on Cardiovascular Issues in Long COVID
Risks for cardiovascular complications, including pulmonary embolism, arterial and venous thromboses, myocardial infarction, and stroke, are higher in patients with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), or long COVID, highlighting the need for greater awareness of these conditions among clinicians, according to a consensus statement released by the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPM&R). […]
Do COVID Vaccines Stave Off New Medical Conditions?
Risks of long COVID symptoms and the incidence of new onset hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease were lower among vaccinated patients with breakthrough infection versus those with COVID who were unvaccinated, a large analysis of medical records in the U.S. suggested. Compared to those who were unvaccinated, relative risks were 0.33 for hypertension (95% CI […]
Depression May Follow Those Bedridden for COVID
Patients who had severe acute COVID-19 but avoided hospitalization saw higher risks for certain mental health conditions, according to an observational study. Among nearly 10,000 individuals, those diagnosed with COVID-19 had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.18, 95% CI 1.03-1.36) and poorer sleep quality (PR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.24) compared with […]
Athletes warned against potential dangers of natural supplements
Nutritional supplements taken to boost athletic performance can pose risks to the heart, according to a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) statement published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the ESC. “Nutritional supplements are commonly viewed as risk-free substances that may improve performance,” states the paper. “Some nutritional supplements, including […]
CDC Hasn’t Updated COVID Vax Breakthrough Data
As Americans weigh the risks of holiday gatherings, many are looking for data on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, hospitalizations, and deaths among the vaccinated — but nationally, that information is not reported in real-time. In mid-October, the CDC started publishing cases and deaths by vaccination status on its COVID Data Tracker for the first time. But […]
Why Bariatric Surgery’s Mortality Risk Is Higher in Men
Men and women might see vastly different risks for death following bariatric surgery, a new study suggested. In nearly 20,000 bariatric surgery patients, men saw a five-fold higher rate of death within 30 days of undergoing weight loss surgery compared with women (0.48% vs 0.08%, P<0.001), representing 25 deaths among male patients and 12 deaths […]