COVID-related discrimination disproportionately impacts racial minorities, study shows

Discrimination against people perceived to have COVID-19 increased from March to April 2020

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

 

Discrimination against people thought to be infected with coronavirus was experienced by a rising number of United States residents, particularly racial minorities, in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

From March to April 2020, the overall percentage of U.S. residents who experienced COVID-related discrimination more than doubled from 4% to 10%, according to researchers. The sharpest increase was among Asians and African Americans, who were most likely to report experiences of discrimination based on the perception they were infected with COVID-19.

In March, during the early stage of the pandemic in the U.S., 11% of Asians and 9% of African Americans had experienced discrimination by someone who perceived them as having the coronavirus, compared to 4% of whites. In April, this increased to 16% of Asians and 15% of African Americans, compared to 9% of whites, according to the study, which was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers analyzed responses from the Understanding Coronavirus in America tracking survey conducted by the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) to evaluate the contribution of various risk factors for discrimination--including race/ethnicity and wearing a face mask--during in-person and social media encounters when discriminatory acts might occur. They also looked at how such discrimination was related to mental distress among U.S. adults in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020.

Mask-wearing was a risk factor for discrimination

Survey participants consisted of a probability-based, nationally representative sample of 3,665 U.S. residents aged 18 years or older who completed COVID-19-related surveys online in March and April. To measure incidents of discrimination, respondents were asked if "people thinking they might have the coronavirus" acted as if they were afraid of them, threatened or harassed them, treated them with less courtesy and respect, or gave them poorer service at restaurants or stores.

"The early spike in the percentage of people who experienced COVID-related discrimination was attributable - in part - to discriminatory reactions to the growing number of people wearing masks or face coverings at the early stage of the pandemic," said Ying Liu, a research scientist with CESR.

The researchers found Asian Americans were the first racial/ethnic group to experience substantial discrimination, followed by African Americans, and that the higher degree of discrimination experienced by Asians in March was partially explained by their immigration status and mask-wearing.

African Americans' risk of experiencing discrimination was higher than other non-Asian groups and also increased faster between March and April than other groups, according to the study.

"This increase may in part be attributable to the spike in media coverage we saw during this time regarding African Americans' disproportionate vulnerability to COVID-19," said Kyla Thomas, a sociologist at CESR.

Mask-wearing was a persistent risk factor for discrimination associated with COVID-19, although it varied from March to April. The study found other groups, including frontline workers who didn't wear masks, people who worked partially or fully from home, and those who did not work experienced less discrimination.

"In March, before widespread stay-at-home orders and when mask-wearing was rare, people wearing masks were more likely to experience discrimination," said Brian Karl Finch, research professor of sociology and spatial sciences with CESR. "In April, only the frontline workers who wore masks had higher risks of experiencing discrimination."

The research team found that in some earlier weeks of the pandemic, people who were heavy users of social media were more likely to report an experience of discrimination. They also found that experiences of discrimination were associated with increased anxiety and depression, consistent with literature associating general discrimination with poorer mental health especially among racial/ethnic minorities.

"The relationship between COVID-related discrimination and worsening anxiety and depression is particularly pertinent during this pandemic, as it compounds mental health distress attributable to concerns of disease spread, social restrictions, and financial stress," said PhuongThao Le, a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Stigma can undermine public health efforts

Discrimination toward people who share social or behavioral characteristics with COVID-19 patients, but may not carry the novel virus, was first seen in heightened anti-Chinese rhetoric online. Social media analyses showed a nearly 10-fold increase in the use of offensive language, and reports on in-person racist acts against Asians increased during the early stages of the pandemic.

"In mid-March, President Donald Trump referred to a 'China virus' or 'Chinese virus,' which coincided with an increase of online and in-person crimes including robbery and harassment of Asian Americans," said Savannah Brenneke, a pre-doctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Researchers say this disease-associated stigma toward people, regardless of infection status, has been observed in previous outbreaks of novel viruses. For example, Mexicans and other Latinos were shunned during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic owing to the virus' link to hog farms where migrants worked.

The United Nations and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called for increased attention to preventing stigma associated with COVID-19, which could undermine disease control efforts, worsen mental health outcomes and exacerbate disparities.

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About the study

The UAS coronavirus surveys referred in this paper were initiated and financed by USC and funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The parent study protocol was approved by the USC IRB, and data access was granted by UAS' data user agreement.

Ms. Brenneke's work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32DA007292) and Dr. Le's work was supported by a training grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH103210).

The Understanding Coronavirus in America Study regularly surveys a panel of more than 7,000 people throughout the country to learn how COVID-19 impacts their attitudes, lives and behaviors. Data from the study, supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USC, is updated daily and available to researchers and the public at: covid19pulse.usc.edu.

The survey questions, topline data and data files, and a press room are available at: https://uasdata.usc.edu/page/COVID19+Corona+Virus.

Targeted taxes and school lunch policies benefit low-income populations

Two studies highlight the beneficial health effects of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Boston, MA--Targeted taxes on sweetened beverages and policies that strengthen nutritional standards for meals and beverages at schools may be effective tools for decreasing the purchase of sweetened drinks and reducing obesity among children living in poverty, according to two studies led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The studies will be published online July 7, 2020 in Health Affairs.

