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Health

Complications during pregnancy linked to a higher risk of heart disease, study finds

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CNN
 — 

Five major pregnancy complications are strong lifelong risk factors for ischemic heart disease, a new study finds, with the greatest risk coming in the decade after delivery.

Ischemic heart disease refers to heart problems, including heart attack, caused by narrowed or dysfunctional blood vessels that reduce blood and oxygen flow to the heart.

Gestational diabetes and preeclampsia increased the risk of ischemic heart disease in the study by 54% and 30%, respectively, while other high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy doubled the risk. Delivering a baby early – before 37 weeks – or delivering a baby with a low birth weight were associated with a 72% and 10% increased risk, respectively.

The study, published in Wednesday in the BMJ, followed a cohort of more than 2 million women in Sweden with no history of heart disease who gave birth to single live infants between 1973 and 2015.

Roughly 30% of the women had at least one adverse pregnancy outcome. Those who had multiple adverse outcomes – whether in the same or different pregnancies – showed further increased risk of ischemic heart disease.

“These pregnancy outcomes are early signals for future risk of heart disease and can help identify high-risk women earlier and enable earlier interventions to improve their long-term outcomes and help prevent the development of heart disease in these women,” said Dr. Casey Crump, an author of the study and professor of family medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States and accounts for 1 in 5 female deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This research adds to mounting evidence that pregnancy provides important information about a woman’s cardiovascular health.

“What happens to a woman during pregnancy is almost like a stress test or a marker for her future cardiovascular risk after pregnancy. And unfortunately, a lot of women don’t get told this by anybody,” said CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Tara Narula, an associate professor of cardiology and the associate director of the Women’s Heart Program at Lenox Hill Hospital. She was not involved in the new study.

Although it’s not completely clear why, experts say the normal changes that occur during pregnancy may unmask underlying health issues in some women with certain risk factors.

Experiencing an adverse pregnancy outcome – even temporarily – could result in changes to blood vessels and the heart that may persist or progress after delivery, increasing a woman’s risk for cardiovascular disease.

This heightened risk is a particular concern for women in the US, experts say, where the maternal mortality rate is several times higher than in other high-income countries.

“There’s been a change in the birthing population. US women are getting pregnant at a later age, and they have already accrued maybe one or two cardiovascular risk factors. Perhaps there are other stressors in life – depression, stress, isolation, obesity – lots of different things that are impacting women in the US,” said Dr. Garima Sharma, associate professor of cardiology and director of the Cardio-Obstetrics Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who also was not involved in the new study.

Pregnancy complications are carefully monitored during pregnancy, but there is little evaluation of and education about the effects on cardiovascular health after delivery for women, experts say.

“And so they have their delivery, they’ve had maybe preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, and nobody really follows up with them. They are not told that, in fact, they are at increased risk,” Narula said.

Gestational diabetes is a marker not only for increased risk of diabetes but also for general cardiovascular disease. Preeclampsia and eclampsia are markers for hypertension risk as well as general cardiovascular risks.

Narula, a cardiologist who specializes in caring for women, regularly considers adverse pregnancy outcomes when evaluating patients and emphasizes the continued need for this.

“The classic risk calculator that we use doesn’t have anything in there for pregnancy complications, but you know, it should for women, and hopefully someday, they will start to take that into account,” she said.

The American Heart Association recommends that all health care professionals take a detailed history of pregnancy complications when assessing a woman’s heart disease risk, but this is not consistently done in clinical practice, especially in primary care, where most women are seen, Crump says.

“Raising awareness of these findings among physicians as well as women hopefully will enable more of these women to be screened early and hopefully improve their long-term outcomes,” he said.

Roughly 1 in 3 women will have an adverse pregnancy outcome. Experts say that improving your health before getting pregnant can help avoid these issues.

“Reducing your risk should start preconception, and so getting your body and yourself into the healthiest state possible before you ever even get pregnant is really the first step,” Narula said.

This includes achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight with a good diet and regular exercise, controlling high blood pressure and diabetes, quitting smoking and managing stress.

Taking action after pregnancy is equally important, as research has estimated that only 30% to 80% of women have a postpartum checkup 6 to 8 weeks after delivery.

“Making sure that these women actually are appropriately followed after their delivery and that there is a warm handoff between [obstetrics] and [maternal-fetal medicine] to their primary care doctors or preventive cardiologists who can then talk about optimizing cardiovascular risks and reduction of these risk factors post-pregnancy in the postpartum time frame is crucial,” Sharma said.

Experts hope that increased patient and provider awareness of the connection between pregnancy and heart health will keep birth from being a cause of death.

“Cardiovascular disease is preventable. It’s a leading cause of maternal mortality, but it doesn’t have to be. If we do a better job at screening patients before they get pregnant, if we do a better job of treating them during pregnancy and postpartum, we can improve women’s outcomes,” Narula said. “It’s a tragedy to bring a new life into the world, and then the mother suffers some horrible complication and/or death that could have been prevented.”

