Ah, February. The month dedicated to celebrating love and relationships. But before you take a deep dive down the Valentine’s Day candy aisle, consider a healthier way to show yourself and loved ones some love. February is American Heart Month, a time for Latinos and all people to focus on their cardiovascular health. Join us in raising awareness of heart disease, the driving forces behind it, and how to address it throughout the month of February and beyond.
What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions, according to the CDC. The most common type of heart disease in the US is coronary artery disease, which can restrict blood flow to the heart and cause a heart attack. Other forms of heart disease include irregular heartbeats, ...
Did you know that your Zip code is more important than your genetic code in predicting how long you will live? That’s right – where you live can have a big impact on your health. In fact, our health is influenced by a variety of non-medical factors, such as the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, and age. These conditions are known as social determinants of health (SDoH). Addressing SDoH is key to improving health for Latinos and all people. Numerous studies suggest that SDoH accounts for between 30-55% of health outcomes and SDoH influences individual health behaviors, which account for another 30% of health outcomes. Fortunately, healthcare systems are placing more emphasis on screening patients for SDoH. This means that when patients come to medical ...
Social media plays a large role in society today. People use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok and many other platforms as daily sources for education, entertainment, work, and more. However, can spending too much time on social media have a negative impact? Researchers have continuously studied how social media affects mental health. While the results are mixed, heavy use of social media can contribute to negative factors including cyberbullying, low self-esteem, and social isolation. This is important for Latinos, 98% of whom own a smartphone and who are the highest-percentage users of Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and WhatsApp among racial/ethnic groups. “Hispanics spent almost two more hours per week watching videos, streaming audio and social networking ...
Alcoholism in the U.S. has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A one-year increase in alcohol consumption in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to cause 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease, 18,700 cases of liver failure, and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040,” according to a press release from the Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition, deaths caused by alcohol are up, too. After increasing 2.2% a year over the previous two decades, deaths involving alcohol jumped 25.5% between 2019 to 2020, totaling 99,107 deaths,” according to a 2022 study. “Deaths involving alcohol reflect hidden tolls of the pandemic. Increased drinking to cope with pandemic-related stressors, shifting alcohol policies, and disrupted ...
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools had the flexibility to offer school meals free to all public-school students. Now, some of this flexibility is expiring and many schools can only serve free meals to certain students starting this 2022-2023 school year, according to the USDA. “As we all get through this change, we ask everyone to be patient with school nutrition professionals and thank them for working to help children during such a tough time. The [USDA] and the Biden-Harris Administration fully support the school leaders and school meal heroes running the school meals programs,” according to the USDA. For Latino students, whose families often face wage gaps and nutrition insecurity, these changes could have a significant impact. Here is what these recent ...
Where you live, work, and play significantly impacts overall wellbeing. That’s why it’s important to explore and understand health inequities that can impact quality of life and health outcomes for Latinos and other people of color. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) is one such resource that helps leaders and county residents evaluate their community on a national scale. Created by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CHR&R publishes an annual national findings report. The report revealed worsening health trends for women, minorities, and low-income individuals in 2022, similar to the 2021 report findings, but driven by COVID-19, the worst public health crisis in more than a ...
As 2020 comes to an end, let’s take a look at health this year. In a year defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have several concerns about the health and safety of their children. Overuse of social media/screen time (72%), bullying/cyberbullying (62%), and Internet safety (62%) were parents top overall concerns, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health 2020. The survey asked a national sample of Latino, Black, and white parents to rate the top health concerns for U.S. children ages 0-18. “Overall, 8 of the Top 10 concerns most commonly rated by all parents as a ‘big problem’ are frequently associated with changes in lifestyle and may be related to efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the survey ...
Since the start of the pandemic, many health experts say smoking and vaping increase the risk of COVID-19. This happens by weakening the function of the lungs making it more susceptible to coronavirus — as well as its overall impacts. Moreover, new data from Stanford University shows that young people who vape are more susceptible to COVID-19 than those who do not. That data—collected from a May 2020 national survey of 13- to 24-year-olds—showed that vapers are five times more likely to get COVID-19. Many cities and states across the US are passing bans on flavored vaping products during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Flavored Vaping Bans Across the Country
Last month the California State Assembly passed a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and ...
A new study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine suggests that there is no safe level of tobacco smoke exposure and that smoking cessation is the most effective means of harm reduction. Researchers from Columbia University examined the lung function of 25,000 people, including smokers, ex-smokers, and those who have never smoked. The study found that people who smoke five cigarettes a day are doing almost as much damage to their lungs as people who smoke more than 30 cigarettes a day. "Light" or "social" smokers will develop as much lung damage in one year as "heavy" smoking does in nine months. The study also noted that each lit cigarette releases 7,000 chemicals, 69 of which are considered to be cancer-causing substances. "Smoking a few cigarettes a day is much ...
