Aug 26, 2024 07:50 PM
(This post was last modified: Aug 27, 2024 03:47 PM by C C.)
Ever had chlamydia? It may still be hiding out in your gut
https://gizmodo.com/ever-had-chlamydia-i...2000491102
EXCERPTS: The bacteria that cause chlamydia might be trickier than we knew. In a new study this week, scientists have found evidence that these bacteria can hide in our intestines. The findings might explain why some people experience re-occurrences of chlamydia even after successful antibiotic treatment, the researchers say.
Chlamydia in humans is [...] the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., with more than 1.6 million documented cases in 2022. ... Untreated cases of chlamydia can lead to life-changing complications like pelvic inflammatory disease, arthritis, and even infertility, while also raising the risk of catching other STIs.
[...] Though infections remain very treatable with antibiotics (for now, at least), some people will later return to their doctors with another bout of chlamydia...
[...] It’s possible that some of these cases come from an infection that wasn’t actually fully treated, from having sex with the same untreated partner who originally spread the infection, or from playing with a sex toy contaminated from earlier use (this is less likely since the bacteria don’t live very long outside our bodies). But some research has also suggested that chlamydia bacteria can establish a hidden reservoir elsewhere in the body, allowing them to persist and cause trouble again when conditions are right.
Other species related to C. trachomatis are known to routinely live in the guts of their hosts, hinting that our chlamydia bacteria can hide there as well. [...] In this new study, published this month in the journal PLOS Pathogens, the researchers say they’ve come closer to establishing that this can indeed happen in people... (MORE - missing details)
Research alert: Cannabis use linked to workplace absenteeism
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2024.07.021
PRESS RELEASE: A new analysis of 46,499 employed adults in the United States, completed with data from the 2021-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), found that recent and frequent cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) were associated with greater workplace absenteeism. This included both absences due to illness/injury as well as skipped work days. Among full-time employed adults, 15.9% used cannabis in the past month, with 6.5% meeting criteria for CUD. The study found that over the last 30 days, the mean number of workdays missed because of illness was 1.47 for people who didn’t have CUD but had used cannabis within the past month. For those who had never used cannabis, the mean number of sick days was 0.95. While even infrequent cannabis use was associated with work absences, those with CUD had a 1.30-2.87 times higher incidence of missing or skipping work compared to those without CUD.
The study suggests that the impacts of cannabis on adults in the workplace extend beyond those who meet the criteria for CUD. However, the researchers emphasize the need for longitudinal studies examining the impact of cannabis use, as well as qualitative studies that can better parse out the effects of various compounding factors that were not accounted for in this study. These factors include medicinal cannabis use and whether participants used cannabis within or outside work hours.
The study published on August 26 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and was led by Kevin H. Yang, M.D., a third-year resident in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Joseph J. Palamar, Ph.D, M.P.H, associate professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University Grossman School of Medicine.
https://gizmodo.com/ever-had-chlamydia-i...2000491102
EXCERPTS: The bacteria that cause chlamydia might be trickier than we knew. In a new study this week, scientists have found evidence that these bacteria can hide in our intestines. The findings might explain why some people experience re-occurrences of chlamydia even after successful antibiotic treatment, the researchers say.
Chlamydia in humans is [...] the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., with more than 1.6 million documented cases in 2022. ... Untreated cases of chlamydia can lead to life-changing complications like pelvic inflammatory disease, arthritis, and even infertility, while also raising the risk of catching other STIs.
[...] Though infections remain very treatable with antibiotics (for now, at least), some people will later return to their doctors with another bout of chlamydia...
[...] It’s possible that some of these cases come from an infection that wasn’t actually fully treated, from having sex with the same untreated partner who originally spread the infection, or from playing with a sex toy contaminated from earlier use (this is less likely since the bacteria don’t live very long outside our bodies). But some research has also suggested that chlamydia bacteria can establish a hidden reservoir elsewhere in the body, allowing them to persist and cause trouble again when conditions are right.
Other species related to C. trachomatis are known to routinely live in the guts of their hosts, hinting that our chlamydia bacteria can hide there as well. [...] In this new study, published this month in the journal PLOS Pathogens, the researchers say they’ve come closer to establishing that this can indeed happen in people... (MORE - missing details)
Research alert: Cannabis use linked to workplace absenteeism
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2024.07.021
PRESS RELEASE: A new analysis of 46,499 employed adults in the United States, completed with data from the 2021-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), found that recent and frequent cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) were associated with greater workplace absenteeism. This included both absences due to illness/injury as well as skipped work days. Among full-time employed adults, 15.9% used cannabis in the past month, with 6.5% meeting criteria for CUD. The study found that over the last 30 days, the mean number of workdays missed because of illness was 1.47 for people who didn’t have CUD but had used cannabis within the past month. For those who had never used cannabis, the mean number of sick days was 0.95. While even infrequent cannabis use was associated with work absences, those with CUD had a 1.30-2.87 times higher incidence of missing or skipping work compared to those without CUD.
The study suggests that the impacts of cannabis on adults in the workplace extend beyond those who meet the criteria for CUD. However, the researchers emphasize the need for longitudinal studies examining the impact of cannabis use, as well as qualitative studies that can better parse out the effects of various compounding factors that were not accounted for in this study. These factors include medicinal cannabis use and whether participants used cannabis within or outside work hours.
The study published on August 26 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and was led by Kevin H. Yang, M.D., a third-year resident in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Joseph J. Palamar, Ph.D, M.P.H, associate professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University Grossman School of Medicine.