In the first study, researchers analyzed the influence of an excise tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on sweetened beverages (sugar or artifically sweetened) that was passed in Philadelphia on January 1, 2017. It is the first study to examine the influence of the tax on the purchase of sweetened beverages in small independent stores in urban areas, where sweetened drinks are among the most commonly purchased item.

Philadelphia is the largest of the seven U.S. cities and counties that have a tax on sweetened beverages and, among those localities, it has the highest percentage of racial and ethnic minority groups and people in poverty among its population. These groups are more likely to consume sweetened beverages and are disproportionately affected by health problems linked to excessive consumption of these drinks.

The researchers compared beverage prices and purchases in Philadelphia before the tax's implementation and one year later. They also looked at comparable data from Baltimore, which does not have an sweetened beverages excise tax. The sample included 134 stores and 4,584 customer purchases.

According to the researchers' analysis, the tax significantly increased the price of taxed beverages by 1.81 cents per ounce and decreased the volume of taxed beverages sold by 38.9 percent. Customers shopping in low-income neighborhoods and people with lower education levels purchased slightly less taxed beverages (about 7 fewer ounces) than the overall reduction in the purchase of taxed beverages (about 6 fewer ounces).

According to the researchers, the findings suggest that beverage excise taxes may be an effective policy tool for reducing sweetened beverage purchases among populations at higher risk for sweetened drink consumption.

"Beverage taxes are a policy win-win since they lead people to buy fewer drinks that are bad for health and generate revenue that can be spent on programs such as children's education," said first author Sara Bleich, professor of public health policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management and Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

In the second study, a research team led by Erica Kenney, assistant professor of public health nutrition in the Departments of Nutrition and Social and Behavioral Sciences, examined the impact of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 on child obesity risk. The legislation strengthened nutritional standards for meals and beverages provided through the National School Lunch, Breakfast, and Smart Snacks programs. The Act's whole grain standards were relaxed under the Trump administration, but this change was struck down in federal court. Additional rollbacks of the Act's standards have been proposed.

The researchers reviewed data for 173,013 youths taken from the National Survey of Children's Health from 2003-2018, prior to when rollbacks went into effect.

While they found no significant association between the legislation and childhood obesity trends overall, they did find significant reductions in obesity risk among children living in poverty--a population that is particularly reliant on school meals. Among these children, the risk of obesity, which had been trending steadily upwards prior to the legislation going into effect, declined substantially each year following the act's implementation, translating to a 47% reduction in obesity prevalence in 2018 from what would have been expected without the legislation.

The researchers conclude that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act's science-based nutritional standards should be maintained to support healthy growth, especially among children living in poverty. They also suggest that policymakers consider strategies to increase participation in school meals programs.

"Based on our study, as well as research that USDA and other researchers have conducted showing improvements in diet, the improved school meals standards have been a great public health success story," said first author Kenney. "These healthier school meals are helping to protect the health of the children who have been placed at highest risk for poor health, and they reduce hunger while also reducing their risk of chronic diseases later in life."

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Other Harvard Chan School authors of the Kenney study included: Jessica Barrett, Sara Bleich, Zachary Ward, Angie Cradock, and Steven Gortmaker.

Funding for the Philadelphia beverage tax study came from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Funding for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act study came from JPB Foundation (Grant No. 1085). Jessica Barrett, Zachary Ward, Sara Bleich, Angie Cradock, and Steven Gortmaker were supported by the National Institutes of Health (Grant No. R01HL146625). Erica Kenney, Barrett, Bleich, Cradock, and Gortmaker were supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Grant No. U48DP006376). Gortmaker was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"The Association Of A Sweetened Beverage Tax With Changes In Beverage Prices And Purchases At Independent Stores," Sara N. Bleich, Hannah G. Lawman, Michael T. LeVasseur, Jiali Yan, Nandita Mitra, Caitlin M. Lowery, Ana Peterhans, Sophia Hua, Laura A. Gibson, and Christina A. Roberto, Health Affairs, online July 7, 2020, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01058

"Impact Of The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act On Obesity Trends," Erica L. Kenney, Jessica L. Barrett, Sara N. Bleich, Zachary J. Ward, Angie L. Cradock, and Steven L. Gortmaker, Health Affairs, online July 7, 2020, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00133

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health.

Microplastic pollution harms lobster larvae, study finds

Microplastic fibers in the ocean impact larval lobsters at each stage of their development

BIGELOW LABORATORY FOR OCEAN SCIENCES

 

IMAGE: ACCUMULATED MICROPLASTIC FIBERS ARE VISIBLE UNDER THIS LARVAL LOBSTER'S CARAPACE. NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MICROPLASTIC FIBER POLLUTION IMPACTS LARVAL LOBSTERS AT EACH STAGE OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT. view more 

CREDIT: MADELYN WOODS

Microplastic fiber pollution in the ocean impacts larval lobsters at each stage of their development, according to new research. A study published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin reports that the fibers affect the animals' feeding and respiration, and they could even prevent some larvae from reaching adulthood.

"In today's ocean, organisms are exposed to so many environmental factors that affect how many make it to the next stage of life," said Paty Matrai, a study author and senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. "Lobsters play a fundamental role in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem as well as the state's economy, and it is important that we understand how pollutants impact their development."

