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By Nancy Lapid, Health Science Editor

Hello Health Rounds readers! COVID is still with us, and today we report on yet another health issue linked to prior infection with the coronavirus – a worsening of urinary problems in men with enlarged prostates. We also feature a study in mice that found poor blood sugar control may explain why obesity and type 2 diabetes are tied to a higher risk of developing cancer of the pancreas. And we highlight a cautionary study in which computer models predict a jump in U.S. heart-related deaths from extreme heat associated with climate change.

In breaking news, see these stories from our Reuters journalists:  WHO warns of ‘imminent public health catastrophe‘ in Gaza; hepatitis outbreak closes schools, sends scores to hospital in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia; U.S. FDA advises not to purchase certain eye drops due to infection risk; Belgium seizes fake weight-loss drugs containing insulin; TikTok, Snapchat and others sign pledge to tackle AI-generated child sex abuse images; judge blocks Kansas law requiring doctors to give misinformation; and Arizona ban on abortion for genetic anomalies can be challenged in court.

Heat-sensitive photography in late July showed concrete in Phoenix, Arizona registering 150°F (66°C). Scroll down to read how a new study predicts rates of U.S. cardiovascular deaths from hot weather will more than double by the middle of this century. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Troublesome urinary problems due to an enlarged prostate gland may be more likely to develop, or get worse, after an infection with the coronavirus, a large study suggests.

Researchers in Hong Kong studied nearly 18,000 generally similar men receiving medication for lower urinary tract symptoms from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) – the medical term for enlarged prostate – half of whom had tested positive in the past for COVID-19.

Those who had previously been infected with the coronavirus were more likely to have trouble emptying the bladder (4.55% vs 0.86%), to have blood in the urine (1.36% vs 0.41%), urinary tract infection symptoms (4.31% vs 1.49%), bacteria in urine cultures (9% vs 2%), and need for multiple medications to control their symptoms (0.5% vs 0.02%).

The study was not designed to prove that COVID causes prostate problems. Still, after accounting for other risk factors, for those with a history of COVID infection the odds were 5.3 times higher for urine retention in the bladder, 3.3 times higher for blood in the urine, 3 times higher for urinary tract infection symptoms, and 4.6 times higher for bacteria in urine.

The findings were similar regardless of whether coronavirus infections had been symptomatic, the researchers reported in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

“This suggests that even patients with asymptomatic or mild infection, which represents the majority of the COVID-19 population, can still be affected … urologically and suffer from BPH complications,” they concluded.

Researchers believe they have discovered why obesity and type 2 diabetes are linked with higher risks for pancreas cancer, according to a report published on Tuesday in Cell Metabolism.

The body’s overproduction of insulin, common in those conditions, overstimulates cells in the pancreas that produce digestive juices, leading to inflammation that converts them into precancerous cells, the researchers found in experiments in mice.

“Alongside the rapid increase in both obesity and type 2 diabetes, we’re seeing an alarming rise in pancreatic cancer rates,” said study coauthor Dr. James Johnson of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine in Vancouver, in a statement.

“These findings help us understand how this is happening, and highlights the importance of keeping insulin levels within a healthy range, which can be accomplished with diet, exercise and in some cases medications,” he said.

Insulin, produced by the pancreas, helps control blood sugar. Excess fat is associated with insulin resistance, in which cells in the body don’t respond well to insulin and can’t easily take up glucose from the blood. As a result, the pancreas makes more insulin to help glucose enter the cells, leading to higher levels of insulin in the blood.

Type 2 diabetes develops when the pancreas can no longer make the large amounts of insulin needed to keep blood sugar under control.

The researchers said their findings may have a role in other cancers also associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

A separate team from the University of Toronto reported similar connections between insulin and breast cancer in mice, in a paper published on Tuesday in Cell Reports.

“In the future, we hope to determine whether and how excess insulin might contribute to other types of obesity- and diabetes-driven cancers,” Johnson said.

Cardiovascular deaths from extreme heat in the United States will more than double by the middle of the century, even if proposed policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are successfully implemented, researchers predict.

If such efforts are not successful, heart-related deaths from extreme heat in the U.S. could increase by 233%, they wrote in Circulation on Monday.

In either case, the greatest increases in deaths will likely be among people over age 65 and non-Hispanic Black adults, because many have underlying medical conditions or face socioeconomic barriers that can influence health and access to air conditioning.

Between 2008 and 2019, there were more than 12 million U.S. deaths related to cardiovascular disease, with an average of 1,651 of those deaths per year linked to extreme summer temperatures.

Between 2036–2065, about 71 to 80 days each summer will feel 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2°C) or hotter, compared to an average of about 54 days per summer between 2008 and 2019, according to computer model estimates.

As a result, the researchers project between 4,320 to 5,491 heat-related cardiovascular deaths in the United States annually by mid-century.

“Nonfatal heart attacks, strokes and heart failure hospitalizations outnumber fatal events and are also highly likely to be linked with extreme heat days,” Dr. Robert Brook of Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, who was not involved in the study, said in a statement from the American Heart Association.

“The full extent of the public health threat… is likely much greater than presented in this study,” he said.

This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot.

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