For many people, an allergy to a particular food or substance is something they’ve learned to deal with throughout their lives. Whether it’s nothing more than the relatively mild seasonal allergies that cause the sniffles or a more life-threatening one, sufferers have generally found ways to manage their condition and not let it hold them back from living their lives to the fullest.

But that doesn’t mean that allergies aren’t annoying, or outright dangerous.

While the severity of these allergies can vary from person to person, trying to avoid all contact with known allergens can still be a considerable problem to the sufferer. Between trying to navigate meals out with friends, to well-meaning but ultimately ignorant people serving them foods with these potentially-lethal ingredients in them, trying to stay safe can undoubtedly become both stressful and anxiety-inducing. 

But all this could be about to end. According to a new study published in the January 2022 edition of The Lancet, individuals with a peanut allergy can possibly outgrow them later in life, provided they engage in carefully regimented exposure therapy at a young age.

What Causes Allergies?

For millions of people across the globe, some of the most commonly consumed foods we eat are staples in their diets. Certain foodstuffs such as dairy, soy, wheat, and peanuts not only provide us with essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals, but they can also help us remain healthy and strong through complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and complete protein sources they offer. 

Yet to those allergic to any of these foods, it can quickly spell danger in the form of urticaria (hives), shortness of breath and wheezing, and even anaphylaxis. While rare, this could quickly become lethal, especially if the allergic individual does not have epinephrine (also known as an “epi-pen”) on hand to treat the reaction. But what causes these reactions in the affected percent of the population with allergies?

In brief, allergies are an immune response gone out of hand. When the body believes it has been given something harmful, it ramps up its production of a particular antibody called “immunoglobulin E” (IgE) to combat it. In turn, this leads to the symptoms of an allergic reaction. Scientists aren’t quite sure just yet what causes the body to react this way, but it is largely believed to be genetic, with eczema and asthma being closely related comorbidities.

Curiously, allergies have been on the rise in recent years, and one hypothesis maintains that our more sanitary lifestyles have contributed to it. While cleanliness is certainly not bad in and of itself, it could possibly be contributing to the growing number of allergic individuals. Scientists believe that exposure to germs at a young age can help build our immune systems, and excessive hygiene is proving to be detrimental in this regard. Another possibility, especially related to pollen allergies, is that we’ve been cultivating more plants that can produce allergies — and focusing on the wrong plant sex as well.

Another puzzling cause of one type of allergy has been traced back to tick bites and Lyme disease, which have been shown to cause a serious reaction to red meat (called alpha-gal syndrome, or AGS). For those who suspect they may have contracted this disease, taking an at-home Lyme disease test can help determine possible exposure to this allergen-inducing infection.

How Immunotherapy Can Help

Though it does bear a considerable risk to the allergic individual, exposure therapy – or immunotherapy – has shown remarkable promise in preventing peanut allergies when introduced at a young age. Researchers have discovered that the sooner a child is exposed to peanuts, the better their likelihood of avoiding a more serious reaction later in life can be.

The study, known as the IMPACT trial, enlisted 150 children between the ages of one and three years old. During the thirty-week period, the participants were given a trace amount of peanut protein powder, which was designed to help build up their tolerance to peanuts. It’s important to note that only subjects who had a reaction at a half gram of peanut protein powder were permitted to enroll in the study.

Over the duration of the study, the researchers steadily titrated up the amount of peanut flour served to the participants, until they reached the maximum dose of five grams. The subjects were then told to avoid all peanut products for a period of six months, at which point they were fed another five-gram serving of peanut protein. Any participant who did not have a reaction was offered another eight grams on a different day.

The results of the study showed that following the treatment, nearly 75 percent of the subjects were able to ingest an average of sixteen peanuts in total. A staggering 71 percent of the children became desensitized to peanuts, compared to just 2 percent in the control group. This tolerance was maintained in nearly 20 percent of the participants six months after therapy was stopped.

Is a Cure On the Horizon?

It’s important to note that this study did have its limitations and should be taken with a grain of salt. For instance, participants who had the best prognosis of overcoming their allergy were the ones who had a more mild form of it, as well as those who started their treatment at a younger age. Despite this, though, it does show a considerable amount of promise that a cure for allergies can be forthcoming.