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Health

Ultraprocessed foods linked to ovarian and other cancer deaths, study finds

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CNN
 — 

Eating more ultraprocessed foods raises the risk of developing and dying from cancer, especially ovarian cancer, according to a new study of over 197,000 people in the United Kingdom, over half of whom were women.

Overly processed foods include prepackaged soups, sauces, frozen pizza and ready-to-eat meals, as well as hot dogs, sausages, french fries, sodas, store-bought cookies, cakes, candies, doughnuts, ice cream and many more.

“Ultra-processed foods are produced with industrially derived ingredients and often use food additives to adjust colour, flavour, consistency, texture, or extend shelf life,” said first author Dr. Kiara Chang, a National Institute for Health and Care Research fellow at Imperial College London’s School of Public Health, in a statement.

“Our bodies may not react the same way to these ultra-processed ingredients and additives as they do to fresh and nutritious minimally processed foods,” Chang said.

However, people who eat more ultra-processed foods also tend to “drink more fizzy drinks and less tea and coffee, as well as less vegetables and other foods associated with a healthy dietary pattern,” said Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior teaching fellow at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, UK, in an email.

“This could mean that it may not be an effect specifically of the ultra-processed foods themselves, but instead reflect the impact of a lower intake of healthier food,” said Mellor, who was not involved in the study.

The study, published Tuesday in the journal eClinicalMedicine, looked at the association between eating ultraprocessed foods and 34 different types of cancer over a 10-year period.

Researchers examined information on the eating habits of 197,426 people who were part of the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource that followed residents from 2006 to 2010.

The amount of ultraprocessed foods consumed by people in the study ranged from a low of 9.1% to a high of 41.4% of their diet, the study found.

Eating patterns were then compared with medical records that listed both diagnoses and deaths from cancer.

Each 10% increase in ultraprocessed food consumption was associated with a 2% increase in developing any cancer, and a 19% increased risk for being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, according to a statement issued by Imperial College London.

Deaths from cancers also increased, the study found. For each additional 10% increase in ultraprocessed food consumption, the risk of dying from any cancer increased by 6%, while the risk of dying from ovarian cancer rose by 30%, according to the statement.

“These associations persisted after adjustment for a range of socio-demographic, smoking status, physical activity, and key dietary factors,” the authors wrote.

When it comes to death from cancer among women, ovarian cancer is ranked fifth, “accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system,” noted the American Cancer Society.

“The findings add to previous studies showing an association between a greater proportion of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in the diet and a higher risk of obesity, heart attacks, stroke, and type 2 diabetes,” said Simon Steenson, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, a charity partially supported by food producers and manufacturers. Steenson was not involved in the new study.

“However, an important limitation of these previous studies and the new analysis published today is that the findings are observational and so do not provide evidence of a clear causal link between UPFs and cancer, or the risk of other diseases,” Steenson said in an email.

People who ate the most ultraprocessed foods “were younger and less likely to have a family history of cancer,” Chang and her colleagues wrote.

High consumers of ultraprocessed foods were less likely to do physical activity and more likely to be classified as obese. These people were also likely to have lower household incomes and education and live in the most underprivileged communities, the study found.

“This study adds to the growing evidence that ultra-processed foods are likely to negatively impact our health including our risk for cancer,” said Dr. Eszter Vamos, the study’s lead author and a clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London’s School of Public Health in a statement.

This latest research is not the first to show an association between a high intake of ultraprocessed foods and cancer.

A 2022 study examined the diets of over 200,000 men and women in the United States for up to 28 years and found a link between ultraprocessed foods and colorectal cancer — the third most diagnosed cancer in the United States — in men, but not women.

And there are “literally hundreds of studies (that) link ultraprocessed foods to obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and overall mortality,” Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University told CNN previously.

While the new UK-based study cannot prove causation, only an association, “other available evidence shows that reducing ultra-processed foods in our diet could provide important health benefits,” Vamos said.

“Further research is needed to confirm these findings and understand the best public health strategies to reduce the widespread presence and harms of ultra-processed foods in our diet,” she added.

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Health

Young women abandoning birth control pills for mental health

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I started taking the birth control pill as a sophomore in high school to help with my acne. Most of my friends got prescriptions around then, too.

I never thought twice about birth control — let alone going off it — until the pandemic, when I had more time to consider the pill I popped every morning. I began wondering how taking artificial hormones every day was impacting how I think and feel.

Recently, after six years on it, I decided to stop taking the pill. But it isn’t just me. Many of my friends are independently doing the same, whether it’s driven by concern for their mental health, desire for something more natural — or curiosity about what the world looks like when you’re not in a hormonal fog.

