Are there geographical differences in the spread of COVID-19? Does a region's "culture" contribute to the pandemic or simply the population density? Good questions. Let's take a look.
Disease
Skin cancers are among the most common tumors; after all, we're all held together by our skin. The improvements in 3D-ultrasounds provide a one-step measurement of a suspicious area's size, depth, margins, and tumor aggression. More importantly, it identifies the tumor invisible to the eye, a critical factor in skin cancer recurrence.
I read a short article this week about the social history surrounding epidemics. Like much of history, it has eerie similarities to our current times. Is it a precautionary tale, or a random pattern we imbue with meaning as we try to connect the dots?
Everyone knows that the elderly and those with co-morbidities are at greater risk for hospitalization and death from COVID-19. But are all co-morbidities the same? Do some conditions result in more or perhaps fewer hospitalizations and deaths? Let's take a look.
A study that found basically no link between hair color or dye use and cancer predictably was sensationalized by the media anyway.
Loneliness, if you follow the media, is a problem of old age. It worsens one by one, as you lose your companions. Yet at the same time, it seems to be a problem of adolescence, too, as youngsters tries to find their peeps. So loneliness can affect any age, and a new paper suggests the sources of loneliness change over time.
One of the issues in medical data, brought into sharp relief by the pandemic, is what is written on death certificates. For a while, the presumption of a COVID-19 infection without a positive culture was enough to get it listed as a cause of death –- possibly creating a bit of an over-count. But it is not just COVID-19 that is problematic.
A study early in the COVID-19 pandemic linked air pollution, especially smaller particles, to COVID-19's mortality. As it turns out, and as ACSH scientific advisor Dr. Fred Lipfert points out, the linkage is weak -- at best.
My PSA was 22 – but my biopsy only showed inflammation. I was needlessly upset, and it seems like I underwent an unnecessary procedure. There has to be a better way!
There are some striking differences between how Europeans and Americans are navigating the pandemic. The latter have a lot to learn from the former.
There are any number of papers supporting the idea that higher levels of air pollution are inversely correlated with poorer health outcomes. These studies all suffer from the fellow travelers of air pollution, traffic density, poverty, and lesser education which confound a clear linkage between air pollution and health. A new study offers a possibility.
Obesity remains a significant health problem, especially when it increases one's susceptibility to COVID-19. While better eating habits and exercise have long been the mainstays of weight reduction, in the last 10-to-15 years surgical rearrangements of the gastrointestinal tract have come to the fore. Not only do they reduce weight, but they've improved hypertension and diabetes mellitus. A new study compares surgical and medical management for diabetes.