EurekAlert! COVID-19 Online Newsroom - Peer-reviewed Research

Peer-reviewed Research

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 5-May-2025 21:09 ET (6-May-2025 01:09 GMT/UTC)

Large population study identifies long-term health risks after COVID-19 hospitalization

Taylor & Francis Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

COVID-19 hospital patients experienced a higher rate of deaths from any cause: 5,218 per 100,000 people.

They were also more likely to be hospitalized for any reason, with particularly high risks for neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular and respiratory problems.

Journal: Infectious Diseases
Funder: Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé, Agence Nationale de la Recherche

Medicaid extension policies that cover all immigrants in a post-COVID world reduce inequities in postpartum insurance coverage

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Study reveals that Medicaid extension policies, which cover all immigrants in the post-COVID era, have led to a notable reduction in postpartum uninsurance, particularly in New York City.

Journal: American Journal of Public Health
Funder: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Prevalence and control of diabetes among US adults

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This study found that the prevalence of adults with diabetes did not significantly change between 2013 and 2023, but glycemic control among those with diagnosed disease worsened in 2021-2023 after nearly a decade of stability. This trend was most pronounced among young adults. The increase of 1% in mean HbA1c levels and 20% decrease in glycemic control would increase the lifetime risk of cardiovascular events. Potential explanations for these findings include increased sedentary behavior, reduced social support, heightened mental health stressors, and limited access to health care and medications during the pandemic.

Journal: JAMA

Patients with depression from wealthier areas more likely to use telehealth for mental health care

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that mental health visits for patients with depression from high-wealth neighborhoods in Maryland were significantly more likely to happen via telehealth compared to patients with depression from low-wealth neighborhoods in Maryland from mid-2021 through mid-2024.

Journal: PNAS Nexus

Closing the gaps — MXene-coating filters can enhance performance and reusability

Drexel University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Despite improvements to air filtration technology in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the smallest particles — those of automobile and factory emissions — can still make their way through less efficient, but common filters. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Drexel University’s College of Engineering have introduced a new way to improve textile-based filters by coating them with a type of two-dimensional nanomaterial called MXene.

Funder: Army Research Laboratory

A new mathematical model improves prediction of human mobility between cities

Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How many people will travel during a given week between two specific cities? Answering this question is important for many reasons, for example, to design efficient public transport infrastructures, or, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic, to understand how mobility patterns could be used to predict the spread and evolution of the virus. Now, a new mathematical model developed by the URV’s SeesLab research group, together with researchers from Northeastern University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, has made it possible to predict human mobility with high precision and in a simpler and more efficient way than the systems currently in use. The scientific journal Nature Communications has published the results of the study, which provides a valuable new tool for understanding how people move in different contexts.

Journal: Nature Communications

From dormant to danger: How VZV reactivation is driving CNS infections

Fujita Health University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from Fujita Health University, Japan, observed a rise in adult central nervous system (CNS) infections, primarily aseptic meningitis caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), post-2019. The researchers highlighted the potential of zoster vaccination to reduce CNS infections. Meanwhile, CNS infection by herpesviruses, including VZV, may contribute to the progression of dementia. Furthermore, the potential effect of zoster vaccines in preventing dementia progression by reducing VZV reactivation has also been highlighted.

Journal: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Funder: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development

"Unhealthy" eating during the COVID-19 lockdown: How social interactions and mood influenced eating behavior

University of Vienna
Peer-Reviewed Publication

During the first COVID-19 lockdown, researchers of the University of Vienna assessed the influence of stress, mood, and social interactions on "unhealthy" eating habits in nearly 800 participants across Austria, Italy, and Germany. Surprisingly, results showed that negative mood and less social interactions led to a decrease in "unhealthy" food consumption and enjoyment. At the same time eating "unhealthy" meals in fact seemed to help maintain already positive emotions and reduce stress – but not to uplift a negative mood. These findings highlight the role of food in coping with emotional challenges. The study, led by psychologists Ana Stijovic and Giorgia Silani from the University of Vienna, is now published in the scientific journal Biological Psychiatry.

Journal: Biological Psychiatry

Contamination detection tool enables highly sensitive water testing

Northwestern University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A platform developed nearly 20 years ago previously used to detect protein interactions with DNA and conduct accurate COVID-19 testing has been repurposed to create a highly sensitive water contamination detection tool.

Journal: ACS Nano

Consumer confidence in the responsible use of digital health data after the COVID-19 pandemic

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this study, confidence in organizations to use health data responsibly was largely unchanged from 2020 to 2022, but polarization increased between politically liberal and conservative respondents. Compared with 2020, in 2022 liberal respondents reported increased confidence in the federal government to use digital health data responsibly, while conservative respondents reported decreased confidence in the federal government and agencies. Changes in confidence may be related to the prominence of these agencies (CDC, NIH) during the COVID-19 pandemic, a 2020 national election with a change in the governing political party, and political polarization.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

NSHAP advances study of older adults’ cognition in post-COVID era

The Gerontological Society of America
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new supplemental issue of The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences presents new measures, methods, and data collected during Round 4 (2021 to 2023) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) — with a focus on cognition and how researchers adapted to working with participants as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Journal: The Journals of Gerontology Series B

Lung abnormalities seen in children and teens with long COVID

Radiological Society of North America
Peer-Reviewed Publication

.An advanced type of MRI uncovers significant lung abnormalities in children and adolescents with long COVID, according to a new study.

Journal: Radiology

COVID-19 vaccination and odds of post–COVID-19 condition symptoms in children ages 5 to 17

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that mRNA COVID-19 vaccination may be a protective factor against post–COVID-19 condition in children following SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings suggest benefits of COVID-19 vaccination beyond those associated with protection against acute COVID-19 and may encourage increased pediatric uptake.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Sudden cardiac arrest among young competitive athletes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This cohort study found no increase in sudden cardiac arrest/sudden cardiac death in young competitive athletes in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that reports asserting otherwise were overestimating the cardiovascular risk of COVID-19 infection, vaccination, and myocarditis. Many athlete cases shown in social media video montages occurred before the pandemic yet claimed COVID-19 infection or vaccination raised the risk of sudden cardiac arrest/sudden cardiac death.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Study finds people prefer AI chatbots when discussing embarrassing health info — but humans when they are angry

University of Kansas
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Kansas conducted a study in which they gauged respondents' attitudes about COVID-19 vaccines. They then showed them media content designed to lead to feelings of anger or embarrassment. They found people preferred discussing vaccines with an AI chatbot when they felt embarrassed, but preferred talking to a human when they were angry. The study, which used eye-tracking technology, helps illustrate that health communicators and marketers should take care to use tech like AI in a way that people like to most effectively reach people, researchers argue.

Journal: International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction

7
8
9
10
11