Newsletter #179: The Collateral Damage of the Pandemic
Hey humanOS friends, hope y’all are doing all right on this autumn weekend.
So, the tragic human toll of the coronavirus is quite obvious (or at least, it should be). But this week, we decided to look at some recent research on some of the more subtle indirect effects of the pandemic (for better and for worse), some of which are likely to reverberate for years to come.
For example, during the outbreak, nearsightedness in kids appears to have significantly increased, and the disruptions of the pandemic have also led to weight gain in children and adolescents. People also got a lot more depressed (obviously).
However, there are some silver linings emerging in the midst of this societal stressor. The disruption to our normal sources of physical activity may have caused a number of people to embrace at-home exercise, which may have helped combat the deleterious effects of the pandemic on mental health. And our renewed attention to ventilation in public buildings may have elicited a new appreciation for the importance of indoor air quality, with benefits that could go well beyond prevention of COVID-19.
This Week’s Research Highlights
👓 Amid COVID-19, development of nearsightedness rose significantly among young children.
Researchers in China monitored 2114 students from grade 2 to grade 3 in 12 primary schools in Guangzhou. They compared data from eye exams in students who were assessed in a period prior to the pandemic, from grade 2 (November and December 2018) to grade 3 (November and December 2019), to a cohort who was assessed during the pandemic, from grade 2 (November and December 2019) to grade 3 (November and December 2020). The researchers found that the incidence of myopia had doubled during the period of the COVID-19 outbreak. This may be due to less time spent outdoors due to lockdowns associated with the pandemic. Previous research has shown that more time outside is correlated with lower odds of myopia in young children, perhaps through exposure to bright sunlight.
⚖️ Children and adolescents gained weight at an “alarming” rate during the pandemic.
Researchers analyzed recent body mass index data in a cohort of 432,302 kids aged 2–19 years, and compared longitudinal trends before the pandemic (January 1, 2018–February 29, 2020) and during the pandemic (March 1, 2020–November 30, 2020). They found that the rate of BMI increase had approximately doubled during the pandemic, compared to the period immediately preceding the pandemic, with greater increases among those who were already overweight or obese. Weight gain from children with moderate obesity increased from 6.5 pounds a year to 12 pounds. In those with severe obesity, annual weight gain rose from 8.8 pounds to 14.6 pounds. Researchers attribute this to disrupted routines, increased stress, and less opportunity for structured physical activity and healthy meals.
😕 Rates of depression skyrocketed during the first year of COVID-19, and have remained high.
Researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health conducted surveys among a nationally representative group of American adults in two different time periods: March-April 2020 (n=1441) and March-April 2021 (n=1161). They found that depression rates tripled in the early months of the pandemic. Specifically, 27.8% of adults experienced elevated depressive symptoms in 2020, compared to just 8.5% before the pandemic. And this trend only worsened as time went on, rising to 32.8% of Americans in 2021. Senior author Sandro Galea says: "The sustained high prevalence of depression does not follow patterns after previous traumatic events such as Hurricane Ike and the Ebola outbreak…Typically, we would expect depression to peak following the traumatic event and then lower over time. Instead, we found that 12 months into the pandemic, levels of depression remained high.”
📱 At-home app-based exercise programs are a powerful tool to fight COVID-associated depression.
Researchers affiliated with the University of British Columbia teamed up with the mobile app company DownDog to run a 6-week study between May and August 2020. They randomly assigned 334 participants who were relatively inactive at baseline to either maintain their current levels of physical activity (controls), or to three different types of at-home workouts, performed four times per week, via an app. Participants in all of the exercise groups improved in their depression symptoms compared to the control group. The biggest improvement was observed in subjects who began with high depression symptoms and participated in the yoga + HIIT group: After six weeks, 72% of these participants were no longer categorized as having significant depression symptoms. The authors attribute this to better adherence to the requisite four weekly workouts, suggesting that consistent and frequent exercise is probably pretty important, regardless of what type of activity you choose. COVID-19 made exercising harder, but it seems like a lot of people found ways to adapt, which hopefully will continue on into the future.
🪟 Many public buildings are poorly ventilated - potentially making us sicker and dumber.
It is now established that the coronavirus is spread through aerosol transmission, which is why the risk of catching COVID-19 is more than 18 times greater indoors than outdoors. Furthermore, poor ventilation within buildings has been implicated in superspreader events, and researchers have found that many public buildings have poor ventilation and low humidity, both of which are associated with transmission. But improving ventilation indoors would have other benefits beyond the current pandemic. It could also combat the spread of other respiratory viruses that spread through the air, and that take a toll on productivity and the healthcare system. The seasonal flu alone costs the US $90 billion. Finally, air quality may affect our cognitive performance. A study examining participants in offices across six countries found that higher concentrations of PM2.5 and CO2 were associated with slower response times and reduced accuracy on a series of cognitive tests, even at levels common in indoor environments. Check out our How-to Guide to Air Quality to learn how you can improve your own environment to maintain your health and productivity.
Random Trivia Question of the Week
🤔 How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, according to actual scientific studies that endeavored to answer this question?
💡 ANSWER
Podcasts We Loved This Week
- Adrian Brown: Dietary strategies in type 2 diabetes. Via Sigma Nutrition Radio.
- Jim Stray-Gundersen: Blood Flow Restriction Q&A. Via Nourish Balance Thrive.
Products We Are Enjoying
WellBefore KN95 Masks
Any mask is helpful, but some masks are definitely better than others, especially against the Delta variant. The two most important variables to consider are fit and filtration capacity, which makes KN95s a good option. However, according to the CDC, around 60% of KN95 respirators sold in the United States are counterfeit, which is why I ordered from WellBefore.
Their masks are FDA-registered, composed of 5 layers, and are built to filter 95% or more of particulate matter. They also fit snugly without being uncomfortable (when I’ve worn them I actually forgot that I had one on).
humanOS Catalog Feature of the Week
Thank you so much, as always, for reading, and see y'all next week!