Furthermore, the definition of remission was also fairly specific. To be considered a successful outcome, the participant needed to be able to ingest a mere 5 grams (or the equivalent of about one and a half tablespoons of actual peanut butter) of peanut powder without a reaction. It is also unclear if the participants will remain allergy-free throughout their lifetimes, as well, as the study ended in 2015.

Until now, people with allergies simply had to find ways to manage them, and all existing medications are only meant to minimize the severity of the reaction. If researchers can find a way to completely eradicate a peanut allergy in a person, what other allergies can be cured? The ability to provide affordable, mass-produced, and nutrient-dense foods to those in need – without the fear of an allergic reaction – can be revolutionary.

At this point, it’s best to remain cautiously optimistic. Not all participants were able to experience complete remission from their allergies, which means that relapse is a very real possibility. And with many allergic reactions becoming more severe after repeated exposure, self-treating is generally not advised. However, the prospect is undoubtedly exciting, as is the idea of a life without allergies for those who suffer from them.

The origins food traceability date back to 1930s France, when champagne sellers wanted to prove that grapes from a bottle of French champagne were indeed from the Champagne region of France. The practice expanded to other high-end foods, and in more recent years, to more common types of food as well.

In today’s market, food traceability is more complex, as food manufacturing and transportation have also become more complex. Keeping track of the food products in every step in the process, from production to the hands of consumers, involves a lot of actors.

For businesses, this is important because of strict regulatory requirements for consumer safety. For consumers, it’s becoming more and more important due to ethical and sustainable reasons — people want to know where their food comes from and are pushing companies in this direction.

Tracing food

Traceability has two integral components, tracing and tracking:

• Tracing:

This offers a transparent picture of the product’s history by providing the journey of each food product throughout the supply chain. It includes the farms where the ingredients were grown, the places set up for combining those ingredients, and how and where the finished products were stored.

• Tracking:

Tracking allows accurate identification of a product’s journey after leaving the manufacturer to the destination point, like restaurants, supermarkets or directly to the consumers.

No matter what process is used for tracing and tracking, you need a robust and reliable way to track the food’s journey from farm to shop. Nowadays, this is typically done with specialized logistics software.

Especially because we live in such a globalized world, tracking food is not easy. With many requirements and steps in the process (like real-time tracking, trace functions, monitor purposes, inventory, etc), it can be tempting to simply not bother with it. However, traceability is vital for a couple of reasons.

For starters, averting foodborne diseases. Ingredients and food products are sourced from all around the world. With this increased exposure to food profiles from all around the world, traceability will help to prevent outbreaks of lethal pathogens such as listeria and E. coli. Knowing where ingredients for a particular batch came from can be extremely helpful in recalling damaged or diseases products.

Food traceability can also help implement ethical and sustainable standards. Consumers are more demanding of traceability, expressing a preference for products that are both sustainable and organic. It can also help avoid malpractices, risk of contamination and terrorism threatening food supplies.

Essentially, to be able to thrive in today’s market, companies need to proactively take steps to keep up with the never-ending demands. The important steps for this are:

• Knowing the Regulations:

A business should be well acquainted with the rules given by the governing bodies (for instance, the Food Safety Modernization Act in the US), to avoid fines and other problems.

• Checking the Equipment and Software:

Every piece of equipment should be inspected regularly to confirm if they need a repair or replacement to ensure efficient operations. Inspecting software for bugs or potential issues should also be done regularly.

• Understanding the Sector:

There are sector-specific issues that require specific knowledge. Being aware of this knowledge is important for every manufacturer, and it’s important to also keep in mind that standards, practices, and preferences are constantly changing.

• Educating where necessary:

Providing education to employees, suppliers, and distributors if necessary is important to ensure implementation of traceability.

Food traceability is an important aspect both for businesses and for consumers. When properly done, it can increase visibility and control over the entire supply chain, and help minimize risks from contamination. It can also help ensure better standards for all workers involved and help consumers make more responsible choices.

Birth control does more than just what the name implies. In addition to preventing pregnancy, hormonal birth control can help with a variety of health issues. Here we’ll dive into the main types of hormone-based birth control and why it can be used for more than pregnancy prevention — however, please keep in mind to always consult a doctor before deciding on any form of hormonal birth control.

Hormonal Birth Control 101

The main purpose of hormonal birth control is, obviously, to prevent pregnancies. It can do this by:

• Preventing ovulation or reducing the incidence of it;
• Causing cervical mucus to thicken, which prevents sperm from entering the uterus;
• Thinning the uterine lining so an egg will be less likely to attach successfully.