For more and more Gen Z women, there’s an intuitive sense that hormonal birth control might be messing with us, and our brains. And research is backing it up, showing correlations between the pill and a decreased sex drive, as well as higher rates of depression and suicide, and even stress reactions similar to PTSD survivors.

Research psychologist Dr. Sarah Hill thinks so. In 2019, she published the book This is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences after going off of the pill herself.

“It was going off of the pill and seeing how that changed me that inspired me to write the book,” Hill, who is a professor of social psychology at Texas Christian University, told The Post. “I had a lot more energy, and I was exercising and cooking again. Suddenly, I was interested in sex.”

Since she stopped taking the pill, 24-year-old Kennedie Khoury said, “I’m not even attracted to the same people … Men smell different to me.”
Margot Judge for NY Post

Since then, Dr. Hill said, she’s noticed a “greater awareness of some of the side effects” of the pill that has potentially contributed to a slow but steady decline in prescriptions. Between 2002 and 2017, there was a 9% decrease in oral contraceptive use.

And, although more up to date numbers are yet to come in, doctors are anecdotally noting an increase in young women desiring a change.

“I have noticed that many patients prefer non-hormonal birth control,” Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, a gynecologist at NYU Langone Health and director of the Center for Fibroid Care, told The Post. “Many are keen on limiting their body’s exposure to outside hormones so that they can feel more natural and like themselves.”


According to studies, women who picked their partners while on the pill are more likely to experience diminished satisfaction with their romantic relationships when they go off of it.
Getty Images

This trend may be partly inspired by viral TikTok and YouTube videos discussing the pill’s side effects — and the early days of COVID.

“The pandemic allowed us to focus attention on our health,” Dr. Hill explained. “For women who were not in relationships and weren’t sexually active, it was an opportunity to break up with their birth control …They wanted to find out how they would think and feel and experience the world without it.”

Komi Frey, 30 of Albuquerque, decided to go off of the pill in 2021 after about six years of taking it. “I went off the pill primarily because I didn’t like the idea of ingesting exogenous hormones on a daily basis,” she told The Post. “I just had an instinctive aversion to that idea.”

It’s a sentiment Dr. Hill has noticed more and more.


Dr. Sarah Hill, a professor and research psychologist, said her interest in sex was revived after going off birth control pills.
@sarahehillphd / Twitter

“We are moving, culturally, toward a place where we’re recognizing that putting a bunch of chemicals in our body isn’t necessarily a great idea,” she said. “People are looking for more natural approaches.”

Dr. Hill’s research is shedding light on just how profoundly the birth control pill can impact women beyond the classic side effects like weight gain, blood clots and even stroke.

One of the most commonly reported psychological side effects of the pill is decreased sex drive. That’s because women on the pill have artificially high levels of progesterone, which Dr. Hill dubs “sexual anti-venom.” Research has revealed that taking oral contraceptives is associated with a decreased enjoyment of sex, on top of an already lowered libido.

But the pill may also impact partner selection, too. Researchers found that women on oral contraceptives prefer less masculine faces in potential partners. Women off the pill, meanwhile, have been found to subconsciously prefer the scent of men with higher testosterone.


Lear, seen here with her husband, Jacob, now tracks her ovulatory cycles and depends on natural family planning.
Nathan Lindstrom for NY Post

It’s an experience Kennedie Khourie had herself. The 24-year-old Austin, Texas, resident decided to go off of the pill last spring after six years, she suspected her mental health was being adversely impacted.

Not only did Khourie feel “less hormonal and manic” after quitting, but she experienced entirely different feelings toward potential partners. “I’m not even attracted to the same people,” she told The Post. “People smell different to me. Men smell different to me.”

Amazingly, research reveals that the change in attraction is so pronounced that women who picked their partners while on the pill are more likely to experience diminished satisfaction with their romantic relationships when they go off of it.

But birth control’s impact on the brain goes beyond just sexual preferences. It’s impacting women’s experience of the world around them. According to Dr. Hill’s research, being on the pill may be associated with lower self-control and less perseverance.


Over the past generation, more girls went on the pill as young as 13 or 14, often to help with acne.
Shutterstock

It also affects the way women react to stress. While the body’s typical response to a stressful experience is the release of the hormone cortisol, women on the pill have a dulled — or completely absent — cortisol response.

As a result, they tend to have a diminished capacity to process negative emotions. In fact, this muted cortisol response looks a lot like that of someone suffering from PTSD.

According to Dr. Hill, “We should all be alarmed by the fact that the stress hormone profiles of women who are on the birth control pill look more like those belonging to trauma victims than they do like those belonging to otherwise healthy young women.”

Both Dr. Shirazian and Dr. Hill have noticed a generational change in attitudes about birth control, with Gen Z at the forefront of a new movement toward more natural, non-hormonal alternatives.


