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Brindisi G, Spalice A, Anania C, Bonci F, Gori A, Capponi M, Cinicola B, De Castro G, Martinelli I, Pulvirenti F, Matera L, Mancino E, Guido CA, Zicari AM. COVID-19, Anosmia, and Allergies: Is There a Relationship? A Pediatric Perspective. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11175019. [PMID: 36078947 PMCID: PMC9457095 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11175019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Between June and July 2020, we evaluated children and adolescents concerning post-infection surveillance after a COVID-19 positivity during the lockdown. We aimed to assess whether the anamnestic presence of allergies could correlate with the presence of SARS-CoV-2 symptoms, and in particular with anosmia. Material and methods: For each patient, we collected anamnestic data, the presence of allergies documented by performing skin prick tests, and COVID-19 symptoms. Then, if over six years of age, each patient underwent an active anterior rhinomanometry. Results: A total of 296 patients were enrolled, of whom 105 (35.4%) reported allergies. Considering COVID-19 symptoms, 74 subjects (25%) presented an asymptomatic form, 222 (75%) reported symptoms, and anosmia recurred in 60 subjects (27.03%). A statistically significant relationship was found between allergies and symptomatic COVID-19 (p = 0.042), allergies, and anosmia (p = 0.05), and allergies and anosmia in males (p = 0.007). Moreover, anosmic patients presented a higher body mass index, older age, and a longer COVID-19 duration with statistical significance (p = 0.001, 0.001, 0.006, respectively). Conclusions: Allergic subjects seem to develop symptomatic COVID-19 more frequently and allergies appear to be a protective factor from anosmia’s onset in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Brindisi
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-06-49979333
| | - Alberto Spalice
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Caterina Anania
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Flaminia Bonci
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandra Gori
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Capponi
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Bianca Cinicola
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanna De Castro
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Ivana Martinelli
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Federica Pulvirenti
- Primary Immune Deficiencies Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico Umberto I, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Matera
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Enrica Mancino
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Cristiana Alessia Guido
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Zicari
- Department of Mother-Child, Urological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Vulturar DM, Crivii CB, Orăsan OH, Palade E, Buzoianu AD, Zehan IG, Todea DA. Obesity Impact on SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Pros and Cons “Obesity Paradox”—A Systematic Review. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11133844. [PMID: 35807129 PMCID: PMC9267674 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11133844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: During the last years, the COVID-19 pandemic meets the pandemic generated by obesity, raising many questions regarding the outcomes of those with severe forms of infection. Methods: The present systematic review summarises and analyses the data providing evidence for or against the “obesity-paradox” in COVID-19 patients. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 23 studies were included. We also analysed the presumably underlying basic mechanisms. Results: The patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30–40 kg/m2 presented severe symptoms that led to intensive care unit (ICU) admission but not increased death rate. Those with a higher degree of obesity, with a BMI higher than 40 kg/m2, led to a rise in the death rate, particularly in young patients. Obesity was associated with a higher rate of ICU admission but was not determined as an independent predictor of increased mortality. In contrast, some studies suggest a strong association between obesity or morbid obesity and the risk of death. Conclusions: The existence of “obesity-paradox” cannot be stated; our study presents obesity as a critical risk factor in the evolution of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damiana-Maria Vulturar
- Department of Pneumology, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400332 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (D.-M.V.); (D.A.T.)
| | - Carmen-Bianca Crivii
- Morphological Sciences Department, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400000 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Correspondence:
| | - Olga Hilda Orăsan
- 5th Department Internal Medicine, 4th Medical Clinic, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Emanuel Palade
- Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400332 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Anca-Dana Buzoianu
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400337 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Iulia Georgiana Zehan
- Department of Cardiology, Heart Institute, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400001 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Doina Adina Todea
- Department of Pneumology, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400332 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (D.-M.V.); (D.A.T.)