The exact means by which pregnancy is prevented depends on the type of birth control you select. There are a few different types of hormonal birth control on the market that you’ll want to consider.

• The Birth Control Pill

The grandmother of them all, the pill needs to be taken daily; ideally at the same time each day. The pill pack typically includes four weeks of pills, and it requires a prescription from a health care provider. Fortunately, getting that prescription is easier than ever with the availability of online birth control.

• The Vaginal Ring

Another type of hormone-based birth control available to women is the ring. This small piece of flexible plastic is inserted into the vagina near the cervix. Like the birth control pill, the ring releases estrogen and progestin into the body. This prevents an egg from being released from the ovaries.

You don’t need to see a provider to use the vaginal ring; you can insert it by yourself — though consulting a doctor never hurts. The ring stays in place for three weeks. On the fourth week, you remove it so you can have a regular period cycle. You’re still protected from pregnancy even when the ring is removed for those seven days.

• The Shot

The birth control shot prevents pregnancy by stopping ovulation from occurring. The shot contains the hormone progestin, which is a synthetic version of the progesterone naturally found in the body. The shot is given every 12 to 13 weeks, either in the upper arm or a buttock. You can inject yourself, or your primary care provider can also administer the shot.

What Hormonal Birth Control Can Do Besides Prevent Pregnancy

Now that we’ve gone through the three of the main types of hormonal birth control available, let’s turn our attention to reasons why you may want to consider birth control beyond pregnancy prevention.

• It Regulate Cycles

For many women, periods arrive more or less like clockwork. For 9%-14% of women, though, periods are irregular and unpredictable. Most of these unlucky women will likely agree that one of the worst parts of having their period is not knowing when it will come. This feeling of uncertainty can trigger fear and anxiety.

Hormonal birth control can help regulate the menstrual cycle to every 28 days. Birth control pills are the easiest way to see when your period is coming. The pill pack generally contains three weeks of active hormones and one placebo week. Your body will menstruate during the inactive placebo week, or week four.

• It Can Lighten Heavy Periods

In addition to regulating periods, birth control can also help reduce menstrual flow. For those who have heavy periods and/or debilitating cramps, hormonal birth control can be a godsend. Estrogen in birth control can promote thickening of the blood and clotting. This can decrease the menstrual flow, leading to lighter — and sometimes shorter — periods.

For this reason, women who are prone to anemia can also benefit from taking birth control. Anemia occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough healthy red blood cells to provide oxygen to the body’s tissues. Anemia can lead to dizziness, headaches, and fatigue. The main cause is low levels of iron in the body. When a woman heavily bleeds each month, she is losing necessary iron from her body.

• It Can Help Alleviate Acne

Many women who choose to go on birth control during their teenage years do so because they are suffering from hormonal acne. Acne, whether mild or severe, is caused by an increase in androgens. These hormones, which are found in both men and women, cause glands to produce oil.

Hormonal birth control can help reduce the amount of oil produced, thereby decreasing the probability that acne will occur. While birth control alone likely won’t prevent all breakouts, it can be a useful partner to scrupulous hygiene practices. The combination of androgen-suppressing hormones and a diligent skincare routine can help keep acne under control.

• It Can Reduce the Risk of Some Cancers

One of the long-term effects of birth control is a reduced risk of some cancers. Observational research studies show that oral contraceptives can decrease the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancers by 30% or more. The chance of contracting endometrial cancer is lowered because hormonal birth control suppresses endometrial proliferation. The risk of ovarian cancer is less because it reduces the number of ovulation cycles.

However, it’s important to note that a decreased risk of some potential cancers is not sufficient reason to take hormonal birth control. After all, there are others (e.g., breast cancer) for which oral contraceptives can slightly increase a woman’s risk. Talk to your doctor about your family history if you are concerned about developing specific types of cancer found in women.

• It Can Relieve PMS Symptoms

Craving chocolate? Feeling moody? These are two common, well-known symptoms of premenstrual syndrome or PMS. PMS occurs between ovulation and the onset of your period. Women can experience a variety of other symptoms during PMS, including bloating, headaches, and cramps.

Some women can relieve their symptoms by natural means, such as drinking herbal teas, getting more exercise and sleep, and eating nourishing foods. However, if you have severe PMS or the more acute premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), you may consider birth control. Birth control affects every woman differently, so if one method doesn’t relieve your specific PMS symptoms, try another.