“I have noticed that many patients prefer non-hormonal birth control,” Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, a gynecologist at NYU Langone Health and director of the Center for Fibroid Care, told The Post.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

Dr. Shirazian thinks it is “part of a generational shift.” She said younger patients generally “want more natural products, less hormones and chemicals, and also want to use products that are environmentally friendly.”

“This generation of women is demanding they get information about what’s going into their body,” Dr. Hill said. “A younger generation of women are saying, ‘Hey, wait a minute. You can’t just tell me what to put in my body and expect me to blindly obey.’”

Laura Lear, 24 of Houston, Texas, went on the pill at the age of 20 — later than many of her friends — when her then-boyfriend and peers urged her to do so.

“I just fell into peer pressure,” she told The Post. “My friends were going on it, and I just decided, ‘Okay, if this is what everyone else is doing.’ It was so normal for kids at 13 or 14 to get on it because they had bad acne. It kind of became the cool thing to do, like, ‘Oh, I take my pill every day at 3 o’clock, let’s sync our timers together.’”


Khoury also said that going off the pill has made her feel less hormonal and manic.
Margot Judge for NY Post

But this generation of young women who went on the pill before they were even sexually active may be shouldering unintended consequences. Research has revealed that going through adolescence on the pill is associated with measurable density differences in brain regions involved with memory and emotions.

It’s a discovery that doesn’t surprise Dr. Hill: “To be honest with you, I don’t know how anyone could predict anything other than that, because the puberty transition is when your brain is remodeling itself from its childlike phenotype into its adult version of itself. It’s hard to believe that, by some miracle, it wouldn’t affect brain development.”

Researchers also found birth control use during adolescence is associated with a “small but robust” increase in the risk of major depressive disorder later in life. Girls who start the pill early are disproportionately likely to be prescribed antidepressants and diagnosed with depression. And a study of half a million women in Denmark revealed early hormonal contraceptive use may even be associated with a tripled risk of suicide.

This risk of lifelong mental health issues and even suicide is not only startling, it’s been largely underreported despite how many young women continue to be prescribed hormonal birth control with little to no warnings.


“Peer pressure” was one of the main reasons Lear first started taking birth control pills.
Nathan Lindstrom for NY Post

“It seems to me that there is this belief that birth control as an issue facing women has been solved: We have the pills, and so what’s all the whining and fussing about?” Dr. Hill said. “Drug companies and others who could be investing in trying to find something better for us are mistaking the fact that so many women are on it for the fact that we don’t need something better.”

In fact, only 2% of revenue from birth control pill sales goes back into research and development. And more young women are taking notice.

“We as a society are losing trust in knowledge-producing institutions, including the medical field,” Frey observed. “We’ve realized that they’re often prone to political and financial pressures, as well as human limitations. The incentive system is somewhat warped.”

None of this is to say that the birth control pill hasn’t been an enormous net-positive for women.


Dr. Shirazian said that her younger patients generally “want more natural products, less hormones and chemicals.”
NYU Langone

Providing liberation through family planning has afforded women flexibility and independence: Females now outnumber males in the college-educated labor force. That’s perhaps why there’s some resistance, especially among older generations, to talking about the pill’s shortfalls.

“A lot of women are very protective of the birth control pill just simply because they can remember a time when these types of options weren’t available,” Dr. Hill noted. “They’re trying to make sure that these options continue to be protected for the latest generation of women.”

That protectiveness is more consequential now than ever, in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned.


Dr. Hill, who wrote the book “This Is Your Brain on Birth Control,” noted that many older women are “protective of the birth control pill just simply because they can remember a time when these types of options weren’t available.”

“Going off the pill is especially scary because I cannot get pregnant,” Khourie, who lives in Texas where abortion is now banned, said. “The reversal of Roe just made it scarier, because I would have to jump through more hoops if something were to happen.”

Many women going off the pill are opting for non-hormonal options, like the copper IUD, diaphragms and — sharing the burden with men as well — condoms. Others, like Frey and Lear, who are both married, are tracking their ovulatory cycles and depending on natural family planning.

“I would like to see there be more normalization of women doing whatever is best for their own bodies,” Khourie said.

As Dr. Hill explained: “There’s no one size fits all answer for anything when it comes to something as complex as contraception.”

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Health

Peloton’s Leanne Hainsby, 35, diagnosed with breast cancer

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Peloton’s Leanne Hainsby has been quietly battling breast cancer since August, she announced on social media Friday.

Hainsby described at length the treatments she’s been receiving after one doctor first dismissed the lump she discovered, sharing that she’s been through 12 weeks of chemotherapy and will begin radiation.

“I would teach my Wednesday morning LIVE classes, and then meet my Mum and go to the treatment suite for my weekly dose (alongside other drugs as part of my treatment plan),” she wrote.

“Chemo is no joke. Cold caps are no joke.”

The fitness instructor is 35 years old.
leannehainsby/Instagram

The British fitness sensation also revealed that she underwent surgery and will have her portacath (a device installed inside the body to dispense treatment) removed next.