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3
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Singh SK, Singh R. Cytokines and Chemokines in Cancer Cachexia and Its Long-Term Impact on COVID-19. Cells 2022; 11:cells11030579. [PMID: 35159388 PMCID: PMC8834385 DOI: 10.3390/cells11030579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer cachexia remains a serious public health concern worldwide, particularly as cancer rates rise. Treatment is endangered, and survival is reduced, because this illness is commonly misdiagnosed and undertreated. Although weight loss is the most evident sign of cachexia, there are other early metabolic and inflammatory changes that occur before the most obvious symptoms appear. Cachexia-related inflammation is induced by a combination of factors, one of which is the release of inflammation-promoting chemicals by the tumor. Today, more scientists are beginning to believe that the development of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) related cachexia is similar to cancer-related cachexia. It is worth noting that patients infected with COVID-19 have a significant inflammatory response and can develop cachexia. These correlations provide feasible reasons for the variance in the occurrence and severity of cachexia in human malignancies, therefore, specific therapeutic options for these individuals must be addressed based on disease types. In this review, we highlighted the role of key chemokines, cytokines, and clinical management in relation to cancer cachexia and its long-term impact on COVID-19 patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santosh Kumar Singh
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA;
| | - Rajesh Singh
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA;
- Cancer Health Equity Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-404-756-6661; Fax: +1-404-752-1179
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Meyer HJ, Wienke A, Surov A. Computed tomography-defined body composition as prognostic markers for unfavourable outcomes and in-hospital mortality in coronavirus disease 2019. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2022; 13:159-168. [PMID: 35018725 PMCID: PMC8818651 DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.12868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low skeletal muscle mass (LSMM) and visceral fat areas can be assessed by cross-sectional images. These parameters are associated with several clinically relevant factors in various disorders with predictive and prognostic implications. Our aim was to establish the effect of computed tomography (CT)-defined LSMM and fat areas on unfavourable outcomes and in-hospital mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients based on a large patient sample. METHODS MEDLINE library, Cochrane, and Scopus databases were screened for the associations between CT-defined LSMM as well as fat areas and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients up to September 2021. In total, six studies were suitable for the analysis and included into the present analysis. RESULTS The included studies comprised 1059 patients, 591 men (55.8%) and 468 women (44.2%), with a mean age of 60.1 years ranging from 48 to 66 years. The pooled prevalence of LSMM was 33.6%. The pooled odds ratio for the effect of LSMM on in-hospital mortality in univariate analysis was 5.84 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-31.83]. It was 2.73 (95% CI 0.54-13.70) in multivariate analysis. The pooled odds ratio of high visceral fat area on unfavourable outcome in univariate analysis was 2.65 (95% CI 1.57-4.47). CONCLUSIONS Computed tomography-defined LSMM and high visceral fat area have a relevant association with in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients and should be included as relevant prognostic biomarkers into clinical routine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans-Jonas Meyer
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Andreas Wienke
- Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Informatics, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Alexey Surov
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
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5
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Investigation on the Factors Associated with the Persistence of Anosmia and Ageusia in Saudi COVID-19 Patients. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19031047. [PMID: 35162068 PMCID: PMC8834158 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19031047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulted in a worldwide pandemic of a highly infectious disease. The difficulty of dealing with COVID-19 is the broad spectrum of clinical manifestations that involves various pathophysiological mechanisms, severities, duration, and complications. This study aims to help emphasize the factors related to the persistence and duration of anosmia (loss of smell) and ageusia (loss of taste) as part of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome in Saudi COVID-19 patients via a retrospective cross-sectional design. Eight hundred and eighty-one participants were recruited between March and April 2021. Those participants were 18 years or older, recovered from the COVID-19 infection, and completed 14 days after the onset of the acute phase of the disease. Among the 881 recruited participants, 808 have submitted eligible responses and were included in data analyses. The most common persistent symptoms in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome were anosmia (33.8%) and ageusia (26.4%). The data also showed a significant association between female sex and the incidence and the persistence of anosmia and ageusia. In multivariable analysis, anosmia during the acute phase was associated with BMI, asthma and shortness of breath, while anosmia during the post-acute phase was associated with sex. Ageusia during the acute phase was associated with sex, myalgia and arthralgia, while ageusia in the post-acute phase was associated with sex.