Young lobsters grow to adulthood through four distinct developmental stages, and the researchers found that the physiology of each stage determined how the animals interacted with plastic fibers. The youngest lobsters didn't consume them - but they were plagued by fibers accumulating under the shells that protect their gills. In experiments where the larvae were exposed to high levels of fibers, the youngest larvae were the least likely to survive.

More mobile and agile, the older lobster larvae did not accumulate fibers under their shells - but they did ingest the particles and keep them in their digestive systems. This could be problematic for lobster larvae coming of age in the ocean. Fresh plastics often leach chemicals, and their surfaces can foster potentially toxic sea life.

"Plastic particles have been found in almost every animal in the ocean," said David Fields, another study author and a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory. "If an animal can fit something in its tiny little piehole, it's probably going to - and that can have repercussions for the animal and potentially for the food web."

Microplastic fibers enter the ocean from sources including wastewater, and they can also be created in the ocean as larger materials degrade. Plastics tend to float at the surface, where they are exposed to sunlight and wave action that eventually break them down into small particles.

Though the levels of microplastic fibers in coastal Maine waters are relatively low, they can still present a serious challenge to the animals that encounter them. In addition, some animals are predisposed to encounter any fibers that are in the area. Because microplastic fibers tend to remain at the ocean's surface, animals that inhabit surface waters are more likely to come into contact with them - including larval lobsters.

"Even relatively low levels of plastics can be harmful for the animals that encounter them, and where an animal lives in the water column can amplify the problem," Fields said. "A lobster larva that eats a plastic fiber is just like us eating a candy wrapper - it's not great, but it will probably just pass though. But if all you're eating is candy wrappers, it's certainly going to have other repercussions for your health." 

With ocean acidification and rising temperatures already challenging lobsters and other sea life, the researchers are particularly interested in how this plastic pollution may compound with the other environmental stressors that ocean animals are facing. They are interested in conducting future experiments that could probe how animals are impacted when challenged by all three of these factors simultaneously.

Matrai and Fields previously studied the impact of microplastic fibers on mussels with Madelyn Woods, a recent Bigelow Laboratory intern and the lead author of this paper. Fellow authors Theresa Hong, Donaven Baughman, and Grace Andrews also all studied with Matrai and Fields as Research Experience for Undergraduates interns during the summer of 2019.

"As a global community, we are just becoming aware of the impact of plastics in the ocean, and the reality that this pollution is superimposed on other changes in the environment," Matrai said. "By working together to reduce the amount of microplastic fibers in the ocean, we can all help protect our important marine resources."

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This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration, SeaGrant-Maine, and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is an independent, nonprofit research institute located in East Boothbay, Maine. From the Arctic to the Antarctic, Bigelow Laboratory scientists use cutting-edge techniques to understand the ocean's mysteries, address its challenges, and unlock its hidden opportunities. Learn more at bigelow.org, and join the conversation on Facebook,Twitter.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy

Repurposing public health systems to decode COVID-19

Existing public health monitoring systems in the UK, could improve understanding of the risk factors associated with severe COVID-19

MICROBIOLOGY SOCIETY

 Existing public health monitoring systems in the UK, could improve understanding of the risk factors associated with severe COVID-19.

Research published in the journal Microbial Genomics describes how national surveillance systems can be linked with the UK Biobank. This pooled data could then be used to understand how genetics and other epidemiological factors impact risk of developing severe infection.

The UK Biobank (UKB) is an international health resource which enables researchers to understand the genetic and lifestyle determinants of common diseases. The researchers linked UKB with Public Health England's Second-Generation Surveillance System (SGSS), a centralised microbiology database used for national disease surveillance in England. SGSS holds data collected in clinical diagnostic laboratories in England, including test results for SARS-CoV-2.

Large cohorts such as UKB are a useful resource for understanding how a disease behaves in different groups, according to Dr Danny Wilson, Associate Professor at the Big Data Institute, University of Oxford (UK). He said: "Large datasets are helpful for detecting risk factors, including those that have modest effects or vary from person-to-person, and for providing a sound footing for conclusions by reducing statistical noise. These discoveries help scientists better understand the disease and could inspire efforts aimed at improving treatment."

By linking the two systems, researchers hope to facilitate research into the risk factors for severe COVID-19. Repurposing public health systems in this way can provide near-to-real-time data on SARS-CoV-2, and allow researchers to understand the spread, testing and disease characteristics of the virus.

This new computerised system will provide weekly linkage of test results to UKB and other cohorts. The UK Biobank database consists of around 500,000 men and women in the UK, aged 50+. This group is particularly appropriate for the study of COVID-19, as severity of disease increases with age. Further data is also being released by UKB, according to Dr Wilson: "UK Biobank are releasing, or have released other data relevant to COVID-19, like mortality records, and they plan to release hospital episode statistics and primary care data soon too".

Their data provides in-depth analysis of disease severity, symptoms and risk in people from the UKB database. Researchers hope that this data can reveal additional risk factors for severe infection and improve understanding of the disease. "By providing information about COVID-19 to large cohorts including UK Biobank, INTERVAL, COMPARE, Genes & Health, Genomics England and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biorepository, this work facilitates research into lifestyle, medical and genetic risk factors" said Dr Wilson.