Deciding to take hormonal birth control is a personal matter. In addition to preventing pregnancies, it may help with other conditions. Always talk to your healthcare provider before going on birth control to ensure you’re making the best-informed choice for your health.

Without eating, humans may never have entered the scientific age. Meat turbocharged the evolution of our ancestors’ brains, and those brains eventually discovered Newton’s laws, general relativity, and quantum physics. But as it turns out, meat is a double-edged sword.

A big part of the environmental damage mankind is causing now circles back to the food we eat – in particular, meat. For most of our 200,000-year-or-so existence, humankind struggled with malnutrition. Now, although malnutrition is still a challenge, we live in a world where the obese outnumber the undernourished. Fast emerging economies such as the People’s Republic of China and India have successfully pulled many millions out of dire poverty, and better nutrition was and is a major part of that process. Better nutrition, however, generally correlates with increased consumption of animal protein. Healthier populations are a win, but the concurrent rise in demand for meat –and what that means for the planet – has almost made such victories pyrrhic due to all the environmental damage they cause.

Our current meat consumption trajectory is clearly unsustainable but what’s also clear is that the vast majority of people aren’t interested in meat alternatives. In a few places, vegetarians or vegans make up a decent minority, but this is not the case in most of the world. Even among those who care about the environmental, health, and moral issues associated with meat consumption, many are not ready to abjure it completely.

Over the last decade or so, plant-based meat substitutes have become big business as a kind of transitional option. Most major fast-food chains are already selling plant-based burgers that have been carefully designed to mimic the “real thing.” But they often don’t really hit the spot. A new concept, however, is challenging all the fancy faux meat substitutes.

3D-printed meat

“Alternative meat” is a term being used for 3D printed steak, ground beef, kebabs, and more. Yes, it is what it sounds like — it’s real meat, obtained through cloning, without killing animals and with a potentially lower environmental impact. Companies are using special 3D printers with proprietary formulas that use 100% natural ingredients to print ‘meat.’ This sounds like something from Star Trek but the impressive tech is very much a reality that’s fast-improving. The people behind “alt-meat” say they aren’t interested in converting people to veganism; in fact, 3D printed meat is an idea concocted by and for serious meat lovers. Many of the products were made in consultation with butchers, chefs, and blind tasters… all devoted to re-creating “meat.” 

3D printing is all about layers. The machine puts down layer after layer of whatever ingredient until the desired item appears. When one considers the consistency of meats from fish to beef, it becomes clear why layers could make a difference. If layers are possible, then you can have a layer of “alternative muscle,” and then a layer of “alternative fat.” Real meat isn’t all the same texture or taste, and with 3D printing, we might be able to get “veggie meat” to something darn near close to authentic “meatiness.” The science behind 3D printed meat is certainly high-tech but it isn’t as futuristic – or some might argue as unrealistic – like the idea of mass-producing cultured meat grown in-vitro in a lab.

Obviously, some vegetarians or vegans will be happy with “alt meat” but they’re not the target demographic for any company looking to offer up a real alternative to the modern unsustainable meat market – and looking to make any serious money.

According to WorldAtlas, India has the highest percentage of vegetarians of any country on earth – but while impressive, it’s still only 38 percent of India’s 1.366 billion people. Companies that are printing meat hope to provide genuine alternatives for billions of people who want to eat meat.

To get there, new players in the ‘meat substitute’ industry are evolving a new mindset to go along with new products. Yes, they argue, we want to save the earth, but priority one is delivering something delicious. They’re also doing away with even subtle guilt trips. Their ad campaigns are direct: “Of course you like meat! It’s great! We love meat, too! And here’s our best attempt to recreate it!” Already on sale in some select Israeli eateries, “alt-meat” made by 3D printing should be relatively commonplace in a few years. –But does it really taste like meat?

So far, the reports are promising. In one reported blind food taste test in Israel, those who tried “new meat,” gave it a ‘meatiness’ score of 90 percent or more. –That’s a pretty awesome score. By focusing on the taste, texture, smell, and look of meat, 3D printed “alt-meat” avoids any association with radicals. Instead, they want meat-lovers to love their products. The hope is that one day soon it won’t be “I don’t mind this.” Instead, knowing it’s likely a healthier choice, tastes awesome, is better for the planet, and perhaps soon, is cheaper than animal meat –you will want it. If a majority of people find a 3D printed meat substitute to be 90 percent or more of what they expect from real meat, the potential for financial profit is massive. At the same time, the potential for making a real difference for the planet’s future is immense.