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Vallée A. Dysautonomia and Implications for Anosmia in Long COVID-19 Disease. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10235514. [PMID: 34884216 PMCID: PMC8658706 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10235514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Long COVID-19 patients often reported anosmia as one of the predominant persisting symptoms. Recent findings have shown that anosmia is associated with neurological dysregulations. However, the involvement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which can aggregate all the long COVID-19 neurological symptoms, including anosmia, has not received much attention in the literature. Dysautonomia is characterized by the failure of the activities of components in the ANS. Long COVID-19 anosmia fatigue could result from damage to olfactory sensory neurons, leading to an augmentation in the resistance to cerebrospinal fluid outflow by the cribriform plate, and further causing congestion of the glymphatic system with subsequent toxic build-up in the brain. Studies have shown that anosmia was an important neurologic symptom described in long COVID-19 in association with potential COVID-19 neurotropism. SARS-CoV-2 can either travel via peripheral blood vessels causing endothelial dysfunction, triggering coagulation cascade and multiple organ dysfunction, or reach the systemic circulation and take a different route to the blood–brain barrier, damaging the blood–brain barrier and leading to neuroinflammation and neuronal excitotoxicity. SARS-CoV-2 entry via the olfactory epithelium and the increase in the expression of TMPRSS2 with ACE2 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 neurotropism and then dysautonomia in long COVID-19 patients. Due to this effect, patients with anosmia persisting 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis showed extensive destruction of the olfactory epithelium. Persistent anosmia observed among long COVID-19 patients may be involved by a cascade of effects generated by dysautonomia leading to ACE2 antibodies enhancing a persistent immune activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Vallée
- Department of Clinical Research and Innovation, Foch Hospital, 92150 Suresnes, France
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7
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Al-Kuraishy HM, Al-Gareeb AI. Acute kidney injury and COVID-19. THE EGYPTIAN JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE 2021; 33:34. [PMID: 34629845 PMCID: PMC8492093 DOI: 10.1186/s43162-021-00064-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recent pandemic infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 may lead to acute kidney injury (AKI). MAIN TEXT SARS-CoV-2 uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and dipeptidyl peptidase 4(DPP4) as entry point receptors in the alveolar type II cell of the lung. However, the expression of ACE2 is 100-fold higher in kidney tissue than the lung, though the potential entry point of SARS-CoV-2 for renal tissue and induction of AKI remains undefined. Therefore, reduction of ACE2 and high circulating angiotensin II in COVID-19 may together participate in the induction of AKI. Thereby, direct ACE2 activator is under investigation to be used as an effective therapy in the management COVID-19-induced AKI. Besides, the direct effect via invasion of SARS-CoV-2 may lead to glomerulopathy and renal proximal tubular necrosis. CONCLUSION COVID-19 may associate with AKI due to direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 through ACE2 and DPP4 receptors or indirectly through the development of cytokine storm. Both ACE2 and DPP4 are interacted mutually in the pathogenesis of AKI. Thus, DPP4 inhibitors or ACE2 activators could reverse early AKI in COVID-19. Therefore, emerging of clinical trials is warranted to confirm the role of ACE2 and DPP4 modulators in COVID-19-induced AKI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hayder M Al-Kuraishy
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medicine and Therapeutic, Medical Faculty, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University, P.O. Box 14132, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Ali I Al-Gareeb
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medicine and Therapeutic, Medical Faculty, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University, P.O. Box 14132, Baghdad, Iraq
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Gassen J, Nowak TJ, Henderson AD, Weaver SP, Baker EJ, Muehlenbein MP. Unrealistic Optimism and Risk for COVID-19 Disease. Front Psychol 2021; 12:647461. [PMID: 34149531 PMCID: PMC8212979 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Risk perception and consequently engagement in behaviors to avoid illness often do not match actual risk of infection, morbidity, and mortality. Unrealistic optimism occurs when individuals falsely believe that their personal outcomes will be more favorable than others' in the same risk category. Natural selection could favor overconfidence if its benefits, such as psychological resilience, outweigh its costs. However, just because optimism biases may have offered fitness advantages in our evolutionary past does not mean that they are always optimal. The current project examined relationships among personal risk for severe COVID-19, risk perceptions, and preventative behaviors. We predicted that those with higher risk of severe COVID-19 would exhibit unrealistic optimism and behave in ways inconsistent with their elevated risk of morbidity and mortality. Clinical risk scores for severe COVID-19 were calculated and compared with COVID-19 threat appraisal, compliance with shelter-in-place orders (March 13–May 22, 2020) and travel restrictions, compliance with public health recommendations, and potential covariates like self-rated knowledge about COVID-19 in a robust dataset including 492 participants from McLennan County, TX, USA. While those with high clinical risk acknowledged their greater likelihood of experiencing severe illness if infected, they actually reported lower perceived likelihood of becoming infected in the first place. While it is possible that those with higher clinical risk scores truly are less likely