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Topics: Corona

The results show that the prevalence of overweight or obesity has now fallen to the same levels as before the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. 11.4%. During the pandemic, the prevalence was 13.3 per cent.

Childhood overweight is associated with socio-economic vulnerability

More children have overweight in regions with high rates of single parenthood, low education levels, low income and high child poverty. The pandemic may also have reinforced this trend. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and Region Sörmland in collaboration with Region Skåne.

Distance education during pandemic led to less care for mental ill health

Distance education during pandemic led to less care for mental ill health

Upper secondary school students were less likely to seek help for mental ill health when they were forced to study at home during the pandemic. A similar decrease was not seen for secondary school students aged 14–16 who remained in school. This has been shown in a new study at Uppsala University, based on data covering all of Sweden's upper secondary school students between 2015–2021.

Difficult decisions led to unequal vaccination rates

There was a significant difference in the speed with which different groups were vaccinated against COVID-19. One explanation could be that people absorb information and make decisions in different ways. A new study shows that among people with the highest cognitive ability, 80% had been vaccinated within 50 days. Among those with the lowest cognitive ability, it took 180 days to achieve the same

The number of children with obesity increased by some 30 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: My Sjunnestrand

Overweight in children increased during the pandemic

Overweight and obesity among four-year-olds increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by Uppsala University involving over 200,000 children in Sweden. The number of children with obesity increased by some 30 percent, and there are large regional differences. The study was published in the journal Acta Paediatrica.

"Corona. Two children fighting Corona". Child aged 5, about COVID-19 pandemic. © Swedish Archive of Children’s Art.

“You throw up, then you cough, then you feel better or die”

Detailed images of illness, death and cancelled activities; these were some of the common themes of children’s drawings during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new study from Uppsala University, in which researchers studied 91 drawings made by children aged between 4 and 6, shows that the pandemic affected the children significantly and that they had extensive knowledge about the disease.

Antibiotics hindered treatment of urinary tract bacteria during the pandemic

The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics increased drastically in intensive care at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. At first, this helped patients and seemed to prevent the growth of most bacteria. However, it also contributed to a sharp growth in enterococci, an antibiotic-tolerant group of bacteria, which rendered the treatment of urinary tract infections more difficult.

MS patients with higher B cell counts have a better vaccine response

MS patients treated with Rituximab have better responses to the COVID-19 vaccine if they have higher B cell counts. This is the finding of a study from Uppsala University published in the journal JAMA Network Open. In patients with B cell counts of 40/µL (microlitres) or more, 9 of 10 patients developed protective levels of antibodies, while significantly fewer with lower counts had similar respon

The image shows a model of the coronavirus enzyme. Picture: Andreas Luttens

Promising molecule for treatment of COVID-19

Uppsala researchers have succeeded in designing a molecule that inhibits the replication of coronaviruses and that has great potential for development into a drug suitable for treating COVID-19. The molecule is effective against both the new variant and previously identified coronaviruses. The article has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Blocking inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells

Blocking inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells

Researchers have developed and used a new method to map interactions on a large scale between human proteins and coronavirus proteins, which has provided valuable new information. In collaborations with others, they show that blocking one of these interactions inhibited infection of human cells by SARS-CoV-2. They also confirmed the interaction between the viral protein and the human protein.

T-cell tests unreliable in establishing previous COVID-19

Can T-cell tests be used to determine whether people have had COVID-19? Scientists at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet have jointly analysed this issue under the aegis of the COMMUNITY study at Danderyd Hospital. Their study is published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

Jordi Carreras-Puigvert and Jonne Rietdijk studying cell images being acquired by a high-content microscope. Photo: Uppsala University

Method for discovery of antiviral drugs

The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for methods to identify new or repurposed drugs as antivirals. Researchers at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet are now presenting a new screening approach that focuses on the identification of virus-specific morphological changes in virus-infected cells.

Conspiracy theories characterise views in and about Europe

Conspiratorial narratives of internal disintegration and external threats affect views in the European Union and Europe to an increasing extent. Our trust in society is put to the test in crises when various groups are singled out as the villains. In extreme cases, this can inspire acts of terror. Researchers from Uppsala University are among those demonstrating this in a new book.

Nitric oxide a possible treatment for COVID-19

Researchers at Uppsala University have found that an effective way of treating the coronavirus behind the 2003 SARS epidemic also works on the closely related SARS-CoV-2 virus, the culprit in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The substance concerned is nitric oxide (NO), a compound with antiviral properties that is produced by the body itself. The study is published in the journal Redox Biology.

Possible blood-clotting mechanism in COVID-19 found

Why so many COVID-19 patients get blood clots (thrombosis) remains uncertain. But scientists at Uppsala University and the University Hospital have now identified a mechanism they believe to be implicated. A particular protein triggers a part of our immune system that can boost the blood’s tendency to coagulate and form clots. The study is now published in Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Uppsala University - quality, knowledge, and creativity since 1477

Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in Sweden. With more than 50,000 students and 7,500 employees in Uppsala and Visby, we are a broad university with research in social sciences, humanities, technology, natural sciences, medicine and pharmacology. Our mission is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to society on a long-term basis. Uppsala University is regularly ranked among the world’s top universities.

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