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Sensory neurons outside the brain drive autistic social behaviors, Penn study suggests

Fly model points to potential new therapeutic target for autism spectrum disorders

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

PHILADELPHIA-- A new study from Penn Medicine lends further evidence  the social behaviors tied to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) emerge from abnormal function of sensory neurons outside the brain. It's an important finding, published today in the journal Cell Reports, because peripheral sensory systems--which determine how we perceive the environment around us --makes for more accessible therapeutic targets to treat ASD-related symptoms, rather than the central brain itself.

In the fruit fly Drosophila-- a powerful model for studying neurobiology-- the researchers showed that loss of a protein known as neurofibromin 1 caused adult male flies to have social impairments. Those deficits, the researchers also showed, traced back to a primary disruption in a small group of peripheral neurons controlling external stimuli, like smell and touch, that communicate to the brain.

"These data raise the exciting possibility that the root of the problem doesn't begin with errors in the brain itself. It's the disrupted flow of information from the periphery to the brain we should be taking a closer look at," said senior author Matthew Kayser, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of Psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "The findings should help guide the field toward sensory processing therapeutic targets that, if effective, could be transformative for patients suffering from these disorders."

In humans, a loss of neurofibromin 1 is associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a neurodevelopmental disorder with high rates of ASD, but how that loss leads to social deficits is unknown. Past studies have also shown a link between the peripheral sensory system and social deficits; however, this is the first study to implicate neurofibromin's function.

Up to 50 percent of children with NF1 fall on the autism spectrum, and are 13 times more likely to exhibit highly elevated ASD symptoms, including social and communicative disabilities, increased isolation and bullying, difficulties on social tasks, and sensitivities to sound or light. Those symptoms are all tied to difficulties with processing sensory information. Face and gaze processing, for example, makes a social gesture like eye contact exceedingly difficult.

The team, led by Penn postdoctoral scientist Emilia Moscato, PhD, used genetically manipulated flies to show that a loss of neurofibromin led to diminished social courtship behavior and errors in gustatory sensory neurons called ppk23, which are known to coordinate such behaviors. These behavioral deficits stem from an ongoing role for neurofibromin in coordinating social functions in adults, as opposed to guiding development of social behavioral neural circuits.

More specifically, in vivo monitoring of neural activity in the mutant flies showed decreased sensory neuron activation in response to specific pheromonal cues, which then disrupted proper function of downstream brain neurons that direct social decisions. The disruption also led to persistent changes in behavior of the flies beyond the social interaction itself, suggesting a brief sensory error can have long-lasting consequences on behavior.

Next, the researchers aim to better understand how this mutation translates to disruption in brain activity and ultimately behaviors associated with ASD and NF1. They also hope to test different drugs in animal models to identify novel compounds that can restore social behaviors.

"Sensory processing is a readily testable entry-point into social behavioral dysfunction," Kayser said, "so findings from these experiments have potential to rapidly impact the clinical setting."

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Newer solar power equipment ages better than older units

By using fixed effects regression techniques, researchers studied photovoltaic performance degradation over time.

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS

 

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2020 -- Utility-scale photovoltaics, ground-mounted projects larger than 5 megawatts of alternating current, are the largest sector of the overall solar market within the U.S. and the fastest-growing form of renewable power generation.

This fleet of utility-scale photovoltaic projects is relatively young and hasn't been operating long enough to establish a lengthy history of operational field service. The first utility-scale photovoltaic projects in the U.S. came online in 2007, and most projects have been operating for only a few years.

In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, from AIP Publishing, Mark Bolinger and colleagues from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory assess the performance of a fleet of 411 utility-scale photovoltaic projects built within the U.S. from 2007 through 2016.

This fleet produced more than half of all of the solar electricity generated within the U.S. in 2017.

After correcting for variations in weather and curtailment, the group found, on average, the first-year performance of these systems was largely as expected, and that newer projects have degraded at a slower rate than older ones. This suggests photovoltaics technology has improved over time. Interestingly, they also confirmed that projects in hotter climates tend to degrade faster than those in cooler climates.

"A large and rapidly growing market that lacks a lengthy operating history means that investors are fronting a lot of money -- $6.5 billion for projects built within the U.S. in 2018 alone -- based on as-yet untested assumptions about the long-term performance of these projects," said Bolinger.

Photovoltaic cells degrade in efficiency and performance over time due to a variety of factors.

"Most photovoltaic module manufacturers warrant that their modules' performance won't degrade by more than a certain percentage, for example, losing 0.5% per year, during a 25-year period," he said. "But module degradation is only part of the story, because the other components of a utility-scale photovoltaic system -- the inverter, tracking system, fuses, wiring -- can also negatively affect output."

Many existing studies so far have explored module-level degradation, but the total system-level performance and degradation is what truly affects the bottom line.

"To our knowledge, our study is the first use of fixed effects regression techniques to analyze photovoltaic performance degradation," Bolinger said. "Unlike other approaches commonly used, fixed effects regression is compatible with low-frequency generation data."

Because low-frequency generation data tends to be publicly available, in contrast to high-frequency data, which is often proprietary, this new approach is more accessible to researchers and enables large-sample or even fleetwide analyses.

