Health

'Pandemic skip,' a COVID mental health phenomenon, could delay major milestones, experts say

Published

2 years ago

January 5, 2024

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'Pandemic skip,' a COVID mental health phenomenon, could delay major milestones, experts say

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in a lot of loss — and to this day people may be losing out because of it.

A mental health phenomenon dubbed the “pandemic skip” has caught viral attention on social media.

The hosts of the podcast “Between Us Girlies” revealed their understanding of the concept in a TikTok video, which has been viewed over six million times.

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“Whatever age you were when the pandemic started is … where you’re at mentally,” Casey Corradin, the Pennsylvania-based co-host, said in the video, which was posted in November 2023.

“So, these women that were, like, 27 when the pandemic started, and then it’s three years later and they’re 30, and everyone around them is having kids, they’re like … ‘I’m not ready to have kids. I’m still young, I’m 27.’”

She added, “We were in our early 20s when the pandemic started — and we took a big chunk of the early-20s, figuring-your-life-out phase, and now we’re 27 and we’re still figuring it out.”

Dominique Hamler, a registered nurse and executive director of the Los Angeles Outpatient Center, told Fox News Digital that the pandemic skip could pose a real concern for people of all ages.

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“I am just excited that there is a word for it, because we definitely lost a moment of our lives during the pandemic,” she said.

“People were suffering with not only illness, but the fact that we were isolated and couldn’t even touch each other for a long period of time.”

Los Angeles Outpatient Center executive director Dominique Hamler said the pandemic skip could pose a real concern for people of all ages. (AONL Conference 2023)

Hamler worked on the front lines of the pandemic as a registered nurse. She said the pandemic skip refers to “that time period where our lives were disrupted.”

“Our lives were totally changed and will never be the same,” she said. “Not to mention our experience of what we lost from the aspect of time that we’ll never be able to gain again.”

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Hamler considers the concept a “mental regression,” as people feel stuck at the same developmental period and age they were when the pandemic started.

“We’re still processing it years later,” she said.

Psychologist Dr. Yamalis Diaz of NYU Langone reiterated that the pandemic skip represents a significant pause or slowing down of development.

A mental health phenomenon dubbed the “pandemic skip” has gone viral. (iStock)

“It’s almost like a movie you paused and resumed,” she said in a conversation with Fox News Digital.

“For people in a developmentally sensitive state … when a lot of developmental change is occurring, such as young adults, it makes sense that they would feel this most, compared to older adults whose lives were already relatively stable when the pandemic started.”

“People were suffering with not only illness, but the fact that we were isolated and couldn’t even touch each other for a long period of time.”

Young adults in particular may feel this impact when it comes to completing education, making career decisions, dating, establishing long-term relationships and becoming financially independent, Diaz said.

“[These] are all critical elements of this developmental stage and were highly impacted by having to ‘pause,’” she said.

Traditional plans and milestones were also put on hold during the pandemic, said Hamler.

Establishing long-term relationships is one of the critical developmental phases that was highly impacted by the pandemic, an expert said. (iStock)

“If you were a young adult, maybe thinking about getting married or having kids, that was put on hold,” she said.

This “skip” could result in continued delayed development if not addressed, Hamler warned.

“We are just at the tip of the iceberg [when it comes to] addressing mental health as a whole,” she said.

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“It’s going to delay everything until we start having a conversation about it, start getting the therapy and the treatment we need to address the trauma” that the pandemic caused, she said.

For some people, Hamler suggested a “deeper dive” may be necessary in order to “advance mentally, spiritually and emotionally.”

For some people, a “deeper dive” may be necessary in order to “advance mentally, spiritually and emotionally,” an expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)

“It’s going to take some time and … a full, head-on focus on mental health,” she said.

Diaz agreed that the pandemic skip will cause a ripple effect that could delay other milestones, but noted that it’s “not necessarily a completely new phenomenon.”

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“[This] is part of the basis for Dr. Jeffrey Arnett’s Emerging Adulthood theory,” she said.

Arnett, a psychologist, proposed that people between ages 18 and 25 are in a period called “emerging adulthood.”

“Our lives were totally changed and will never be the same.”

“In essence, when you look back over generations, the ‘path to adulthood’ has gotten longer, and young adults are reaching what are considered ‘traditional adulthood markers’ — finishing education, leaving home, becoming financially independent, starting a career, getting married and having kids — at older ages.”

Since the pandemic was “such a dramatic, ‘stop-everything’ kind of event,” Diaz suggested that it’s likely to impact transition times for the 20-something generations, he suggested.

Young party-goers dressed as holiday characters participate in the annual SantaCon pub crawl on Dec. 9, 2023, in New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

“This is especially true when you also consider mental health, which could also impact young adults’ ability to successfully transition through this stage,” she said.

“Given that this stage of development is already susceptible to increased anxiety, depression and executive functioning difficulties, the pandemic … added pressure to an already pressured developmental turning point.”

Hamler recommended “giving yourself time” instead of chasing milestones that may have been missed.

Pubs and restaurants reopen in London’s Soho following the U.K. government’s relaxing of COVID restrictions in England on April 12, 2021. (Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard via Getty Images)

With 2024 marking four years since the coronavirus outbreak, Hamler encouraged people not to suppress their emotions and to seek professional help when needed.

