Tuesday, May 6, 2025

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Too much screen time leads to tired and depressed children

Published 8 July 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Excessive screen time is associated with several negative health outcomes.

Children and teenagers who spend a lot of time behind screens are more likely to have poor sleep, negative body image and depression, according to a new report from the Swedish Public Health Agency and the Swedish Media Authority, together with Uppsala University and others. Surprisingly, computer games do not seem to have as negative an effect on health as previously thought.

The report Digital media and children’s and young people’s health – A knowledge compilation, commissioned by the government, summarizes the state of knowledge about children’s and young people’s use of digital media and how it may affect their health. It looked at recent research, survey data and also used focus groups with children, young people and parents.

The main finding is that screen time has a clear impact on sleep across all age groups. “There is a clear correlation between having a mobile phone in the bedroom, using the phone during the night and poorer sleep”, says Lina Eklund, senior lecturer at the Department of Informatics and Media, who is one of the researchers who advised the report.

– I believe in negotiating common rules for adults and children and protecting sleep, such as not having mobile phones in bedrooms. It’s not just that lack of sleep makes you tired. There are huge links between poor sleep and various risk factors, such as poorer development, increased risk of various diseases and so on, she said in a press release.

Playing with friends beneficial

The report also confirms that increased use of digital media can increase the risk of depression, and that social media in particular increases the risk of negative self-image, which can lead to an eating disorder. There are also some risk behaviors to watch out for, according to the researchers. For example, sitting and scrolling for long periods of time on different platforms can be a risk factor, while talking to friends is not.

The same is true for video games, which are often identified as harmful but for which there is little research.

– Most young people play with their friends or siblings, which is a positive thing. However, playing alone can be a risk factor. At the same time, high use of both social media and computer games is associated with depressive symptoms, says Eklund.

In September, the Swedish National Board of Health (Folkhälsomyndigheten) and the Swedish Media Authority (Mediemyndigheten) plan to develop new guidelines for screen use based on the report.

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After the shots – now the COVID vaccine is headed for the lungs

The criticized covid vaccinations

Published today 7:23
– By Editorial Staff
Initially, 350 participants are taking part in the clinical trials - but it is hoped that the vaccine will be tested on many more Canadians.

The COVID vaccine AeroVax is not to be injected – but inhaled according to a method that will be tested in Canada with government funding. This is despite previous vaccines being linked to millions of reported side effects and vaccine injuries, including heart muscle inflammation, blood clots, and sudden deaths.

At McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, researchers have launched a phase 2 study of a new COVID vaccine that is not administered by injection but is instead inhaled.

The vaccine, named ChAd-triCoV/Mac, will now be tested on 350 participants from across the country, with $8 million in government funding, and researchers say they hope the new vaccine will provide stronger protection against infection than previous injection-based vaccines.

While the current, needle-based COVID-19 vaccines have prevented a tremendous amount of death and hospitalization, they haven’t really changed a lot of people’s experience with getting recurrent infections, claims Fiona Smaill, professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and one of the study’s leaders.

We’re looking to change that by providing robust protection directly at the site of infection, she declares.

Targets three virus proteins

The new vaccine differs from previous COVID vaccines in several ways. In addition to being administered as an aerosol inhalation, it targets three different proteins in the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. According to the researchers, this should improve protection against any future variants of COVID.

When a vaccine is inhaled, the body’s immune system reacts differently than when it is injected, which McMasters claims is more effective in preventing the infection itself.

Results from preclinical studies, together with unpublished data from the phase 1 study, suggest that the inhaled vaccine elicits a stronger immune response than traditional injections because it targets the airways where the virus first enters the body.

For those already vaccinated – but not recently ill

AeroVax is intended for people who have already received at least three doses of an mRNA vaccine. To participate in the study, participants must not have had COVID-19 or been vaccinated in the three months prior to registration. Participants must be between 18 and 65 years of age, free of lung disease, and able to attend all on-site testing sessions.

