Wildfire smoke may increase the risk of dementia, study finds

Published by: The Guardian
Published on: July 29, 2024

A new US study has found that wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other types of air pollution and even increase the risk of dementia.

The findings, reported on Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, come as millions spent the weekend under air quality warnings from wildfires spewing smoke across the western US, including a huge wildfire in California that has grown to more than 360,000 acres.

At issue is fine particulate matter or PM 2.5 – tiny particles about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and move to the bloodstream. This pollution – from traffic, factories and fires – can cause or worsen heart and lung diseases, and the new study adds to evidence it may play some role in dementia, too.

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lung disease

Severe COVID leads to higher risk of pulmonary fibrosis: research

Published April 8, 2024

Published by: CBC News
Published on: April 8, 2024

For Vancouver resident Farrell Eckman, having a long conversation or attending a workout class without breaking into coughs is a major accomplishment.

The 50-year-old is one of many people who researchers say developed pulmonary fibrosis — a condition that thickens the tissue in lungs and can affect breathing — after experiencing a severe case of COVID-19.

In January 2022, Eckman was admitted to Vancouver General Hospital because she was having trouble breathing along with flu-like symptoms.

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long COVID

Long Covid: MRI scans reveal new clues to symptoms

Published September 23, 2023

Published by: BBC
Published on: September 23, 2023
By Dominic Hughes

People living with long Covid after being admitted to hospital are more likely to show some damage to major organs, according to a new study.

MRI scans revealed patients were three times more likely to have some abnormalities in multiple organs such as the lungs, brain and kidneys.

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research

1 in 4 COVID survivors had impaired lung function 1 year on, study shows

Published September 12, 2023

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: September 12, 2023
By Mary Van Beusekom

A quarter of COVID-19 survivors had impaired lung function 1 year after infection, and older patients, those with more than three chronic conditions, and those with severe cases improved slower than other patients over time, a Dutch study published yesterday in PLOS One reveals.

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long COVID

Many long-covid symptoms linger even after two years, new study shows

Published August 21, 2023

Published by: Washington Post
Published on: August 21, 2023
By Amy Goldstein

People who endured even mild cases of covid-19 are at heightened risk two years later for lung problems, fatigue, diabetes and certain other health problems typical of long covid, according to a new study that casts fresh light on the virus’s true toll.

The analysis, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, is believed to be the first to document the extent to which an array of aftereffects that patients can develop — as part of the diffuse and sometimes debilitating syndrome known as long covid — linger beyond the initial months or year after they survived a coronavirus infection.

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Are repeat COVID infections dangerous? What the science says

Published April 26, 2023

Nature

April 26, 2023

“People with repeat infections were twice as likely to die and three times as likely to be hospitalized, have heart problems or experience blood clots than were people who were infected only once. In a surprising twist, vaccination status didn’t seem to have an impact — although other studies show vaccines to be protective. Whether these results hold true for the general population is up for debate. The Veterans Affairs cohort was made up mostly of older white men, which is not representative of the wider population.”

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Tag: lung disease