“Treatment will continue for a long time for me, hospital visits are the norm, and I focus on one step at a time,” she wrote. “I do feel very fortunate to be having my treatment privately. The nurses and doctors are incredible, and I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Hainsby, 35, also shared that she and her fiancé, fellow Peloton instructor Ben Alldis, had the opportunity to complete one round of IVF prior to her starting chemo.

“We weren’t mentally prepared, but we got it done and we’re so grateful,” she wrote.

The spin instructor shared she’s undergone surgery and 12 weeks of chemo.
leannehainsby/Instagram
The spin instructor shared she’s undergone surgery and 12 weeks of chemo.
leannehainsby/Instagram


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Hainsby, who shared photos of herself dressed in the aforementioned cold caps, is hoping that by sharing her diagnosis she’ll be able to spread awareness and encourage others to always go for second opinions.

“I’m nearly 6 months down the line. I’m in fantastic hands, and I’ve got this,” she shared. “Nobody wants to be sat in a room and told they have cancer, and yet I’ve always felt like one of the lucky ones. I am one of the lucky ones.”

She and her fiancé, fellow Peloton instructor Ben Alldis, completed a round of IVF before she began treatment.
leannehainsby/Instagram

The beloved spin instructor concluded her message assuring fans that she “WILL BE OK,” saying she’s more “empowered” than ever.

“You gain a strength you never knew you had, and you keep pushing forward,” she wrote. “Strong, as healthy as possible, and empowered.”

“You gain a strength you never knew you had, and you keep pushing forward,” she wrote.
leannehainsby/Instagram

Alldis also shared photos of Hainsby throughout her treatment journey and gushed over her strength and bravery.

“I am so incredibly proud of you @leannehainsby 💙,” he began his message. “You’ve been an absolute inspiration to all of us and have taken every step of this journey so far in your stride, with so much grace and with your head held high.”

He continued, “Here’s to, as you would say, sparkly days ahead and living our healthiest and happiest lives using the countless lessons that this last year has taught us.

“I love you Leanne💙Your shining light on this world is shining brighter than ever✨.”



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Health

Large new review underscores the risks of Covid-19 during pregnancy

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CNN
 — 

Pregnant women and their developing babies are at higher risk for severe outcomes if they get Covid-19, and now a large, international review is helping to underscore how devastating those risks can be.

The study draws on data from 12 studies from as many countries—including the United States. Altogether, the studies included more than 13,000 pregnant women—about 2,000 who had a confirmed or probable case of Covid-19. The health outcomes for these women and their babies were compared to about 11,000 pregnancies where the mother tested negative for Covid-19 or antibodies to it at the time of their deliveries.

Across the studies about 3% of pregnant women with Covid-19 needed intensive care, and about 4% needed any kind of critical care, but this was far higher than the numbers of pregnant women who needed that kind of care outside of a Covid-19 infection.

Compared to pregnant individuals who weren’t infected, those who got Covid-19 were nearly 4 times more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit. They were 15 times more likely to be ventilated and were 7 times more likely to die. They also had higher risks for pre-eclampisa, blood clots, and problems caused by high blood pressure. Babies born to moms who had Covid-19 were at higher risk for preterm birth and low birth weights.

Previous studies have suggested that Covid-19 may increase the risk of stillbirth, but this study didn’t find that same link.

Still, the findings paint a clear picture that shows the risks of pregnancy are amplified by Covid-19 infections.

“It’s very clear and even it’s consistent, you know, whether we’re talking about Sweden where we have really generally great pregnancy outcomes to other countries that you know, have bigger problems with maternal morbidity and mortality, that having COVID and pregnancy increases risk for both mom and baby,” said lead study author Emily Smith, who is an assistant professor of global health at George Washington University.

The study has some caveats that may limit how applicable the findings are to pregnant individuals in the Omicron era.

First, the studies were conducted relatively early in the pandemic, at a time when most people were still unvaccinated and uninfected. That means people in the study were likely at higher risk not just because they were pregnant, but also because they were immunologically naïve to the virus—they didn’t have any pre-existing immunity to help them fight off their infections.

Since then, many pregnant individuals have gotten vaccinated, or had Covid-19 or both. As of the first week of January, about 72% of pregnant people in the U.S. have had their primary series of Covid-19 vaccines, and about 95% of Americans are estimated to have had Covid-19 at least once, or been vaccinated against it, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means it’s likely they have some immune memory against the virus that may help protect against severe outcomes.

That immune memory appears to fade over time, however. CDC data show just 19% of pregnant women have had an updated booster, meaning many people may not have as much protection against the virus as they think they do.

Lead study author Emily Smith, who is an assistant professor of global health at George Washington University, says the study results reflect the risk of Covid-19 and pregnancy in unvaccinated people.