The study includes 350 participants from across Canada. Two-thirds will receive the vaccine and one-third a placebo. None of the participants know which group they belong to, which the researchers say is crucial for an objective evaluation.

Randomization allows for objective comparison between those who received the vaccine and those who didn’t, which can tell us a lot about the level of protection the vaccine could provide and its side effects, Smaill continues.

“Ensures the safety of participants”

The study is led by researchers at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, and all development – from laboratory design to testing – is taking place in Canada.

Every medicine or vaccine that we use and trust today has at one point gone through similar clinical trials processes, says Matthew Miller, director of the institute and a member of the research team.

This is a highly regulated process with extensive oversight that ensures the safety of participants and will generate critical data to inform the next steps in development, he adds.

If the results are promising, the researchers plan to move on to a Phase 3 study with a larger group of participants – a step toward approval and market introduction.

Previous COVID vaccines were usually administered with a syringe. Photo: Canstockphoto

Millions of side effects

In this context, it is worth mentioning that since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines began, millions of side effects and vaccine injuries, including deaths, have been reported globally – ranging from fever and nerve damage to blood clots, heart muscle inflammation, and sudden death.

Young men have shown an increased risk of heart inflammation, which has led to certain vaccines being withdrawn or restricted in several countries, and many have come forward to testify about long-term vaccine injuries that affect their ability to work and their quality of life – but their stories have been silenced or dismissed by the healthcare system.

Critics argue that authorities and vaccine manufacturers prioritized rapid distribution over transparency and safety, and that the long-term effects are still very poorly understood.

The vaccine is also believed to have had virtually no effect on the spread of infection, and US health authorities were eventually forced to admit that vaccinated people could carry as much of the virus as unvaccinated people. In Sweden, too, healthcare providers concluded that the vaccine did not stop the spread of COVID-19.

Young Swedes consume too much sugar

Published 1 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff

70 percent of Swedish youth consume more sugar than recommended, according to a dissertation from the University of Gothenburg. Primarily, young people consume soda, candy, and pastries.

The thesis looked at how much free and added sugar Swedish young people consume, something that has not previously been studied to any great extent. Added sugar refers, for example, to sugar in soft drinks, candy, cakes, pastries and some breakfast cereals, while free sugar includes both added and natural sugar found in, for example, honey, syrup and juice.

Since there are guidelines for the intake of both added sugar, and since 2023 also for free sugar, it’s important to be able to follow up on how well these guidelines are adhered to, to have a basis for promoting public health through various health-promoting efforts, says Julia Wanselius, who wrote the thesis, in a press release.

The limits for the recommended maximum intake of sugar in Sweden are set in relation to the amount of calories consumed and then expressed in energy percent (E%). The intake of both added and free sugars is recommended to be limited to a maximum of ten energy percent, in other words, no more than ten percent of the calorie intake per day should be sugar. For an adult, this corresponds to approximately 50-75 grams of sugar per day.

Sugar linked to lower nutrient intake

The results show that only 30% of Swedish teenagers stay below the recommended maximum intake for sugar, which means that around 70% eat too much sugar.

The biggest sources of sugar are soft drinks, candy, cakes and pastries, which together account for about 70 percent of the added sugar that young people eat. The study also shows that a high intake of sugar is linked to a lower intake of important nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and whole grains.

One of the conclusions of the thesis is that the information around sugar intake would need to change to influence young people to eat less. Instead of focusing only on recommending less sugar, Wanselius suggests that the guidelines should instead focus on reducing the consumption of certain specific foods such as soft drinks and sweets.

Future of EU-wide PFAS ban remains unclear

Published 24 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
It is well known that PFAS chemicals are directly harmful to health - but a European ban may still be some time away.

France has recently introduced a ban on carcinogenic PFAS chemicals in all cosmetic products.

A similar ban is also being discussed at EU level but it is highly unclear when it might actually be introduced

France is described as the first country in the Union to completely ban PFAS in the beauty and fashion industry. Since February, make-up containing the chemicals cannot be imported or exported although some substances are still exempt from the new regulations.

