Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summary Background Data for front-line health-care workers and risk of COVID-19 are limited. We sought to assess risk of COVID-19 among front-line health-care workers compared with the general community and the effect of personal protective equipment (PPE) on risk. Methods We did a prospective, observational cohort study in the UK and the USA of the general community, including front-line health-care workers, using self-reported data from the COVID Symptom Study smartphone application (app) from March 24 (UK) and March 29 (USA) to April 23, 2020. Participants were voluntary users of the app and at first use provided information on demographic factors (including age, sex, race or ethnic background, height and weight, and occupation) and medical history, and subsequently reported any COVID-19 symptoms. We used Cox proportional hazards modelling to estimate multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of our primary outcome, which was a positive COVID-19 test. The COVID Symptom Study app is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04331509. Findings Among 2 035 395 community individuals and 99 795 front-line health-care workers, we recorded 5545 incident reports of a positive COVID-19 test over 34 435 272 person-days. Compared with the general community, front-line health-care workers were at increased risk for reporting a positive COVID-19 test (adjusted HR 11·61, 95% CI 10·93–12·33). To account for differences in testing frequency between front-line health-care workers and the general community and possible selection bias, an inverse probability-weighted model was used to adjust for the likelihood of receiving a COVID-19 test (adjusted HR 3·40, 95% CI 3·37–3·43). Secondary and post-hoc analyses suggested adequacy of PPE, clinical setting, and ethnic background were also important factors. Interpretation In the UK and the USA, risk of reporting a positive test for COVID-19 was increased among front-line health-care workers. Health-care systems should ensure adequate availability of PPE and develop additional strategies to protect health-care workers from COVID-19, particularly those from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds. Additional follow-up of these observational findings is needed. Funding Zoe Global, Wellcome Trust, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, National Institutes of Health Research, UK Research and Innovation, Alzheimer's Society, National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness.

Risk of COVID-19 among front-line health-care workers and the general community: a prospective cohort study.

The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak: What we know.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in late December 2019 in China, which later developed into a pandemic, has forced different countries to implement strict sanitary regimes and social distancing measures. Globally, at least four billion people were under lockdown, working remotely, homeschooling children, and facing challenges coping with quarantine and the stressful events. The present cross-sectional online survey of adult Poles (n = 1097), conducted during a nationwide quarantine, aimed to assess whether nutritional and consumer habits have been affected under these conditions. Over 43.0% and nearly 52% reported eating and snacking more, respectively, and these tendencies were more frequent in overweight and obese individuals. Almost 30% and over 18% experienced weight gain (mean ± SD 3.0 ± 1.6 kg) and loss (−2.9 ± 1.5 kg), respectively. Overweight, obese, and older subjects (aged 36–45 and >45) tended to gain weight more frequently, whereas those with underweight tended to lose it further. Increased BMI was associated with less frequent consumption of vegetables, fruit, and legumes during quarantine, and higher adherence to meat, dairy, and fast-foods. An increase in alcohol consumption was seen in 14.6%, with a higher tendency to drink more found among alcohol addicts. Over 45% of smokers experienced a rise in smoking frequency during the quarantine. The study highlights that lockdown imposed to contain an infectious agent may affect eating behaviors and dietary habits, and advocates for organized nutritional support during future epidemic-related quarantines, particularly for the most vulnerable groups, including overweight and obese subjects.

Dietary Choices and Habits during COVID-19 Lockdown: Experience from Poland.

https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/portal/files/132683945/1_s2.0_S2214109X21000796_main.pdf

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This JLAG Perspectives forum on Covid-19 in Latin America brings together the diverse voices of geographers from different parts of world to better understand the complex and multidimensional implications of Covid-19 in Latin America While each individual contribution is short and narrowly focused both topically and geographically, together they present a more complete picture of the immensity of the challenges, both present and future, brought on and exposed by Covid-19

COVID-19 in Latin America.

The indirect impact of COVID-19 on women.

The public health policies that were introduced in response to the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 prevented a lot of workers from returning to their factory jobs At the end of March, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that “the chronic global shortage of personal protective equipment is now one of the most urgent threats to our collective ability to save lives” There are continuing shortages of particular raw materials and not all manufacturers have returned to pre-pandemic levels of production [ ]some companies that diverted their production facilities to making PPE may stop making the products as the pandemic runs its course

Global shortage of personal protective equipment

http://www.thelancet.com/article/S2213858722002200/pdf

Talha Burki

Papers

COVID-19 in Latin America.

The indirect impact of COVID-19 on women.

Global shortage of personal protective equipment

Food security and nutrition in the world

China's successful control of COVID-19.