Unfortunately, Smith says, many countries still don’t have clear guidelines advising vaccination during pregnancy. And there are some parts of the world, such as China, that still have substantial proportions of their population who’ve never been been infected.

For people who are trying to weigh the risks and benefits of Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy, Smith says this study helps tip the scales firmly on the side of vaccination.

“It’s worth it to protect yourself in pregnancy,” Smith said.

She says this study didn’t look at the benefits of vaccination in pregnancy, but other studies have, showing big decreases in the risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and severe disease or death for mom.

“And so that’s kind of the complementary story,” said Smith.

Dr. Justin Lappen, division director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, praised the study and said its findings reinforce and advance previous research, which has found that Covid-19 markedly increases the risk of severe outcomes for mom and baby. He wasn’t involved in the study.

He says the findings highlight the importance of preventing and treating Covid-19 in pregnant women.

Therapies that are indicated or otherwise recommended should not be withheld specifically due to pregnancy or breastfeeding, Lappen wrote in an email to CNN.

The study is published in the journal BMJ Global Health.

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Entertainment

Sharon Osbourne reveals daughter Kelly has welcomed her first child

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CNN
 — 

Sharon Osbourne revealed that her daughter Kelly Osbourne has quietly welcomed a baby, her first, with her boyfriend, Sid Wilson.

Osbourne and the Slipknot DJ are new parents to a baby boy named Sidney, her mom announced during an appearance on Britain’s “The Talk” on Tuesday.

“So great, so great. She won’t let a picture go out of him, and I’m so proud of her,” Osbourne said of her daughter.

Kelly Osbourne first shared publicly she was pregnant last May with a sonogram pic on Instagram.

“I know that I have been very quiet these past few months so I thought I would share with you all as to why,” she wrote at the time. “I am over the moon to announce that I am going to be a Mumma.”

In November, she said on her Instagram Stories, “Okay, here we go,” with no other information.

The new baby makes five grandchildren for Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon.



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Health

Diabetes on track to increase 700% in young Americans

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The number of young Americans with Type 2 diabetes is projected to skyrocket nearly 700% by 2060 if current upward trends continue unchecked, according to a “startling” new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health.

Meanwhile, a spike of up to 65% in young people with Type 1 diabetes is likely, according to the new study published in the American Diabetes Association’s medical journal.

“This new research should serve as a wake-up call for all of us,” Dr. Debra Houry, acting principal deputy director of the CDC, said in a statement. “It’s vital that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be.”

More than 37 million Americans — about 1 in 10 — already have incurable diabetes, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the nation. The average medical expenses for those living with it can tap out at $16,752 a year, according to the most recent ADA data.

Type 1 diabetes — in which the pancreas produces little to no insulin — is more common in people under the age 20 in the US. However, Type 2 diabetes — when the body can’t process insulin the way it needs to — has “substantially increased” in this demographic over the past two decades, the research team reported.

In addition to the overall “surge” projections, analyzing the data by race and ethnicity predicted a “higher burden” of Type 2 diabetes for “Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native youths.”

Researchers said the “alarming” growth rate could be sparked by multiple factors — ranging from gestational diabetes in women of childbearing age (as their babies are more likely to develop the disease) and the deeply ingrained prevalence of childhood obesity in US culture.

“This study’s startling projections of Type 2 diabetes increases show why it is crucial to advance health equity and reduce the widespread disparities that already take a toll on people’s health,” said Christopher Holliday, director of the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation.

The most common diabetes health complications include heart disease, chronic kidney disease, nerve damage — and myriad other maladies associated with feet, oral, vision, hearing and mental health. 

Meanwhile, the disease may intensify at a more rapid rate in young people than in adults, requiring earlier medical treatment, researchers noted.

“The COVID-19 pandemic underscored how critically important it is to address chronic diseases, like diabetes,” Houry added. “This study further highlights the importance of continuing efforts to prevent and manage chronic diseases, not only for our current population but also for generations to come.”

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Science

Fossil site was birthing ground for giant marine reptiles, study reveals

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.



CNN
 — 

The final resting place for dozens of massive prehistoric marine reptiles lies in what’s now Nevada’s Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

But why the ichthyosaurs died in such large numbers at this one particular fossil site some 230 million years ago has long been a source of debate among paleontologists. Scientifically known as Shonisaurus popularis, the species resembled a chunky dolphin and grew at least 50 feet (15.2 meters) long.

Theories suggested a mass stranding event or that the ichthyosaurs were poisoned by toxins from an algal bloom.

Now, though, scientists say that they have ruled out these hypotheses and have a much better understanding of why 37 of the ancient creatures died at the same location. The researchers believe their findings illuminate a fascinating aspect of the reptile species reproductive behavior, which is shared by some of today’s marine mammals.

“We present evidence that these ichthyosaurs died here in large numbers because they were migrating to this area to give birth for many generations across hundreds of thousands of years,” said study coauthor Nicholas Pyenson, a research geologist and curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, in a news release.

