Sep 23, 2022 05:00 AM
Early puberty in girls surged in the pandemic, and we may finally know why
https://www.sciencealert.com/early-puber...y-know-why
INTRO: Among the laundry list of health problems COVID has inflicted on the world's population, one of the more perplexing could be an increase in the number of girls experiencing what is known as idiopathic precocious puberty – abnormally early onset of puberty.
More than one study has spotted the spike in numbers during the early months of the pandemic of what is typically a rare condition, highlighting a potential link between the virus and a trigger for early adolescence.
Now a study presented at the 60th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in Rome suggests it might not have anything to do with the infection at all.
Rather the time spent during lockdowns scrolling through smart devices for hours on end could be to blame... (MORE - details)
Did COVID Lockdowns Work?
https://www.acsh.org/news/2022/09/21/did...work-16563
EXCERPT: . . . This raises the fundamental issue of whether lockdowns could have been more targeted to at-risk populations. Again, early in the pandemic, it was easy to make a case to lockdown nursing homes, the frail and the elderly. Of course, that alone was insufficient because those individuals require care and caregivers. Effective isolation of the at-risk requires us to lock down their caregivers and the caregiver’s families – all chinks in the lockdown armor.
A far greater debate has surrounded the lockdowns of schools. Again, early in the pandemic, there was no data on the impact of COVID on children; historically, children and the frail elderly are the most at-risk. Coupled with the very human desire to protect “our children,” it is not surprising that lockdowns included schools. While there was some evidence that older children, mid-teens and older, experienced COVID more like adults, there was a paucity of early data on the impact on younger children. Rather than a strategic lockdown of college or high school, all education was shut down. Even our late in the pandemic strategery of identifying at-risk neighborhoods was contentious – were cases, hospitalizations, or deaths the best or even accurate measure of risk?
“Pure economic analyses of whether lockdowns were worth it generally try to estimate the value of lives saved and compare that with the costs of economic downturns. But there is no consensus on how to make this comparison.”
Lockdowns come with costs; economic, social, educational, and psychological – all difficult to quantify. When we compare those costs to the efficacy of lockdowns, when we consider the tradeoff, any number of biases influence our findings. Despite the efforts by researchers to put a value on lives lost and economic disruptions, those seemingly objective dollar values are, in fact, subjective. Economic and social costs are less weighty when we believe every life is precious. When we think that the disruption of our day-to-day lives contributes to our well-being, the balance may tip in the other direction. These are ethical, subjective choices. Using the refrain, “follow the science,” as the explanation belittles the role of science and makes public health decisions less transparent and accountable... (MORE - missing details)
https://www.sciencealert.com/early-puber...y-know-why
INTRO: Among the laundry list of health problems COVID has inflicted on the world's population, one of the more perplexing could be an increase in the number of girls experiencing what is known as idiopathic precocious puberty – abnormally early onset of puberty.
More than one study has spotted the spike in numbers during the early months of the pandemic of what is typically a rare condition, highlighting a potential link between the virus and a trigger for early adolescence.
Now a study presented at the 60th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in Rome suggests it might not have anything to do with the infection at all.
Rather the time spent during lockdowns scrolling through smart devices for hours on end could be to blame... (MORE - details)
Did COVID Lockdowns Work?
https://www.acsh.org/news/2022/09/21/did...work-16563
EXCERPT: . . . This raises the fundamental issue of whether lockdowns could have been more targeted to at-risk populations. Again, early in the pandemic, it was easy to make a case to lockdown nursing homes, the frail and the elderly. Of course, that alone was insufficient because those individuals require care and caregivers. Effective isolation of the at-risk requires us to lock down their caregivers and the caregiver’s families – all chinks in the lockdown armor.
A far greater debate has surrounded the lockdowns of schools. Again, early in the pandemic, there was no data on the impact of COVID on children; historically, children and the frail elderly are the most at-risk. Coupled with the very human desire to protect “our children,” it is not surprising that lockdowns included schools. While there was some evidence that older children, mid-teens and older, experienced COVID more like adults, there was a paucity of early data on the impact on younger children. Rather than a strategic lockdown of college or high school, all education was shut down. Even our late in the pandemic strategery of identifying at-risk neighborhoods was contentious – were cases, hospitalizations, or deaths the best or even accurate measure of risk?
“Pure economic analyses of whether lockdowns were worth it generally try to estimate the value of lives saved and compare that with the costs of economic downturns. But there is no consensus on how to make this comparison.”
Lockdowns come with costs; economic, social, educational, and psychological – all difficult to quantify. When we compare those costs to the efficacy of lockdowns, when we consider the tradeoff, any number of biases influence our findings. Despite the efforts by researchers to put a value on lives lost and economic disruptions, those seemingly objective dollar values are, in fact, subjective. Economic and social costs are less weighty when we believe every life is precious. When we think that the disruption of our day-to-day lives contributes to our well-being, the balance may tip in the other direction. These are ethical, subjective choices. Using the refrain, “follow the science,” as the explanation belittles the role of science and makes public health decisions less transparent and accountable... (MORE - missing details)