to become infected, the pattern and significance of these results held after controlling for possible occupational exposure, household size, and other factors related to infection probability. Higher clinical risk also predicted more recent travel within Texas and lower distress during the pandemic (i.e., feeling less stressed, depressed, and helpless). Additional behavioral data suggested that those with higher clinical risk scores did not generally behave differently than those with lower scores during the shelter-in-place order. While unrealistic optimism may provide some short-term psychological benefits, it could be dangerous due to improper assessment of hazardous situations; inferring that optimism bias has evolutionary origins does not mean that unrealistic optimism is “optimal” in every situation. This may be especially true when individuals face novel sources (or scales) of risk, such as a global pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Gassen
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, United States
| | - Tomasz J Nowak
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, United States
| | | | | | - Erich J Baker
- Department of Computer Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX, United States
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Cross-National Variations in COVID-19 Mortality: The Role of Diet, Obesity and Depression. Diseases 2021; 9:diseases9020036. [PMID: 34066585 PMCID: PMC8161818 DOI: 10.3390/diseases9020036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been characterized by wide variations in mortality across nations. Some of this variability may be explained by medical comorbidities such as obesity and depression, both of which are strongly correlated with dietary practices such as levels of sugar and seafood consumption. Methods: COVID-19 mortality indices for 156 countries were obtained from the Johns Hopkins University’s data aggregator. Correlations between these variables and (a) per capita consumption of sugar and seafood, and (b) country-wise prevalence of depression and obesity were examined. Results: Sugar consumption (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) and prevalence of obesity (r = 0.66, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) were positively correlated with crude mortality rates, while seafood consumption was negatively correlated with the infection fatality rate (r = −0.28, p = 0.015). These effects were significant even after correcting for potential confounders. The associations with depression and obesity remained significant upon multivariate regression. Conclusions: Both obesity and depression, which are associated with inflammatory dysregulation, may be related to cross-national variations in COVID-19 mortality, while seafood consumption may be protective. These findings have implications in terms of protecting vulnerable individuals during the current pandemic.
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10
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Hromatko I, Grus A, Kolđeraj G. Do Islanders Have a More Reactive Behavioral Immune System? Social Cognitions and Preferred Interpersonal Distances During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front Psychol 2021; 12:647586. [PMID: 33995203 PMCID: PMC8120299 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Insular populations have traditionally drawn a lot of attention from epidemiologists as they provide important insights regarding transmission of infectious diseases and propagation of epidemics. There are numerous historical instances where isolated populations showed high morbidity once a new virus entered the population. Building upon that and recent findings that the activation of the behavioral immune system (BIS) depends both upon one's vulnerability and environmental context, we predicted that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, place of residence (island vs. mainland) explains a significant proportion of variance in preferred interpersonal distances, animosity toward strangers, and willingness to punish those who do not adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures. With 48 populated islands, Croatia provides a fruitful testing ground for this prediction. We also opted to explore relations among BIS-related variables (pathogen disgust, germ aversion, and perceived infectability) and social cognitions in a more natural context than has previously been done. The study was conducted online, on Croatian residents, during April and May 2020. As expected, the BIS variables contributed significantly to preferred interpersonal distances, negative emotions toward strangers, and willingness to punish those who do not adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures. Furthermore, our results showed that geographical location explained a significant amount of variance in preferred social (but not personal and intimate) distances and negative emotions toward foreigners. As Croatian islands are extremely frequent travel destinations, these differences between mainlanders and islanders cannot be explained by the lack of exposure to foreigners. Additionally, we found that scores on preferred interpersonal distances, pathogen disgust, and germ aversion were significantly higher compared to those obtained in Croatian samples before the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, men scored higher in perceived infectability than before the COVID-19 pandemic, and women did not, which reflects the objectively higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 for men than for women. Taken together, our results support the notion that BIS is a highly adaptive and context-dependent response system, likely more reactive in more susceptible individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Hromatko
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Andrea Grus
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Gabrijela Kolđeraj
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
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11