“That means this type of behavior we observe today in whales has been around for more than 200 million years.”

Present-day whale species, including blue and humpback whales, routinely migrate across oceans to breed and give birth in waters where predators are scarce. Many whales congregate year after year along the same stretches of coastline.

“There are other examples of ichthyosaur embryos and newborns, but this is the first time we have strong evidence for reproductive grouping behavior,” said study coauthor Randy Irmis, chief curator and curator of paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City.

“We know this is something many large marine vertebrates exhibit in the present, so it makes sense that simialr behavior occurred in the past. But we really didn’t know how far back, especially with extinct animal groups like ichthyosaurs, that have no close living relatives,” Irmis said in an email to CNN.

The researchers from the United States, United Kingdom and Belgium used new techniques, such as 3D modeling, to investigate the fossil site, which is part of Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park.

The team examined the chemical makeup of rocks surrounding the fossils and found no evidence of any sudden increases in organic matter, such as algae, that might have starved the creatures of oxygen.

Geological evidence also suggested the ichthyosaurs’ bones had sunk to the bottom of the sea, which then covered much of present-day Nevada, rather than along a shoreline shallow enough to suggest the marine reptiles had beached themselves.

What’s more, the team noticed the fossils were predominantly of adult ichthyosaurs, with very few other marine vertebrates present. Nor were there any juvenile ichthyosaurs.

A breakthrough came when tiny ichthyosaur remains were identified among both new fossils collected at the site and within older museum collections. Micro-CT X-ray scans revealed the small bones belonged to embryonic and newborn ichthyosaurs.

“Once it became clear that there was nothing for them to eat here, and there were large adult Shonisaurus along with embryos and newborns but no juveniles, we started to seriously consider whether this might have been a birthing ground,” said lead author Neil Kelley, a research assistant professor in Earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, in the news release.

The authors concluded that the area must have been a preferred birthing habitat for the prehistoric creatures — and that the high number of fossilized remains was a result of the high numbers of ichthyosaurs that congregated there, perhaps over millions of years, to give birth.

“This is a clear ecological signal, we argue, that this was a place that Shonisaurus used to give birth, very similar to today’s whales. Now we have evidence that this sort of behavior is 230 million years old,” Pyenson said.

The journal Current Biology published the research on Monday.

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Health

The UK’s growing burden of long-COVID

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A recent study published in the International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology discusses ear, nose, and throat (ENT)-related post-acute symptoms of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), of which include vertigo, dyspnea, anosmia, ageusia, and sore throat. Furthermore, post-acute or long COVID symptoms were found to be more common in females and White identifying individuals between the ages of 35-49 years, as well as the disabled.

Study: The growing burden of Long Covid in the United Kingdom: Insights from the UK coronavirus infection survey. Image Credit: Darren Baker / Shutterstock.com

Background

Long COVID refers to prolonged symptoms that persist for more than 12 weeks after recovery from infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Several long COVID symptoms have been reported, some of which include headache, myalgia, fatigue, as well as loss of taste and smell. Additionally, parosmia, brain fog, and memory loss have been reported to persist for several months after the initial infection.

Current estimates indicate that long COVID currently affects between 3% and 12% of the population in the United Kingdom. Although post-viral syndromes are widely documented following other types of infection, the scale of long COVID, combined with the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, necessitates a better understanding of the epidemiology and risk factors of this syndrome.

The COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS) is the largest regular survey of COVID-19 and provides essential information to assist the U.K. in response to the pandemic. As a part of the survey, the government was informed on how many people tested positive for COVID-19 in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. This information was subsequently used to assist in decision-making for healthcare policies and public awareness. 

About the study

The current study examines the prevalence of ENT-related symptoms of long COVID and aimed to identify demographic groups at greatest risk for long COVID.

In a longitudinal follow-up program involving patients identified through repeated cross-sectional national surveys, a random sample of volunteers residing in private households was selected. The participants selected were aged two years or older. Children under the age of 12 were surveyed by their parents and caregivers. 

The responses were analyzed between March 6, 2022, and April 3, 2022. The presence of COVID-19 was confirmed by sampling and testing nose and throat swabs, as well as blood tests.

Patients exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms were asked about their symptoms and how their general well-being was affected by the disease on a daily basis. 

Self-reported long COVID syndrome was defined as symptoms persisting for more than four weeks after the first suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, without being explained by any other factor. With adjustments for age, sex, and region, Bayesian multilevel regression post-stratification was used for the final analysis.

Study findings

ENT-related long COVID symptoms identified in this investigation included vertigo, anosmia, dyspnea, ageusia, and sore throat. The most prevalent complaint was fatigue, while other common symptoms included vertigo, wheezing, rhinorrhea, sneezing, dyspnea, loss of smell, loss of taste, and sore throat. 