"But the flip side is that lower-frequency data often results in greater uncertainty around degradation estimates," Bolinger said. "By focusing on system-level rather than module-level performance, our approach provides a more holistic and realistic estimate of long-term investment risk."

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The article, "System-level performance and degradation of 21 GWDC of utility-scale PV plants in the United States," is authored by Mark Bolinger, Will Gorman, Dev Millstein and Dirk Jordan. It will appear in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy on July 7, 2020 (DOI: 10.1063/5.0004710). After that date, it can be accessed at https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0004710.

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes across all areas of renewable and sustainable energy relevant to the physical science and engineering communities. Topics covered include solar, wind, biofuels and more, as well as renewable energy integration, energy meteorology and climatology, and renewable resourcing and forecasting. See https://aip.scitation.org/journal/rse.

Among older adults, statin use tied to decreased risk of death

In a retrospective analysis of US veterans 75 years or older, researchers found those who were prescribed statins had a 25 percent lower risk of death than their counterparts

BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL

Study after study has shown that statins can prevent heart attacks, strokes and death in middle-aged adults. But in 28 major clinical trials of statins, only 2 percent of participants have been 75 years or older. This means that even though older adults are at greater risk of heart disease and death, there is scant data on whether statins should be prescribed for them. A new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital and VA Boston Healthcare System leverages national data from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to shed new light on the role statins may play for older adults who have not yet experienced a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event. In their retrospective analysis, the researchers found that the risk of dying from any cause was lower by 25 percent among veterans who were using statins compared to those who were not treated with statins. The risk of dying from a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, was lower by 20 percent. The team's results are published in JAMA.

"Based on these data, age is not a reason to not prescribe statins," said lead and corresponding author Ariela Orkaby, MD, MPH, a physician scientist at VA Boston Health Care System and in the Division of Aging at the Brigham . "Statins are commonly studied and prescribed for middle-aged adults but understudied in people over age 75. One of the most remarkable things about our results is that we found the benefit of statins held true regardless of whether a person was older or younger or had a condition such as dementia."

Orkaby and colleagues looked at data on veterans who used VA services between 2002 and 2012, were 75 years or older, and had not previously had a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event. Of the more than 300,000 eligible veterans, the team identified more than 57,000 who began taking statins during this time. Using propensity scoring, the authors compared individuals who began taking statins to those who had the same likelihood of being prescribed a statin based on clinical characteristics but did not receive a prescription for the drug.

Overall, taking statins was significantly associated with lower risk of death from a cardiovascular event or death from any cause. And the benefits remained for veterans at advanced age, including those who were 90 years or older. Lower death rates extended to those with other conditions such as dementia -- individuals who have been excluded from previous studies. In secondary analyses, the team found that starting a statin was also significantly associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes. Orkaby notes that it was particularly intriguing to see a marked decline in rate of strokes among the study's black participants.

"There are many interesting leads to follow up on," said Orkaby, "but it's important to keep in mind that this is not a randomized, clinical trial. Instead, it's a retrospective analysis using real world data that helps us explore where the truth lies."

The study focused only on veterans, a predominantly white and male population, which may limit its generalizability, but the study's size made it possible to glean statistically meaningful information on underrepresented groups. During the study's timeframe, the most commonly prescribed statin was simvastatin, but currently, higher-dose and higher-intensity statins have become more frequently prescribed. While statins are generally well tolerated, many people report aches and pains as a side effect, which may lead some to stop taking the drug. The current study did not evaluate whether patients discontinued statin use.

Two randomized, clinical trials of statins among older adults are now underway with results from one of the studies expected later this year. Orkaby and colleagues plan to follow up on their study by exploring the effects of statin dosing and examining outcomes for sub-populations included in their analysis.

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This research was supported by the VA (CSR&D CDA-2 award IK2-CX001800), National Institute on Aging (R03-AG060169), and VA Merit Award I01 CX001025. Support for

VA/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data is provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Health Services Research and Development Service, VA Information Resource Center (project numbers SDR 02-237 and 98-004). Co-author Luc Djousse, MD, ScD, reported receiving grants from Merck.

Paper cited: Orkaby AR et al. "Association of Statin Use With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in US Veterans 75 Years and Older" JAMA DOI:10.1001/jama.2020.7848

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Mental health benefits of parks dimmed by safety concerns

NYU LANGONE HEALTH / NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

 No matter how close parks are to home, perceptions of park-centered crime may keep New Yorkers from using them.

Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that New Yorkers are more likely to exercise in a park if they believe they live very close to it. In turn, they feel less anxious and less depressed the more often they exercise there -- but only if they are not concerned about being safe.

"Living near a park may not be enough to improve your physical and mental well-being through exercise," says study lead author Stephanie Orstad, PhD, a research assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone Health. "If we want to make the most of the abundant health benefits parks offer, then we need to make them not only accessible, but also safe for everyone."

Many past studies have linked the availability of urban green spaces to lower stress levels, weight, and risk of heart disease, the study authors say. Other work has shown that living closer to a park leads to fewer days of anxiety and depression.

The new study, publishing online July 7 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, is the latest to suggest that safety concerns could interfere with mental health advantages that park proximity offers New Yorkers, Orstad says.

