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WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Early findings involving cancer patients from Wuhan, China -- the original epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic -- suggest that many contracted the coronavirus while undergoing treatment in the hospital. That could mean that this vulnerable population might need to discuss delaying cancer care to help minimize their odds of infection, the study authors said. "We propose that aggressive measures be undertaken to reduce frequency of hospital visits of patients with cancer during a viral epidemic going forward," wrote a team led by Dr. Conghua Xie, of the department of radiation and medical oncology at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. The research, which focused on 12 cancer patients treated at the hospital in January and February, was...

WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts are all on the rise among U.S. teens, a new study finds. "We aren't sure why this is occurring, but it is clear from this evidence and other epidemiological studies that anxiety, depression and other internalizing problems are becoming more prevalent among adolescents relative to other types of mental health problems," study author Dr. Ramin Mojtabai, a professor in Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Mental Health, said in a Hopkins news release. The researchers also found there's been a significant rise in the rates of teen girls seeking mental health care and their use of outpatient mental health services. The researchers analyzed data on more than 230,000...

WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Coronavirus has sent the anxiety levels of Americans soaring, a new online poll shows. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that 48% of respondents were anxious about the possibility of getting the coronavirus, 40% were anxious about becoming seriously ill or dying from coronavirus, and 62% were anxious about the possibility of family and loved ones getting COVID-19. More than one-third (36%) said the coronavirus is having a serious effect on their mental health, and 59% said coronavirus is having a serious impact on their day-to-day lives. Most (57%) said they're concerned that the coronavirus will seriously harm their finances, and almost half said they're worried about running out of...

WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers and vapers who get COVID-19 can probably expect a more severe infection, health experts warn. Many advisories have focused on the risk facing older people, those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, and people with compromised immune systems, such as cancer patients. But doctors also caution that users of electronic cigarettes and tobacco are more in danger from the new coronavirus than the average healthy person. If you vape, "you're going to make lungs more vulnerable to severe infection," said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, an American Lung Association spokesman who is also director of the tobacco treatment clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore. Vaping introduces toxic chemicals that harm lung cells and change their...