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“We need to talk about our problems,” she said. “It’s OK to feel angry, frustrated, depressed, anxious — all these feelings are normal.”

Travelers wear face masks as a preventive measure during the COVID-19 outbreak as they arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on March 20, 2020. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

“Between Us Girlies” podcast co-host Corradin echoed this remark in a conversation with Fox News Digital.

“It’s so comforting to see so many people, across all different ages, who feel the same way,” she said.

“[The fact that it’s] resonating with so many different people shows us that even if we feel alone — we’re not.”

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle writer for Fox News Digital.

Health

Aging process could accelerate due to ‘forever chemicals’ exposure, study finds

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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Aging process could accelerate due to ‘forever chemicals’ exposure, study finds

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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”

The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.

PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.

Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.

Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.

A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)

The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.

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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.

Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.

“People should not panic.”

The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.

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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.

“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”

The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)

Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.

Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.

While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.

That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.

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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.

The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)

Study limitations

The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.

“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.

The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.

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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.

Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.

Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.

Health

Melissa Joan Hart, 49, Opens up About Weight Loss in Perimenopause

Published

14 hours ago

March 3, 2026

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Melissa Joan Hart, 49, Opens up About Weight Loss in Perimenopause

Melissa Joan Hart Opens up About Weight Loss in Perimenopause | Woman’s World

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Health

Alzheimer’s prevention breakthrough found in decades-old seizure drug

Published

14 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Alzheimer’s prevention breakthrough found in decades-old seizure drug

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A drug that has long been used to treat seizures has shown promise as a potential means of Alzheimer’s prevention, a new study suggests.

The anti-seizure medication, levetiracetam, was first approved by the FDA in November 1999 under the brand name Keppra as a therapy for partial-onset seizures in adults. The approval has since expanded to include children and other types of seizures.

Northwestern University researchers recently found that levetiracetam prevented the formation of toxic amyloid beta peptides, which are small protein fragments in the brain that are commonly seen in Alzheimer’s patients.

The medication was found to prevent the formation of amyloid-beta 42 in both animal models and cultured human neurons, according to the study findings, which were published in Science Translational Medicine.

The effect was also seen in post-mortem human brain tissue obtained from individuals with Down syndrome, who are at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

The medication was found to prevent the formation of amyloid-beta 42 in both animal models and cultured human neurons. (iStock)

“While many of the Alzheimer’s drugs currently on the market, such as lecanemab and donanemab, are approved to clear existing amyloid plaques, we’ve identified this mechanism that prevents the production of the amyloid‑beta 42 peptides and amyloid plaques,” said corresponding author Jeffrey Savas, associate professor of behavioral neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a press release.

“Our new results uncovered new biology while also opening doors for new drug targets.”

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The brain is better able to avoid the pathway that produces toxic amyloid‑beta 42 proteins in younger years, but the aging process gradually weakens that ability, Savas noted.

“This is not a statement of disease; this is just a part of aging. But in brains developing Alzheimer’s, too many neurons go astray, and that’s when you get amyloid-beta 42 production,” he said.

The effect was also seen in post-mortem human brain tissue obtained from individuals with Down syndrome, who are at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. (iStock)

That then leads to tau (“tangles”) — abnormal clumps of protein inside brain neurons — which can kill brain cells, trigger neuroinflammation and lead to dementia.

In order for levetiracetam to function as an Alzheimer’s blocker, high-risk patients would have to start taking it “very, very early,” Savas said — up to 20 years before elevated amyloid-beta 42 levels would be detected.

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“You couldn’t take this when you already have dementia, because the brain has already undergone a number of irreversible changes and a lot of cell death,” the researcher noted.

The researchers also did a deep dive into previous human clinical data to determine whether Alzheimer’s patients who were taking the anti-seizure drug had slower cognitive decline. They reported that the patients in that category had a “significant delay” in the span from cognitive decline to death compared to those not taking the drug.

“This analysis supports the positive effect of levetiracetam to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s pathology,” the researcher said. (iStock)

“Although the magnitude of change was small (on the scale of a few years), this analysis supports the positive effect of levetiracetam to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s pathology,” Savas said.

Looking ahead, the research team aims to find people who have genetic forms of Alzheimer’s to participate in testing, Savas said.

Limitations and caveats

The study had several limitations, including that it relied on animal models and cultured cells, with no human trials conducted.

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Because the study was observational in nature, it can’t prove that the medication caused the prevention of the toxic brain proteins, the researchers acknowledged.

Savas noted that levetiracetam “is not perfect,” cautioning that it breaks down in the body very quickly.

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The team is currently working to create a “better version” that would last longer in the body and “better target the mechanism that prevents the production of the plaques.”

“You couldn’t take this when you already have dementia, because the brain has already undergone a number of irreversible changes and a lot of cell death.”

The medication’s common documented side effects include drowsiness, weakness, dizziness, irritability, headache, loss of appetite and nasal congestion.

It has also been linked to potential mood and behavior changes, including anxiety, depression, agitation and aggression, according to the prescribing information. In rare cases, it could lead to severe allergic reactions, skin reactions, blood disorders and suicidal ideation.

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Funding for the study was provided by the National Institutes of Health and the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund.

Fox News Digital reached out to the drug manufacturer and the researchers for comment.

Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.