For the investigation, the researchers analyzed responses from more than 3,800 New Yorkers who completed the city's 2010-2011 Physical Activity and Transit Survey. The assessment tracked the participants' mental health, as well as how long they estimated it would take them to walk from home to the nearest park. The survey also asked participants to estimate how often they used the park to exercise or play sports.

Nearly twice as many people said they exercised in the nearest park "sometimes," or "often" if they lived less than a five-minute walk away, compared with people who estimated living more than 30 minutes away, the researchers say. In addition, people who described themselves as "frequent" park exercisers reported having one fewer day of mental health issues a month compared to people who said they "rarely" or "never" were active in their local park.

However, the closeness of a local park made no difference in park use for those who worried about crime in the area. According to Orstad, improving cleanliness and lighting along paths, offering more park-based programs, and fostering a sense of community could help make parks feel safer. She emphasized that the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of such communal programs because parks are one of the few remaining places where people can get out of their homes, be active, and connect (from a distance) with their neighbors.

"Investing in park safety offers a practical way of improving physical and mental health in different communities in the city, especially in areas where there are stigmas associated with seeking help," says senior study author Melanie Jay, MD, MS, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and Population Health at NYU Langone. "It takes advantage of resources that may already exist in the neighborhood."

Next, the research team plans to investigate ways to improve a community's perceptions of its neighborhood park to increase opportunities for exercise and mental health.

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Funding for the study and its publication was provided by the NYU Langone Comprehensive Program on Obesity.

In addition to Orstad and Jay, other NYU Langone investigators involved in the study are Kristin Szuhany, PhD; and Lorna Thorpe, PhD. Other researcher support was provided by Kosuke Tamura, PhD, at the National Institutes of Health.

New study sparks fresh call for seagrass preservation

An increase in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 5 million cars a year has been caused by the loss of seagrass meadows around the Australian coastline since the 1950s.

EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: KNOWN AS 'BLUE CARBON', SEAGRASS MEADOWS HAVE BEEN ESTIMATED TO STORE CO2 IN THEIR SOILS ABOUT 30 TIMES FASTER THAN MOST TERRESTRIAL FORESTS. view more 

CREDIT: CENTRE FOR MARINE ECOSYSTEMS RESEARCH AT EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY

An increase in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 5 million cars a year has been caused by the loss of seagrass meadows around the Australian coastline since the 1950s.

The stark finding was made possible by new modelling done by marine scientists at the Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Western Australia.

PhD student Cristian Salinas calculated that around 161,150 hectares of seagrass have been lost from Australian coasts since the 1950s, resulting in a 2 per cent increase in annual carbon dioxide emissions from land-use change.

The figures derive from Mr Salinas's research into the current carbon stocks of Cockburn Sound off the coast of Western Australia.

Cockburn Sound lost around 23 sqkm of seagrass between the 1960s and 1990s due to nutrient overflow caused by urban, port and industrial development.

Mr Salinas said the finding is significant because seagrass meadows play such a vital role in mitigating the impacts of climate change.

"Known as 'Blue Carbon', seagrass meadows have been estimated to store CO2 in their soils about 30 times faster than most terrestrial forests," he said.

"Seagrass meadows have been under constant threat in Australia through coastal development and nutrient run off since the 1960s. On top of that climate change is causing marine heatwaves that are catastrophic to the seagrasses.

"This study serves as a stark reminder of how important these environments are."

Mr Salinas said the study provided a clear baseline for carbon emissions from seagrass losses in Australia and warned of the need to preserve and restore the meadows. The inclusion of seagrass into the Australian Emission Reduction Fund could contribute to achieve this goal, he said.

Carbon flushed away

The ECU researchers assessed how environmental factors such as water depth, hydrodynamic energy, soil accumulation rates and soil grain size related to changes in soil carbon storage following seagrass loss.

Results showed that the degradation and loss of seagrass alone was not enough to cause the carbon loss from the soil -- hydrodynamic energy from waves, tides and currents also played a significant role.

"Without seagrass acting as a buffer, the hydrodynamic energy from the ocean releases the carbon by moving the seabed sand around," Mr Salinas Zapata said.

Researchers found hydrodynamic energy from water movement was much higher in the shallow water and associated low levels of carbon were recorded in these bare areas.

However, seagrass meadows established in shallow waters were found to have significantly more carbon stored compared to those growing in deeper areas.

"This means that nearshore meadows are particularly important to preserve," Mr Salinas said.

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Fighting E. coli with E. coli

New gut-in-a-dish study shows how a beneficial strain may protect against pathogens

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY

 

Washington, DC - July 7, 2020 - According to findings published this week in mBio, Nissle, a strain of Escherichia coli, is harmless to intestinal tissue and may protect the gut from enterohemorrhagic E. coli, a pathogen that produces Shiga toxin.

E. coli has gotten a bad rap because a few pathogenic strains can cause severe, even life-threatening, symptoms. But for more than a century, the commensal strain Nissle has been used as a probiotic and, more recently, to treat intestinal disorders including ulcerative colitis.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati wanted to understand whether Nissle could also protect intestinal tissue against EHEC and other pathogens. They studied the probiotic's protective effects using human intestinal organoids, or HIOs, which are experimental models of real tissue derived from stem cells.  