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Varella MAC, Luoto S, Soares RBDS, Valentova JV. COVID-19 Pandemic on Fire: Evolved Propensities for Nocturnal Activities as a Liability Against Epidemiological Control. Front Psychol 2021; 12:646711. [PMID: 33828510 PMCID: PMC8019933 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have been using fire for hundreds of millennia, creating an ancestral expansion toward the nocturnal niche. The new adaptive challenges faced at night were recurrent enough to amplify existing psychological variation in our species. Night-time is dangerous and mysterious, so it selects for individuals with higher tendencies for paranoia, risk-taking, and sociability (because of security in numbers). During night-time, individuals are generally tired and show decreased self-control and increased impulsive behaviors. The lower visibility during night-time favors the partial concealment of identity and opens more opportunities for disinhibition of self-interested behaviors. Indeed, individuals with an evening-oriented chronotype are more paranoid, risk-taking, extraverted, impulsive, promiscuous, and have higher antisocial personality traits. However, under some circumstances, such as respiratory pandemics, the psychobehavioral traits favored by the nocturnal niche might be counter-productive, increasing contagion rates of a disease that can evade the behavioral immune system because its disease cues are often nonexistent or mild. The eveningness epidemiological liability hypothesis presented here suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the evening-oriented psychobehavioral profile can have collectively harmful consequences: there is a clash of core tendencies between the nocturnal chronotype and the recent viral transmission-mitigating safety guidelines and rules. The pandemic safety protocols disrupt much normal social activity, particularly at night when making new social contacts is desired. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is contagious even in presymptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, which enables it to mostly evade our evolved contagious disease avoidance mechanisms. A growing body of research has indirectly shown that individual traits interfering with social distancing and anti-contagion measures are related to those of the nocturnal chronotype. Indeed, some of the social contexts that have been identified as superspreading events occur at night, such as in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Furthermore, nocturnal environmental conditions favor the survival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus much longer than daytime conditions. We compare the eveningness epidemiological liability hypothesis with other factors related to non-compliance with pandemic safety protocols, namely sex, age, and life history. Although there is not yet a direct link between the nocturnal chronotype and non-compliance with pandemic safety protocols, security measures and future empirical research should take this crucial evolutionary mismatch and adaptive metaproblem into account, and focus on how to avoid nocturnal individuals becoming superspreaders, offering secure alternatives for nocturnal social activities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Severi Luoto
- English, Drama and Writing Studies, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Rafael Bento da Silva Soares
- Center for Science Communication and Education Studies, Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology, and Immunology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
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12
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Luoto S, Varella MAC. Pandemic Leadership: Sex Differences and Their Evolutionary-Developmental Origins. Front Psychol 2021; 12:633862. [PMID: 33815218 PMCID: PMC8015803 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global societal, economic, and social upheaval unseen in living memory. There have been substantial cross-national differences in the kinds of policies implemented by political decision-makers to prevent the spread of the virus, to test the population, and to manage infected patients. Among other factors, these policies vary with politicians' sex: early findings indicate that, on average, female leaders seem more focused on minimizing direct human suffering caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, while male leaders implement riskier short-term decisions, possibly aiming to minimize economic disruptions. These sex differences are consistent with broader findings in psychology, reflecting women's stronger empathy, higher pathogen disgust, health concern, care-taking orientation, and dislike for the suffering of other people-as well as men's higher risk-taking, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and focus on financial indicators of success and status. This review article contextualizes sex differences in pandemic leadership in an evolutionary framework. Evolution by natural selection is the only known process in nature that organizes organisms into higher degrees of functional order, or counteracts the unavoidable disorder that would otherwise ensue, and is therefore essential for explaining the origins of human sex differences. Differential sexual selection and parental investment between males and females, together with the sexual differentiation of the mammalian brain, drive sex differences in cognition and behavioral dispositions, underlying men's and women's leadership styles and decision-making during a global pandemic. According to the sexually dimorphic leadership specialization hypothesis, general psychobehavioral sex differences have been exapted during human evolution to create sexually dimorphic leadership styles. They may be facultatively co-opted by societies and/or followers when facing different kinds of ecological and/or sociopolitical threats, such as disease outbreaks or intergroup aggression. Early evidence indicates that against the invisible viral foe that can bring nations to their knees, the strategic circumspection of empathic feminine health "worriers" may bring more effective and humanitarian outcomes than the devil-may-care incaution of masculine risk-taking "warriors".
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Affiliation(s)
- Severi Luoto
- English, Drama and Writing Studies, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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