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Introduction: Reports in adults indicate that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and vaccination trigger the expression of autoimmune disease such as Graves' disease, but the incidence of new onset Graves' disease and its temporal relationship to the peaks of COVID-19 cases in children are unclear. Methods: This is a retrospective study of children and adolescents with new-onset Graves' disease diagnosed between September 2017 and August 2022, N=156, mean age of 12.5 ± 4 year (y), with a range of 2.9-17.9y. There were 119 female (76.3%) and 37 male (23.7%) subjects. Subjects were categorized into 2 groups: pre-COVID-19 era Graves' disease (n=63, age 12.5 ± 3.3y), and COVID-19 era Graves' disease (n=93, age 12.4 ± 4.4y). We calculated incidence rate based on new cases of Graves' disease and total number of new patient referrals to our endocrine clinic. We first compared the demographic, clinical and biochemical data between the above 2 groups; and also, between subjects with either a history of COVID-19 infection (n=23) or vaccination (n=17) to a control group (n=63). Results: The incidence of Graves' disease was significantly higher during the pandemic: pre-COVID-19 versus the COVID-19 era, n=55, 0.56% vs n=93, 0.9%, p=0.005, after accounting for the total number of annual new patient referrals during the study period. The rise in the cases of Graves' disease followed the spikes in the number of cases of COVID-19 in NY. There was also a statistically significant difference in the race distribution between the pre-COVID-19 and the COVID-19 era (p=0.026). Discussion: The incidence of Graves' disease increased significantly in children living in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporal relationship between the peaks of COVID-19 cases and the increased cases of new onset Graves' disease suggest possible autoimmune triggering by SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the association between low levels of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and aspirin unresponsiveness in patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD). A retrospective study was conducted on subjects with AERD who underwent immune evaluation and received aspirin therapy after desensitization (ATAD). Among the study subjects, those who did not respond to ATAD had significantly lower MBL levels compared to responders. The authors suggest that MBL deficiency may contribute to the complexity and heterogeneity of AERD and affect the response to ATAD. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore other factors that may influence aspirin responsiveness in AERD patients. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with increased difficulties in emotional wellbeing among healthcare workers. The current investigation assesses how changes in depression and anxiety symptoms fluctuate relative to resilience across three time points: baseline, one-year, and two-year follow up among a cohort of physicians and nurses (N = 728)., Methods: Generalized linear mixed modeling for repeated measures was used to assess the association between resilience and mental health symptoms using validated measures for all variables., Results: The odds of probable anxiety were reduced by 81% for each one-unit increase in resilience ( OR = 0.19, 95% CI [0.14, 0.26]). The odds of probable depression were reduced by 88% for each one-unit increase in BRS ( OR = 0.12, 95% CI [0.07, 0.2])., Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of developing and implementing interventions that foster resilience among healthcare workers., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared. Funding source: None to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.)