– I saw the film Dark Water about a poisoning scandal in the US and realized pretty quickly that this is the same kind of scandal that is happening around PFAS in Europe, French influencer, documentary filmmaker and activist Camille Étienne, 26, told tabloid Aftonbladet.

Through her reporting, she was instrumental in pushing through a ban and says that she herself tested her blood and discovered that it contained the harmful chemicals.

– Some of them are classified as carcinogenic by the WHO’s cancer research institute. The tragedy is that there is no way to get rid of PFAS already in the body. This is the asbestos of our generation, she continues.

Accumulates in food and drinking water

It has long been known that PFAS can affect fertility, cause liver damage, several types of cancer, weakened immune systems, and high cholesterol – and major cosmetics producers have frequently been pointed out as major culprits driving the poisoning of citizens.

PFAS refers to a group of thousands of highly persistent industrial chemicals often called “forever chemicals” because they remain for a very long time in both the environment and the human body.

These substances can accumulate in drinking water and food, thereby reaching people even in very small doses. Due to their long-term effects, PFAS is seen as a serious environmental and public health issue, and even at the EU level, a comprehensive ban on PFAS in consumer products is now under discussion.

“Impossible to say”

Sweden, together with countries like Norway and Denmark, has been a driving force in the matter, which is now being analyzed by the EU Chemicals Agency and various committees. However, the bureaucratic processes are expected to take a very long time, and a total ban is unlikely to become reality anytime soon – if it ever does.

It’s impossible to say when a ban might be in place. First, all uses must be evaluated. Then a consultation follows on SEAC’s (Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis) draft opinion. After that, the opinions of RAC (Risk Assessment Committee) and SEAC, together with the proposal, are sent to the Commission, which in turn drafts amendments to the restriction annex in the REACH regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), says Jenny Ivarsson, strategic advisor at the Swedish Chemicals Agency.

This will then be discussed and voted on among the member states before a decision is reached, she continues.

The proposal was submitted as early as February 2023.

More young Swedes poisoning themselves with over-the-counter medications

Published 23 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Last year, the Swedish Poisons Information Center received almost 7000 calls about self-harm and suicide attempts.

Over the past decade, the number of calls to the Swedish Poisons Information Center (Giftinformationscentralen) about young people deliberately poisoning themselves has almost tripled and the most commonly used drug in suicide attempts is the painkiller paracetamol.

– Paracetamol is by far the most commonly used drug in suicide and self-harm, confirms Shahabeh Shokrolahi, a call-taker at the Swedish Poisons Information Center.

It’s not that paracetamol is necessarily more toxic than many other medicines it’s that it’s something that most families have in their homes, and it’s often kept in an easily accessible place.

– It is not paracetamol that is the problem, but the well-being of young people. If it hadn’t been paracetamol, it would surely have been something else, she argues in the state television SVT.

It should be noted that there has long been an awareness that Alvedon, Panodil and the like have often been used in suicide attempts and that several changes have therefore been introduced to make it more difficult for minors to obtain the drugs.

For example, the sale of paracetamol tablets in supermarkets was banned and young people were only allowed to buy one pack at a time yet poisonings have only increased.

“Could have been worse”

– If we hadn’t taken these measures, it could have been worse. We don’t know and we’ll never know, but it could have been that there would have been even more calls, speculates Shokrolahi.

Last year, the Swedish Poisons Information Center received almost 7,000 calls about self-harm and suicide attempts compared to 2,500 ten years earlier.

There is no clear answer as to why more and more young people are choosing to harm themselves in this way but it is noted that nine out of ten people surveyed keep painkillers in unlocked and easily accessible areas.

– Even if you don’t suspect that your teenager would resort to drugs in a crisis situation, your teenager’s friends or relatives might. That’s why it’s important that all medicines are locked up and the home is teen-proofed, concludes Shokrolahi.

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