Exposure To Ozone Pollution

New York: Children previously infected with Covid-19 develop natural circulating antibodies that last for at least seven months, finds a new study. The study showed that while 96 per cent of those infected with Covid-19 continued to have antibodies up to seven months later, well over half (58 per cent) of the samples were negative for infection-induced antibodies at their third and final measurement. "These findings are important because the information we collected from children infected with Covid-19 didn't differ at all by whether a child was asymptomatic, the severity of symptoms, when they had the virus, were at a healthy weight or had obesity, or by gender. It was the same for everyone," said researcher Sarah Messiah from The University of Texas Health at Houston. For the study, published in the journal 'Pediatrics', the team examined data from 218 children across the state of Texas between the age of 5 and 19 who were enrolled in the Texas CARES survey that began in October 2020 to assess Covid-19 antibody status over time among a population of adults and children in Texas. The volunteers who enrolled for the study provided researchers with three separate blood draws. Samples were collected before the vaccine rollout and during the Delta and Omicron variants. To date, investigators have completed three different phases of the study. The researcher said that the results are just a step in understanding the virus' impact on children. To date, 14 million kids in the US have tested positive for the virus, she said. Read More► Lithium May Decrease Risk of Developing Dementia: Study

Jerusalem: Pregnant women's exposure to air pollution has been identified as one possible factor for low-birth-weight in babies, which can further lead to poor health outcomes, researchers have shown. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, also revealed that mothers who are underweight and come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more exposed to the possibility of being affected by air pollution. Further, the study found that the association with air pollution was stronger among female babies and first births - a fact that is thought to be due to a biological mechanism that is yet to be identified. "It is now clear that governments need to set up the infrastructure to integrate environmental and health data at the personal level," said Professor Hagai Levine of the Hebrew University (HU)-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health. The team looked at the link between air pollutant PM2.5 and the birth weight of 3,80,000 singleton babies born to mothers all over in Israel between 2004-2015. Israel, a country with the highest fertility rate among countries under OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and high levels of the air pollutant PM2.5, made it an ideal location to look for an association between low birth weight and poor air quality. The team used personal, anonymised data and detailed high-resolution pollutant data to produce more accurate statistical analysis. The model included siblings, and it enabled the estimation of the variance in low birth weight to be accounted for by variances between different mothers, leading to more accurate estimates. The data used by the research team included: personal anonymised data on the mothers, including the area where they lived and the weight of their babies at birth; and daily air pollutant concentration over each square kilometre of Israel, derived from satellite data. The study clearly showed the association between the level of the air pollutant PM2.5 and low birth weight. The association of air pollutants with low birth weight raises the question of whether the governments should take the impact on the developing baby into account and increase its efforts to reduce pollution. (agency) Read More► 'Preventing diabetes among youth, pregnant women a challenge'

  Healthy lungs bring vitality (Prana), that’s why Ayurveda refers respiratory system as Prana vaha strotas. Lungs are constantly working to provide healthy oxygen to the body for its proper functioning. Just like other systems of the body, even the respiratory system is prone to wear and tear due to the increasing pollutants, toxins, and respiratory infections like COVID 19. Role of Ayurveda to maintain healthy lungs: Nasya This therapy includes the installation of herbal medication through the nostrils. You can do Nasya therapy on an empty stomach an hour before or after a shower or exercise. One should lie down with the head tilted back and put 5 drops of Nasya oil in each nostril. Nasya prevents nasal respiratory allergies, improves eye health, relieves fatigue, and alleviates Vata Dosha. Gandusha/ Oil pulling Humans may breathe through their nose and mouth as well. The nose has a filtering mechanism in preventing pollutants that entering the respiratory system. But in case of mouth breathing, Gandusha or oil pulling helps to maintain a healthy oral cavity and acts as a barrier to prevent the entry of pollutants and toxins through the mouth. Gandusha involves holding medicated oil in the mouth for 10-15 minutes and then spitting it out. It cleans the harmful toxins and bacteria and strengthens the mucous lining of the mouth and oral cavity. Ura Abhyanga/ Massage Ura abhyanga includes the application of medicated oils or sesame oil on the chest and back followed by hot fomentation or hot water bath. It helps to loosen the toxins and sticky adherent Kapha dosha in the lungs and expel them out thus maintain healthy lungs. Swedana Facial steam with medicinal herbs helps to liquefy and melt adherent doshas and pollutants and expel them out an inefficient manner thus removing pollutants and toxins from the respiratory system. Facial steam can be taken by adding eucalyptus oil, camphor, and tulsi drops to cleanse and strengthen the nasal and oral cavity. Diet Follow Kapha reducing diet- avoid oily fatty foods, heavy to digest, dense foods, and fried foods. Consume warm water throughout the day. Avoid curd, cold drinks, ice-creams. Do not overeat or drink in excess, have light to digest and freshly prepared food and regular meals in time. Include herbs like cardamon, holy basil, pippali, liquorice, turmeric, etc in the diet to strengthen the respiratory and immune system. Immunity Boosters Chyavanprash, Ayush Kwatha, and various other Ayurvedic medicines if taken as per the Ayurveda Physician’s advice can help to strengthen the respiratory and immune system and maintain healthy lungs and avoid respiratory infections and diseases. These Ayurveda tips will not only help prevent illness but also help nurture and maintain healthy lungs so that they can perform to their utmost capacity each and every day. Also, Read► Lung Cancer - Causes, Symptoms & Ayurvedic Treatment  

London: Improving air quality may not only help your lungs but also your kidneys, suggests a study. Researchers from King's College London found that ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration reduction led to significant improvement in laboratory test results used to assess a patient's kidney function. "Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been associated with declined kidney function. However, whether the association is causal remains unknown," said Co-author Yiqun Han, Research Associate in School of Public Health, Imperial College London. In the study, published in the journal Health Data Science, the team conducted a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference analysis. They identified a strong linkage between the reduced PM2.5 with improved kidney function, Han added. The researchers analysed the demographic and laboratory records of 5,115 adults. They investigated the change in kidney function parameters between 2011 and 2015 according to the population's long-term exposure to PM2.5 derived from an environmental database. The team found that a 10 Ig/m3 reduction in PM2.5 significantly improved multiple kidney function parameters. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) increased by 0.42 mL/min/1.73m2, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) decreased by 0.38 mg/dL, and uric acid (UA) decreased by 0.06 mg/dL, respectively. GFR is a test used to check how well the kidneys are working and further progression of chronic kidney disease. Air pollution is known to affect kidney function. Several studies have shown that exposure to bad air is associated with an increased chronic kidney disease-related morbidity and mortality. Exposure to PM2.5, even at relatively low concentrations, is a risk factor for a lower kidney function and a faster decline in kidney function. Han suggested the need for rapid air quality improvement driven by the action. Besides kidneys, reduction in air pollution may help improve "population health, including cardiorespiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, mental and neurological disorders, and indicators for non-fatal risks (e.g., medical expenditure and disability), in addition to kidney diseases," he said. (agency) Read More► Can Genetic Testing Help Evaluate Risk of Heart Disease