Halloween is a favorite fall celebration in the United States and elsewhere in the world. This year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic poses some challenges for enthusiasts of this holiday. How can you have fun and still stay safe this Halloween? Halloween is the time of the year when many fall enthusiasts drink pumpkin spice lattes, […]
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A recent study investigated the effects of good cardiovascular health (CVH) in preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among middle-aged individuals. The results suggest that middle-aged adults with a healthy heart have a reduced risk of developing T2D. The study also notes that regardless of genetic predisposition, favorable CVH reduces the risk of developing T2D among […]
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Halloween is a favorite fall celebration in the United States and elsewhere in the world. This year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic poses some challenges for enthusiasts of this holiday. How can you have fun and still stay safe this Halloween? Halloween is the time of the year when many fall enthusiasts drink pumpkin spice lattes, […]
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A recent study investigated the effects of good cardiovascular health (CVH) in preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among middle-aged individuals. The results suggest that middle-aged adults with a healthy heart have a reduced risk of developing T2D. The study also notes that regardless of genetic predisposition, favorable CVH reduces the risk of developing T2D among […]
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Halloween is a favorite fall celebration in the United States and elsewhere in the world. This year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic poses some challenges for enthusiasts of this holiday. How can you have fun and still stay safe this Halloween?
Halloween is the time of the year when many fall enthusiasts drink pumpkin spice lattes, watch favorite horror flicks, and go trick-or-treating. Every year, people around the U.S. and the world throw costume parties to celebrate this holiday, taking the opportunity to spend some quality time with friends and family.
This year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has made celebrating Halloween more complicated, as social gatherings can facilitate the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease.
Despite this, some data suggest that many people in the U.S. have not let the pandemic deter them from their yearly Halloween preparations.
According to a Statista projection from September 2021, planned nationwide expenses for Halloween costumes amount to $3.3 billion. Estimates also indicate another $3.2 billion on Halloween decorations and $3 billion on candy.
So how can people stay safe while still enjoying this favorite fall holiday? In this Special Feature, we look at some best practices and offer tips for health, safety, and fun.
We have based our suggestions on official guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Article highlights:
Handling and offering treats
Trick-or-treating and costume parties may be the best-loved Halloween activities, but they typically involve close contact with many people from different households. This can facilitate the transmission of the coronavirus.
For example, if someone who has unknowingly contracted SARS-CoV and has not experienced any symptoms engages in regular social activities, they might be putting others at risk.
The first and most important step to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 is by getting vaccinated, and the CDC advises everyone who is able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to do so.
The best way to stay safe this Halloween is to avoid contact with people from other households, which might mean avoiding trick-or-treating and attending parties with individuals you do not share a living space with.
However, there are some ways people who want to make the most of this fall festivity can mitigate the risks.
If children go treat-or-tricking, they must avoid coming into direct contact with other treat-or-trickers or with any adults offering them treats.
They must also try to keep at least 6 feet away from other children and adults who do not live with them and carry hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content to use frequently.
Adults may want to supervise children as they use hand sanitizer and use it frequently themselves.
Additionally, always wash hands before and after handling any treats or treat bags destined for children from other households.
Children must also wash their hands thoroughly before they eat any candy received while treat-or-tricking.
Costumes and face coverings
One of the most important aspects of Halloween is, of course, wearing costumes.
Both adults and children may want to incorporate a face covering — covering the nose and mouth — into their outfit during any treat-or-tricking activities or any other activities where they might encounter people who do not form part of their household, particularly in areas where the risk of viral transmission remains high.
Healthline’s former chief medical officer, Dr. Hanh Le, advises that: “For this Halloween, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, costumes that have a mask that covers the mouth and nose area are likely the safest, and costumes that are either disposable or washable will most likely decrease your risk of contamination in the future.”
However, a regular costume mask may not provide the necessary protection against the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, so it is best to follow CDC guidelines on choosing an appropriate mask.
You may also want to avoid wearing a cloth face covering under a costume mask, because it could get in the way of breathing freely.
Organizing or attending festivities
The safest way to celebrate this Halloween is with people from your own household.
Pumpkin carving, wearing fun costumes, and participating in traditional Halloween games can be just as fun in smaller, more intimate circles as they are in larger social gatherings.
However, for those choosing to celebrate with individuals outside their households, here is some advice on staying safe and minimizing the risk of transmitting the virus.
According to medical experts, one way of minimizing transmission during a social gathering is by holding it in an outdoor space.
Dr. Hanh Le explains why:
“When organizing Halloween get-togethers, it is advisable to plan them outdoors if possible, because [spacing] people out in an open outdoor setting is the best way to prevent person-to-person transmission. Gathering a lot of people together in small confined spaces — especially if it’s loud and people [need] to lean in to hear each other — is a recipe for disaster for widespread [SARS-CoV-2] transmission among all your guests.”
Additionally, make sure to ventilate any indoor spaces used during a holiday gathering.
Hosts who wish to organize a get-together should limit the number of guests and ensure that everyone is familiar with and willing to follow current safety guidelines.
Some hosts may choose to provide disposable face masks, hand sanitizer, and tissues to their guests if they cannot bring their own.
For extra safety, you may want to place tables and chairs to allow for physical distancing between guests from different households. When it comes to cutlery, plates, and drinking cups, using disposable ones may be the safest option.
Providing individual sachets or pots of sauce, condiments, and salad dressings is also safer than passing around one container that everyone will handle.
Some hosts may suggest that guests bring their own food and drink to avoid sharing with others. Where this is not possible, limit contact with shared items or surfaces.
