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MONDAY, Nov. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Walking away from TV, laptops and cellphones and spending more time in sports and other extracurricular activities boosts teens' mental health, Canadian researchers say.Spending less than two hours a day browsing the internet, playing video games and using social media was linked to increased levels of life satisfaction and optimism and lower levels of anxiety and depression, especially among girls, the study found."Although we conducted this study before the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings are especially relevant now when teens may be spending more time in front of screens in their free time if access to extracurricular activities, like sports and arts programs, is restricted due to COVID-19," said lead author Eva Oberle, an assistant professor...

MONDAY, Nov. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Most people with the new coronavirus appear to actively shed infectious virus for about eight days. But a woman in Kirkland, Wash., may have set a record, shedding the virus for at least 70 days.The 71-year-old was infected for at least 105 days overall, but had no symptoms, according to a new report.This unusual case involved a woman with leukemia and a low antibody count who was infected early in the pandemic. The case study was published Nov. 4 in the journal Cell.As far as he knows, this is the longest case of a person being infected with the new coronavirus and having no symptoms, said senior author Vincent Munster, a virologist at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases."At the time we started this study, we really...

MONDAY, Nov. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) live longer than they used to, but still die at a younger age than those without the condition, a new study out of Canada finds.IBD includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. People with IBD often have inflammation beyond the intestinal tract. They have an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, arthritis and other conditions, the researchers noted.For the new study, the investigators analyzed data on nearly 33,000 people living with IBD in 1996 — a pool that grew to nearly 84,000 by 2011. Those people were compared to more than 163,000 without IBD in 1996 and more than 418,000 in 2011.Between 1996 and 2011, average life expectancy for women with IBD rose nearly three years (from 75.5 to 78.4...

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Virtual gatherings are the best choice for family get-togethers this holiday season, an expert says.That's the safest approach during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for older loved ones and those with underlying conditions, according to Dr. Glenn Buchberger, an internist and pediatrician at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa."We just have to think that being apart is a loving, caring decision we make," he said in a hospital news release.If families are willing to accept some risk and really want to be together, the best approach is a strict 14-day quarantine ahead of the gathering, Buchberger said.People who haven't quarantined shouldn't attend, especially if there's a large group.People who are traveling should...