The UN’s latest climate change report doesn’t contain much good news. The math of meat unsustainability isn’t going away… but neither is the fact that a lot of people want to eat meat. Maybe 3D printed meat is a solution that lets us have our cake and eat it, too.

I feel, therefore I buy. Marketers have been aware of the connection between emotional drivers and purchasing decisions for many years now, and they haven’t hesitated to use these emotional drivers to create marketing experiences — in other words, to get you to buy things. While in classic economic theory, consumers are described as rational individuals who decide whether or not to buy a product based on objective factors such as price and utility, recent research points out that most of our purchasing decisions are much less rational than we believe and much more emotional.

In his book, ‘How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market,’ Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman suggested that up to 95% of the purchasing decisions we make are driven by the subconscious mind, and good marketers leverage this to create deeper emotional connections with their audience.

We’ve seen examples of this across all marketing channels: luxury brands play on the idea of exclusivity to appeal to our feelings of self-worth, telecom companies tap into our desire for social connections to sell cell phone plans, and insurance companies have more than once gone viral for their mobilization of emotions in advertising. But then along came the pandemic, which, apart from changing our approach to health, wellness, work, and family, also impacted deeply-rooted purchasing behaviors. For brands and marketers, understanding these changes has become crucial, which is where neuromarketing comes in.

Although the concept of neuromarketing isn’t exactly new (the term was coined in 2011 by Christophe Morin), it has now become more relevant than ever, and in the context of the pandemic, it’s an essential tool for understanding three things:

• Why COVID-19 has changed consumer behavior;
• What are the new psychological characteristics of the post-pandemic shopper;
• What brands and marketers can do to appeal to this new shopper.

Neuromarketing and the post-pandemic landscape

As the name suggests, neuromarketing is a combination between neuroscience and marketing. It’s a newer branch of the advertising industry and aims to understand the neurocognitive principles that influence the way consumers react to marketing. Neuromarketing is an interdisciplinary study that also uses insights from social psychology and behavioral economics, and the methods used to research it continue to evolve.

Although it’s easy to dismiss neuromarketing as just fluff science, or at most a tool for figuring out the right color combinations to use on a website or what key phrases to use in an ad, its insights are useful and can go much deeper — they delve into the depths of human behavior, and why some stimuli appeal to us more than others. For example, an MIT neuromarketing study found that paying with a credit card activates the brain’s reward system and releases dopamine, which makes us want to spend more.

Generally, neuromarketing studies have people interact with various stimuli, such as colors, text, and sounds, and interpret biometric measurements such as eye movements, response time, and heart rate with technologies like EEG, MEG, and fMRI.

For brands, figuring out what drove consumer purchases could be a tough puzzle to crack, even before the pandemic. Now, it’s even more difficult because COVID-19 affected many areas of our lives and changed old purchasing behavior. Every brand hoping to stay relevant should collaborate with a leading company supplying market research to find out how its target consumers have changed and what are the new values that appeal to them.

How has consumer psychology changed after the pandemic?

Empty supermarket aisles, panic buying, a sudden interest in homemade recipes – these were just a few of the trends that started with the onset of the pandemic and, although it can be easy to dismiss them as some of the many weird things that happened in 2020, neuromarketing experts point out that they aren’t just trends. Some are linked to psychological changes that could define the market for a while now.

For example, a new study conducted at the University of Adelaide, Australia, in June and December 2020, identified four key traits of the post-pandemic consumer:  

• Risk aversion. 24% of respondents said they did resort to panic buying for fear that they would run out of essentials such as toilet paper. This tendency was more common among parents, and scientists assume this happens because the pandemic has lowered consumers’ tolerance for risk and made them plan more in advance.
• Interest in the country of origin. 46% of consumers said that, for safety reasons, they cared more about the product’s country of origin; as a result, products that were advertised as ‘made in Australia’ flew faster off the shelves. Similar findings were published by American researchers from the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences: ‘made in the USA’ claims on the packaging increase demand and drives online auction prices up.
• Higher focus on health and wellness. According to the Australian study, there was a 45% increase in home-cooked meals, a 33% increase in fruits and vegetable consumption, and a 60% increase in plant-based protein sales.
• Sustainability. People are going to the supermarket less often and, when they do, they look for sustainable options.