The researchers first injected the HIOs with Nissle and observed that the bacterium was harmless: It did not damage the epithelial barrier, formed by the protective outer layer of the organoid. Next, in separate experiments, they injected HIOs with enterohemorrhagic E. coli or EHEC. This pathogen produces Shiga toxin, which sickens millions and kills thousands of people--mainly children--every year. The EHEC quickly broke down the epithelial barrier in the HIOs.  

Then, the researchers pre-treated HIOs with Nissle and, 12 hours later, injected them with EHEC. This is where the Nissle proved to be protective: Even though the EHEC proliferated in the organoid tissue, it did not destroy the epithelial barrier. During the same time, the Nissle population declined rapidly in the tissue. The researchers observed the same effects when they injected pre-treated HIOs with uropathogenic E. coli, the strain responsible for the majority of urinary tract infections.  

"Basically, the Nissle was killed by the pathogenic bacteria, but it made the intestine able to withstand damage better," said molecular geneticist Alison Weiss, Ph.D., who worked on the study together with Suman Pradhan, Ph.D., a research associate in Weiss's lab.  

The results suggest Nissle may confer benefits not by inhibiting the pathogenic strains directly, but instead by harnessing defense mechanisms in the cell itself, and that the probiotic may help prevent severe EHEC infections. However, the results also suggest that Nissle can be vulnerable to phages from the Shiga toxin, which would limit the probiotic's usefulness as a therapeutic. Weiss cautioned that more studies are needed to better understand the complex interactions of bacterial species in a real-world setting.  

Weiss's research focuses on bacteria that produce the Shiga toxin, like EHEC. "It's really bad," she said. "My whole career, I've been interested in preventing pediatric pathogens. Once these kids get EHEC, all you can do is give them fluids and support them. There's nothing else we can do."  

Weiss is excited by the potential of using HIOs as a model for better understanding intestinal conditions. "They're a huge breakthrough," she said. "A lot of intestinal pathogens are species-specific, and organoids are really good for looking at early events."  

Organoids offer at least one other major advantage over mice, she added. "Mice are awful. They pee and bite and scratch," she said. "The little organoids don't complain at all."

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The American Society for Microbiology is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of 30,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.

ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications and educational opportunities. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to diverse audiences.

From Health Affairs: Child mortality lower when women hold office in Brazil

HEALTH AFFAIRS

 

Philipp Hessel from the Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government at the University of the Andes and coauthors analyzed the association between woman political empowerment and child mortality rates in Brazil for 2000-15, finding that higher representation of women at local, state, and federal levels of decision making leads to reductions in child mortality. Researchers found that electing either 10-19 percent or 20 percent or more women to the federal Chamber of Deputies leads to a reduction in child mortality of 0.038 percentage points and 0.072 percentage points, respectively. At the state level, electing 20% or more women to the respective state legislature reduces child mortality by .038 percentage points. Localities with female leadership also reported higher-than-average participation in social programs that expand primary care, and electing a female mayor was associated with a 0.042 percentage points increase in conditional cash benefits coverage to vulnerable families. This research suggests that electing female leaders decreases under-five mortality--a key focus of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals--by emphasizing social service offerings and increasing enrollment in existing governmental public health efforts.

Also in the issue:

Tackling Social Determinants Of Health Around The Globe, an interview with Professor Sir Michael Marmot by Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil. A renowned thinker, leader, researcher, and author on health equity in England and across the world, Marmot has led research groups on health equity for more than forty years.

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Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.

Stay Up To Date With Health Affairs' COVID-19 Resource Center: We've gathered blogs and journal articles, along with relevant content from our journal archive: lessons from previous pandemics, including school closures during the Spanish flu; public health preparedness; and communicating risk.

Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.

Nutrients in microalgae: An environmentally friendly alternative to fish 

MARTIN-LUTHER-UNIVERSITÄT HALLE-WITTENBERG

Microalgae could provide an alternative source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids for humans while also being more environmentally friendly to produce than popular fish species. This is the result of a new study by scientists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The study was recently published in the Journal of Applied Phycology and offers an initial indication of the environmental effects of producing microalgae in Germany.

Microalgae have been the focus of several decades of research - initially as a raw material for alternative fuels, but more recently as a source of nutrients in the human diet. They are mainly produced in open ponds in Asia; however, these ponds are at risk of potential contamination. Also, some species of algae are easier to cultivate in closed systems, so-called photobioreactors. "We wanted to figure out whether microalgae produced in photobioreactors in Germany could provide a more environmentally friendly source of essential nutrients than fish," says Susann Schade from the Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences at MLU. Up to now, photobioreactors had usually only been compared to pond cultivation and they often scored worse due to their higher environmental impacts. "However, little research has been done on the precise extent of the environmental impacts of algae produced for human consumption, especially under climatic conditions such as those found in Germany," adds Schade.

