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Diets rich in certain plant-based foods are linked with the presence of gut microbes that are associated with a lower risk of developing conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to recent results from a large-scale international study that included researchers from King s College London, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the University of Trento, Italy, and health science start-up company ZOE.
Key Takeaways
The largest and most detailed study of its kind uncovered strong links between a person s diet, the microbes in their gut (microbiome) and their health.
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Study of 1,733 patients first diagnosed in Wuhan (China) between January and May followed to June and September.
76% of COVID-19 patients have at least one symptom six months after symptom onset.
Fatigue or muscle weakness is the most common symptom, with sleep difficulties and anxiety or depression also frequently reported.
Lower antibodies against COVID-19 in patients six months after becoming ill compared with during acute infection raises concerns about the possibility of re-infection.
More than three quarters of COVID-19 patients have at least one ongoing symptom six months after initially becoming unwell, according to research published in
The Lancet.
The cohort study, looking at long-term effects of COVID-19 infection on people hospitalised in Wuhan, China, reveals that the most common symptom to persist is fatigue or muscle weakness (63% of patients), with patients also frequently experiencing sleep difficulties (26%). Anxiety or depression was reported a
E-Mail Modelling study suggests that pregnant women in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, who are exposed to poor air quality, may be at higher risk of stillbirths and miscarriages. An estimated 349,681 pregnancy losses per year in south Asia were associated with exposure to PM2.5 concentrations that exceeded India s air quality standard (more than 40 μg/m³), accounting for 7% of annual pregnancy loss in the region from 2000-2016. First study to estimate the effect of air pollution on pregnancy loss across the region indicates that air pollution could be a major contributor to pregnancy loss in south Asia, so controlling air pollution is vital for improving maternal health.
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From 2007 to 2016, food insecurity or limited access to nutritious foods because of a lack of financial resources increased significantly from 5.5% to 12.4% among older US adults, and the increase was more pronounced among individuals with lower income. The findings come from a study published in the
The study, which drew from data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, also found that older adults who had food insecurity tended to have lower quality diets. Our results provide further evidence that food insecurity is a serious health concern among older adults. Continued investment in public health programs and policies are needed to simultaneously improve food security and nutritional intake for older Americans, all of which has become more urgent during the current COVID-19 pandemic, said co-author Cindy Leung, ScD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Findings from a recent study of individuals with depression suggest that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) can improve how patients feel about themselves in difficult situations in ways that may help protect against relapse of depressive symptoms. The findings are published in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research.