If people from different households cannot keep at least 6 feet apart from others, they should wear face coverings.
Hosts and guests alike must remember to wash their hands thoroughly before handling shared items or serving or eating food.
Finally, and most importantly, if you feel unwell or think you may have had exposure to a virus, please avoid all social gatherings to keep your friends and family safe.
Safe Halloween 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemc. Halloween pumpkins with face mask
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A recent study investigated the effects of good cardiovascular health (CVH) in preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among middle-aged individuals.
The results suggest that middle-aged adults with a healthy heart have a reduced risk of developing T2D.
The study also notes that regardless of genetic predisposition, favorable CVH reduces the risk of developing T2D among middle-aged individuals.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source estimate that more than 34 million people in the United States live with diabetes and that approximately 90–95% of these individuals have T2D.
T2D is characterized by peripheral resistance to insulin. This means that tissues such as the gut, liver, and muscles fail to respond to messages from insulin to take up glucose from the bloodstream.
It also means that the liver, which not only absorbs glucose but also produces it, does not respond to insulin to stop this production. In the early stages, the pancreas secretes additional insulin to overcome the problem, but this corrective process can eventually fail.
Insulin is a hormone that the pancreas produces. It regulates the transport of glucose into the cells of the body, where it serves as a source of energy. Blood glucose levels that remain too high for long periods can damage various organs and systems of the body.
Previous research has shown that multiple factors — both genetic and nongenetic — combine to increase a person’s risk of developing T2D. However, there is also evidence showing that people can significantly reduce this risk by adopting certain lifestyle measures.
Recently, scientists in the Netherlands embarked on a study to evaluate whether a favorable CVH score reduces the lifetime risk of developing T2D. They looked at middle-aged individuals with and without a genetic predisposition to T2D.
The results appear in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Measuring cardiovascular health
Lead study author Dr. Fariba Ahmadizar, Ph.D., a professor at the Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, explained the motivation behind the study to Medical News Today:
“Previous studies have shown that cardiovascular risk factors are largely associated with the risk for T2D.”
“However, data on the lifetime risk of incident T2D across different CVH categories was scarce,” she added. “More importantly, the impact of genetic predisposition on the lifetime risk of incident T2D associated with CVH was unknown, [so] this prompted our research into cardiovascular health, genetic predisposition, and lifetime risk of T2D.”
The new study included 5,993 participants without T2D at the start of the study. Data came from the Rotterdam Study — a prospective cohort study of a community-dwelling population aged 55 years and older in Rotterdam.
The average age of the participants was 69 years, and 58% were women. The study participants received CVH scores based on a range of parameters that the scientists measured at baseline. These included body mass index (BMI), smoking behavior, blood pressure, total cholesterol, physical activity, and diet.
The researchers summed up these parameters to create a CVH score between 0 and 12, with higher scores indicating better CVH. Based on the CVH score, they divided the participants into three groups: poor, intermediate, and ideal.
In addition, the team calculated biological CVH, which comprised blood pressure, total cholesterol, and smoking.
Each participant also received a behavioral CVH score, which took into account BMI, smoking, diet, and physical activity.
In assessing genetic predisposition to T2D, the researchers used 403 independent genetic variants associated with the disease to generate a genetic risk score. They used this score to classify the participants as having a low, intermediate, or high genetic risk.
Analyzing the study results
The researchers noted that at 55 years, the lifetime risk of developing T2D varied by CVH score:
ideal: 22.6%
intermediate: 28.3%
poor: 32.6%
When they accounted for genetic risk, the researchers observed that among those in the high genetic risk group, the lifetime risk of T2D was 23.5%, 33.7%, and 38.7% for the ideal, intermediate, and poor CVH groups, respectively.
In comparison with the poor and intermediate CVH groups, the ideal CVH group still had the lowest lifetime risk for T2D, although this pertained to those with an intermediate or low genetic risk.
The scientists also assessed the lifetime risk of T2D using behavioral and biological scores. They noted that for both the behavioral and biological assessments, the risk was lower in the ideal CVH groups than in the poor and intermediate groups.
These findings led the researchers to conclude that, regardless of genetic predisposition, favorable CVH health is most important in preventing T2D among middle-aged individuals.
This conclusion is similar to the sentiments that Dr. Francesca Cortese — a cardiologist in Bari University General Hospital, Italy — has shared. Dr. Cortese says:
“Through very simple tools, such as education for a correct lifestyle, we can significantly contribute to the prevention of T2D and its complications.”
Study limitations and controversy
The authors acknowledge that the study had limitations. Firstly, the team obtained individual CVH parameters at baseline, which was 20–27 years earlier. This could have led to misclassification of the participants across the different categories in the intervening time.
Secondly, some results from the genetic groups were based on relatively small sample sizes, which means that further information may be required.
Lastly, most of the participants were of European ancestry, limiting the generalizability of the results to other populations.
Also, in a potentially contentious twist, the scientists noted that participants decreased their lifetime T2D risk further by adhering to an ideal behavioral CVH rather than an ideal biological CVH. One of the components in the behavioral score was BMI.
As the authors explain, “This is controversial because it may suggest that obesity is a choice.” However, other research underlining the multifactorial nature of obesity concludes that people should consider obesity a health metric just as they would blood pressure or T2D.
Regardless of the study’s limitations and controversy, it has opened up interesting possibilities on which future studies can build.
Doctor using a stethoscope checking patient with examining, presenting results symptom and recommend treatment method, Healthcare and medical concept.
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