For their study, the researchers developed a model to determine location-specific environmental impacts. "One of the things we did was to compare the carbon footprint of nutrients from microalgae and fish. We also analysed how much both food sources increase the acidification and eutrophication in water bodies," explains Dr Toni Meier, head of the Innovation Office nutriCARD at MLU. The researchers were able to show that microalgae farming has a similar impact on the environment as fish production. "However, if we compare the environmental effects in relation to the amount of omega-3 fatty acids produced, fish from aquaculture comes off far worse," says Schade. One advantage of algae cultivation is its low land consumption; even infertile soils can be used. In contrast, both open ponds and the cultivation of feed for aquaculture require very large areas of land. In particular, fish species that are popular in Germany, such as salmon and pangasius, are primarily produced through aquaculture and therefore put the environment under a considerable amount of pressure. However, even fishing wild Alaska pollack had poorer values than microalgae for all environmental indicators.

"Microalgae should not and cannot completely replace fish as a food source. But if microalgae could be established as a common food, it would be another excellent environmentally friendly source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids," explains Meier. Several algae are already used as a food supplement in powder or tablet form and as an additive to foods such as pasta or cereals. It would be a way to reduce the current gap in the global supply of omega-3 fatty acids. At the same time, it would provide considerable relief to the world's oceans.

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The study was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the joint project "Novel microalgae species as a sustainable source of bioactive nutrients in human nutrition" (NovAL). In addition to MLU, the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, the University of Leipzig and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena are involved in the research alliance.

Our animal inheritance: Humans perk up their ears, too, when they hear interesting sounds

SAARLAND UNIVERSITY

 

Many animals, including dogs, cats and various species of monkeys, will move their ears to better focus their attention on a novel sound. That humans also have this capability was not known until now. A research team based in Saarland has demonstrated for the first time that we make minute, unconscious movements of our ears that are directed towards the sound want to focus our attention on. The team discovered this ability by measuring electrical signals in the muscles of the vestigial motor system in the human ear. The results have now been published in the journal eLife.

Asking children to 'perk up their ears' means asking them to listen intently. Nobody seriously thinks that kids literally move their ears the way that cats, dogs or horses do. But the fact is, they do, as researchers at the Systems Neuroscience & Neurotechnology Unit (SNNU) have now shown. The research team, led by Professor Danial Strauss, has shown that the muscles around the ear become active as soon as novel, unusual or goal-relevant sounds are perceived. 'The electrical activity of the ear muscles indicates the direction in which the subject is focusing their auditory attention,' says neuroscientist and computer scientist Strauss. 'It is very likely that humans still possess a rudimentary orientation system that tries to control the movement of the pinna (the visible outer part of the ear). Despite becoming vestigial about 25 million years ago, this system still exists as a "neural fossil" within our brains,' explains Professor Strauss. The question why pinna orienting was lost during the evolution of the primate lineage has still not been completely resolved.

The researchers were able to record the signals that control the minute, generally invisible, movements of the pinna using a technique known as surface electromyography (EMG). Sensors attached to the subject's skin detected the electrical activity of the muscles responsible for moving the pinna or altering its shape. Two types of attention were examined. To assess the reflexive attention that occurs automatically when we hear unexpected sounds, the participants in the study were exposed to novel sounds coming at random intervals from different lateral positions while they silently read a monotonous text. To test the goal-directed attention that we show when actively listening, the participants were asked to listen to a short story coming from one laterally positioned speaker, while ignoring a 'competing' story from a speaker located on the opposite side. Both experiments showed that muscle movements in the vestigial pinna-orienting system indicate the direction of the subject's auditory attention.

To better characterize these minute movements of the ear, the team also made special high-definition video recordings of the subjects during the experiments. The subtle movements of the ears were made visible by applying computer-based motion magnification techniques. Depending on the type of aural stimulus used, the researchers were able to observe different upward movements of the ear as well as differences in the strength of the rearward motion of the pinna's upper-lateral edge.

'Our results show that electromyography of the ear muscles offers a simple means of measuring auditory attention. The technique is not restricted to fundamental research, it also has potential for a number of interesting applications," explains Professor Strauss. One area of great practical relevance would be in developing better hearing aids. 'These devices would be able to amplify the sounds that the wearer is trying to hear, while suppressing the noises that they are trying to ignore. The device would function in a way that reflects the user's auditory intention.' The hearing aid would almost instantaneously register and interpret the electrical activity in the ear muscles. A miniature processor would gauge the direction the user is trying to direct their attention towards and then adjust the gain on the device's directional microphones accordingly.

The research project was conducted by researchers at the Systems Neuroscience & Neurotechnology Unit (SNNU), which is affiliated to both the Medical Faculty at Saarland University and to the School of Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Saarland (htw saar). External project partners were Dr. Ronny Hannemann from the hearing aid manufacturer Sivantos GmbH and Steven A. Hackley, Professor of Psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, who in 2015 first postulated the existence of a vestigial pinna-orienting system in humans.

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Link to publication:

Daniel J. Strauss, Farah I. Corona-Strauss, Andreas Schroeer, Philipp Flotho, Ronny Hannemann, Steven A. Hackley: 'Vestigial Auriculomotor Activity Indicates the Direction of Auditory Attention in Humans'. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.54536 (https://elifesciences.org/articles/54536)

eLife-Digest: https://elifesciences.org/digests/54536/perk-up-your-ears

The inter-institutional Systems Neuroscience & Neurotechnology Unit (SNNU) is the project lead on numerous German and international research projects at the interface of neuroscience and technology. SNNU is involved in projects whose potential uses range from medical applications to optimized human-machine interactions.

http://www.snnu.uni-saarland.de/