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新冠疫情对人类健康有哪些次生灾害?

新冠疫情对人类健康有哪些次生灾害?

Verne Kopytoff 2021-04-06
一项研究显示,40%的受访者表示在疫情期间增加的体重超出预期,平均增加了29磅。

新冠疫情对全球健康产生的影响,远比疫情导致的住院和死亡人数更加严重。事实证明,在疫情期间,许多人放弃了常规医学筛查或者体重增加。

这种情况造成的结果就是一场不为人知的健康危机。

错过医学筛查意味着许多人的癌症诊断被延误——假如他们知道自己的病情。这么做的结果导致他们要接受更复杂的治疗,面临更大的感染风险,存活率也被降低。

与此同时,许多人因为疫情期间的压力和封锁而无法健身,因此体重增加。在美国心理学会(American Psychological Association)一项自我报告的研究中,40%的受访者表示在疫情期间增加的体重超出预期,平均增加了29磅。当然,肥胖症会增加人们患糖尿病和高血压的风险,这可能造成严重的长期健康问题。

急诊科医生、乔治华盛顿大学(George Washington University)健康政策与管理客座教授温麟衍(Leana Wen)表示,更糟糕的是,在疫情期间因为过量用药而死亡的人数增加,儿童免疫接种的比例“大幅下降”,儿童铅中毒的筛查率也急剧减少。医疗行业尤其是许多公共卫生设施早在疫情之前就已经面临压力,新冠疫情让它们彻底不堪重负,无法采取预防措施。

在《财富》健康头脑风暴大会于上周举办的在线研讨会上,温麟衍称:“整整一年,我们都在把医疗资源向其他方面倾斜。这并不像是一场飓风袭击一个地区,在几天或几周之后就能够恢复,这次可是持续了整整一年。”

医生们表示,补救措施是医疗保健行业应该努力鼓励人们接受测试或检测。例如,牙医可以对患者进行糖尿病和高血压检查,无论这些检查与洗牙或补牙是否完全无关。

霍华德大学(Howard University)校长、查尔斯·R·德鲁外科教授韦恩·弗雷德里克医生表示:“实际上,我们会查看患者名单,联系患有糖尿病或高血压或者有家族病史的患者,鼓励他们接受筛查。”

不过令人高兴的一点是,疫情使多个健康领域有所改善。或许最明显的是社交隔离、戴口罩和勤洗手等措施让流感患者人数大幅减少。

弗雷德里克医生说:“因为新冠疫情而去世的人数确实惊人。但感染流感的患者人数大幅减少,因为我们应对疫情的许多措施对流感产生了间接影响。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

新冠疫情对全球健康产生的影响,远比疫情导致的住院和死亡人数更加严重。事实证明,在疫情期间,许多人放弃了常规医学筛查或者体重增加。

这种情况造成的结果就是一场不为人知的健康危机。

错过医学筛查意味着许多人的癌症诊断被延误——假如他们知道自己的病情。这么做的结果导致他们要接受更复杂的治疗,面临更大的感染风险,存活率也被降低。

与此同时,许多人因为疫情期间的压力和封锁而无法健身,因此体重增加。在美国心理学会(American Psychological Association)一项自我报告的研究中,40%的受访者表示在疫情期间增加的体重超出预期,平均增加了29磅。当然,肥胖症会增加人们患糖尿病和高血压的风险,这可能造成严重的长期健康问题。

急诊科医生、乔治华盛顿大学(George Washington University)健康政策与管理客座教授温麟衍(Leana Wen)表示,更糟糕的是,在疫情期间因为过量用药而死亡的人数增加,儿童免疫接种的比例“大幅下降”,儿童铅中毒的筛查率也急剧减少。医疗行业尤其是许多公共卫生设施早在疫情之前就已经面临压力,新冠疫情让它们彻底不堪重负,无法采取预防措施。

在《财富》健康头脑风暴大会于上周举办的在线研讨会上,温麟衍称:“整整一年,我们都在把医疗资源向其他方面倾斜。这并不像是一场飓风袭击一个地区,在几天或几周之后就能够恢复,这次可是持续了整整一年。”

医生们表示,补救措施是医疗保健行业应该努力鼓励人们接受测试或检测。例如,牙医可以对患者进行糖尿病和高血压检查,无论这些检查与洗牙或补牙是否完全无关。

霍华德大学(Howard University)校长、查尔斯·R·德鲁外科教授韦恩·弗雷德里克医生表示:“实际上,我们会查看患者名单,联系患有糖尿病或高血压或者有家族病史的患者,鼓励他们接受筛查。”

不过令人高兴的一点是,疫情使多个健康领域有所改善。或许最明显的是社交隔离、戴口罩和勤洗手等措施让流感患者人数大幅减少。

弗雷德里克医生说:“因为新冠疫情而去世的人数确实惊人。但感染流感的患者人数大幅减少,因为我们应对疫情的许多措施对流感产生了间接影响。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

COVID had a far greater impact on global health than the numbers of total hospitalizations and deaths may suggest. Many people, it turns out, have avoided routine medical screenings or gained weight during the pandemic.

The result: a hidden health crisis.

Missed screenings mean that some people are diagnosed with cancer later than they otherwise would have been—if they even know at all. As a consequence, their treatment is more complicated, the risk of infection greater, and their chance of survival is reduced.

Meanwhile, many people gained weight because of stress during the pandemic and lockdowns that made it difficult to exercise. In a self-reported study by the American Psychological Association, 40% of individuals said they had gained more weight during the pandemic than they had intended, with an average increase of 29 pounds. Obesity, of course, puts people at greater risk of diabetes and hypertension, which can cause serious long-term health problems.

To make matters worse, overdose deaths climbed during the pandemic, child immunizations “fell off a cliff,” and child lead poisoning screenings have declined precipitously, according to Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at George Washington University. In many cases, the health care industry, and particularly public health facilities that were under strain even before the pandemic, have been pushed to the brink by COVID and are unable to be proactive.

“We’ve been diverting resources elsewhere for a year,” Wen said last week during an online panel for Fortune Brainstorm Health. “It’s not like there’s a hurricane, and it strikes a region for a few days or weeks, and then you recover—this is a year.”

The remedy, doctors said, is an effort throughout the health care industry to encourage people to be tested or treated. A dentist, for example, could screen patients for diabetes and high-blood pressure—never mind that such tests are totally unrelated to cleaning teeth or filling cavities.

“We’re actually going through our patient list and calling anybody with diabetes or hypertension, anybody with a family history, and encouraging them to be screened,” said Dr. Wayne Frederick, president and Charles R. Drew professor of surgery at Howard University.

On the bright side, the pandemic has improved the situation in a few areas of health. Perhaps none is more obvious than the number of people who catch the flu, which has dropped significantly because of social distancing, masks, and increased hand washing.

“So yes, we have lost people to coronavirus at an alarming number,” said Dr. Frederick. “But flu infections are down significantly because some of the practices we’ve had to institute for the pandemic have had a secondary impact on the flu.”

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