In addition to these four factors, a study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology advocates for the role of neuromarketing as an emotional connection tool between organizations and audiences in social networks. While many brands have managed to align themselves with the new purchasing values of the post-pandemic shopper, others have continued to rely on the old ways, which led to insensitive, irrelevant, or tone-deaf marketing messages.

The pandemic has changed the world in more ways than we probably envision at this point. Some of these changes will revert to the “normal” baseline. But some are here to stay, and they may shape society for a long time to come. We’d be wise to pay attention.

Ask almost anyone on the globe and they’ll tell you that the past year and a half has been less than ideal. The isolation, the uncertainty, and the time spent without the usual routines have been challenging and took a toll on all of us. Kids have been hit especially hard during the pandemic, and the mental health issues that they are faced with are too often left out of the spotlight.

There are 2.2 billion people under 18 in the world, around 28% of the world’s population. Teenagers (10-year-olds to 19-year-olds) make up 16% of the world’s population. With social distancing and school closures, isolation has become a major component of our day-to-day life. As necessary as the response was for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has come at a high cost.

While school-age children may have experienced short closures in the past, the amount of time many schools closed their doors during 2020 and into 2021 was unprecedented for them. The resulting lack of regular routine and social interaction can help explain why many are experiencing, or have experienced, increased stress, anxiety, and feelings of helplessness.

The impact of the pandemic, lockdowns, and school closures on children will depend on a range of factors:

• Educational status;
• Developmental age;
• Whether they have special needs;
• Economic security (or lack thereof);
• If they’ve had a parent quarantined due to exposure or illness.

If you’re worried about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on your children’s mental health, a good first step is to speak to a doctor, and potentially get a referral for a mental health practitioner. Even if your child isn’t showing any clear signs of distress, it’s better to ensure that everything is alright.

If you don’t have a primary doctor, a good first step is to find a family medicine physician to be prepared if and when you need to contact someone.

Research findings on the pandemic’s impact

The following are some of the results of studies that have looked at the impact of the pandemic on children.

Research on loneliness has a bearing on the situation. A review of 63 studies with more than 50,000 participants found that loneliness and social isolation increased the risk of depression up to nine years later. That research suggested that duration, rather than intensity, was the most important issue, which means that the fallout of school closures and social distancing could be marked. So keep in mind, any effects the pandemic has had on children is unlikely to simply go away — it may be a problem for years to come.

More directly related to the pandemic, there have been several studies that demonstrated a big impact. One recent questionnaire administered in China to over 3500 children and adolescents measured depression, anxiety, and coping style. Over 22% of respondents were depressed, higher than the estimated 13.2% that would have been expected in the country.

Anxiety was also higher than previously reported, especially among those who had a friend or family member who had contracted a case of COVID-19. Among coping styles, those with a “problem-focused” coping style fared better when it came to depression, while those with an “emotion-focused” style had a higher level of depressive symptoms.

A study in Italy and Spain looked at the emotional impact of the pandemic, with a focus on parents. This study asked parents of children from the ages of three to 18 to compare how their children were now, to how they were before being confined at home. 85.7% of parents reported a change in the behaviors and emotions of their children. The most frequent included:

• Problems with concentration;
• Boredom;
• Becoming irritable;
• Feelings of restlessness;
• Nervousness;
• Uneasiness;
• Loneliness;
• Worries.

Among parents, 75% reported feeling stressed about the situation in quarantine. That parental stress was associated with an increase in reports of emotional and behavioral changes in children. It is possible that some of this is also spilling to the children.

Another survey in China of more than 8000 middle and high school students asked participants to describe their anxiety and depressive symptoms during the pandemic. Depressive symptoms were reported in 43.7% of respondents, while 37.4% reported anxiety. There was an overlap of 31.3% reporting both.

Final thoughts

Research has demonstrated that COVID-19 has, and is, affecting children’s and adolescent’s mental health. Depression and anxiety are rising, and while additional research is required to understand the longer-term impacts, it’s not wrong to be concerned.

If you’re a parent, you should think about this when you’re discussing your children’s health with their doctors. A good clinician will be keeping an eye out, and may already be asking you and your child questions about how the pandemic has impacted them. For some, it could mark the onset of problems, or it could make existing mental health issues worse. For young people with depression and anxiety, being at home may actually help things temporarily, but it’s not a long-term solution, so be prepared to work with a clinician on how they can best adjust when returning to school.