Plos One
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had tremendous impact on Americans' lives including their personal and social behaviors. While people of all ages are affected in some way by the pandemic, older persons have been far more likely to suffer the most severe health consequences. For this reason, how people have responded to mitigating behaviors to COVID-19 may differ by age. ⋯ One month into the pandemic, older people were less likely than younger people to engage in two of four risky behaviors. The change in risky behavior over time did not differ by age; but both younger and older people were more likely to engage in risky behaviors after two months. Being female, a member of a racial/ethnic minority group, higher socioeconomic status, having more COVID-19 cases in one's state of residence, a higher perceived risk for infection and dying, and a more left-leaning political orientation were related to adopting more pandemic mitigating behaviors.
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The primary objective of the present study was to compare the prevalence and patterns of second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in the home, workplace, public places, and at all three places amongst the non-smoker respondents between the two rounds of Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in India. The secondary objectives were to assess the differences in various factors associated with SHS exposure among non-smokers. ⋯ The study calls for focused interventions in India and stringent implementation of anti-tobacco legislation, especially in the workplaces for reducing the exposure to SHS amongst the non-smokers and to produce encouraging and motivating results by next round of the survey.
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A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness, emerged in December of 2019 and has since spread globally. The dramatic lifestyle changes and stressors associated with this pandemic pose a threat to mental health and have the potential to exacerbate risk factors for suicide. We used autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to assess Google Trends data representing searches in the United States for 18 terms related to suicide and known suicide risk factors following the emergence of COVID-19. ⋯ Searches for the Disaster Distress Helpline, which was promoted as a source of help for those impacted by COVID-19, were also remarkably elevated (3021%; 95%CI, 873%-5169%). Google searches for other queries representative of help-seeking and general mental health concerns were moderately elevated. It appears that some indices of suicidality have fallen in the United States in this early stage of the pandemic, but that COVID-19 may have caused an increase in suicide risk factors that could yield long-term increases in suicidality and suicide rates.
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Fangcang shelter hospitals were established in China during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as a countermeasure to stop the spread of the disease. To our knowledge, no research has been conducted on mental health problems among patients in Fangcang shelter hospitals. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and major influencing factors of anxiety and depressive symptoms among COVID-19 patients admitted to Fangcang shelter hospitals. ⋯ Poor sleep quality and having ≥ two current physical symptoms were independent risk factors for anxiety symptoms. Female sex, having a family member with confirmed COVID-19, and having ≥ two current physical symptoms were independent risk factors for depressive symptoms. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were found to be common among COVID-19 patients in Fangcang Shelter Hospital, with some patients being at high risk.
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Observational Study
Clinical use and indications for head computed tomography in children presenting with acute medical illness in a low- and middle-income setting.
Computed tomography (CT) imaging is an indispensable tool in the management of acute paediatric neurological illness providing rapid answers that facilitate timely decisions and interventions that may be lifesaving. While clear guidelines exist for use of CT in trauma to maximise individual benefits against the risk of radiation exposure and the cost to the healthcare system, the same is not the case for medical emergency. ⋯ A majority of head CT scans in children with medical emergency with acute neurological illness were normal. Patients with VPS constituted the majority of patients with abnormal CT scans that required subsequent neurosurgical intervention. Evidence-based guidelines are required to guide the best use of head CT in the management of children without head trauma.