Adults aged 35-49 years of White ethnic background had the highest estimated prevalence of self-reported long COVID at 4.13%.  Women had a greater estimated predilection for long COVID than men at 3.20% and 2.34%, respectively.

Conclusions

The current study was based on a large and weighted sample of participants and a longitudinal follow-up period, which contributed to the strength of the study. The study findings indicate that future policies should focus on identifying and aiding the most vulnerable groups in the U.K. by increasing access to treatments for chemosensory disorders and COVID clinics.

However, the likelihood of confounding results could not be ruled out due to the lack of response or follow-up dropouts that impeded validation of long COVID. Furthermore, the prevalence of post-COVID syndrome could have been overestimated by including symptoms only after four weeks after the infection confirmation. 

Additionally, the survey relied on self-reporting. Specific data confirming a connection between rhinorrhea, sneezing, and wheezing symptoms and the individual COVID variants were not available for this analysis.

Journal reference:

  • Gokani, S. A., Ta, N. H., Espehana, A., et al. (2022). The growing burden of Long Covid in the United Kingdom: Insights from the UK coronavirus infection survey. International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology. doi:10.1002/alr.23103

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World

Ukrainian women on the front line struggle to find uniforms that fit. One couple aims to fix that

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Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
 — 

Andrii Kolesnyk and Kseniia Drahanyuk both beam with excitement as they crouch over a box.

They are about to unpack Ukraine’s first ever military uniform for pregnant women, which they recently commissioned after a pregnant sniper got in touch.

The young couple, both TV journalists before the war started, are now fully dedicated to their independent NGO, “Zemlyachki,” or “Compatriots,” which procures vital items for women in the armed forces.

The initiative started when Andrii’s sister was sent to the front on February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine.

“She received men’s uniform, men’s underwear,” he says. “Everything that [was] designed for men.”

It soon became clear that servicewomen needed a lot more than uniforms. Everything from smaller boots to lighter plates for bulletproof vests to hygiene products is in demand.

So, the couple turned to private company donations, charity funds and crowdfunding to purchase goods independently of the military. Some customized gear such as women’s fatigues is produced under their own brand by a factory in Kharkiv in the country’s east – including the new pregnancy uniform.

Other items, including body armor plates, helmets and boots, come from companies as far afield as Sweden, Macedonia and Turkey. But Kolesnyk and Drahanyuk say they are struggling with the procurement of winter items like sleeping bags and thermal clothing that will be important for comfort as winter sets in.

Kolesnyk says they have distributed equipment worth $1 million so far and helped at least 3,000 women. If they’re on the front-line shooting rockets they might as well do it “in minimum comfort,” he tells CNN.

There are currently about 38,000 women in the armed forces, according to the country’s Ministry of Defense.

“We are doing this to help our government,” Kolesnyk says, not to compete with it. Their hub is overflowing with cardboard boxes full of kit, all paid for from crowdfunding and grants.

A physical disability prevents Kolesnyk from joining his sister, father and brother-in-law on the front lines, a fact that saddens him.

“For a man, it’s hard to understand that you can’t go there, and your sister is there. So, I’m trying to do my best here to help not only my family, but the whole army,” he says.

Twenty-one-year-old Roksolana, who gave only her first name for security reasons, walks in to pick up a uniform and other gear before heading out on her next assignment. An art school graduate, she joined the army in March and is now part of an intelligence unit.

“It’s so valuable to have these people who understand that we are tired of wearing clothes that are three sizes too big,” she says. “We had no helmets, we had old flak jackets, wore tracksuits and sneakers. Now we feel that we are humans.”

She giggles as she laces up her new boots with impeccable long fingernails. Before they hug goodbye, Drahanyuk hands Roksolana a copy of “The Choice,” the best-selling memoir by Holocaust survivor and psychologist Edith Eger. The aim is that this can be a tool to help process trauma. Zemlyachki has also formed partnerships with military psychologists to whom women in combat can reach out.

Other women, such as 25-year-old Alina Panina, are receiving psychological support through the Ukrainian military. A border guard with a canine unit, Panina spent five months in captivity at the infamous Olenivka prison in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region after leaving the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

She was finally released on October 17 as part of an all-female prisoner exchange with Russia and went into mandatory rehabilitation at a military hospital, under whose care she remains.

Ukraine recently demanded that the International Committee of the Red Cross send a delegation to the Russian prisoner of war camp.

“I was not prepared [for captivity], and we discussed this a lot with other women prisoners that life hasn’t prepared us for such [an] ordeal,” Panina says at a pizza bar run by veterans in downtown Kyiv.

She says prison guards “were unpredictable people” who sometimes abused prisoners verbally, but that she was spared any physical harm.

Now her partner’s fate is up in the air. He is also a border guard who is still in captivity. “I know he is alive but don’t know in which prison he is,” Panina says sadly as she scrolls through pictures of him.

When asked what gives her hope, she simply says, “our men, our people.”

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