Public health

Around a third of UK healthcare professionals would not recommend e-cigarettes to patients with cancer who are looking to quit smoking, indicates a survey-based study presented at the 2018 NCRI Conference in Glasgow, UK.

Research published in JAMA suggests that suboptimal intake of specific dietary factors is associated with almost half of deaths from heart disease, stroke, or type 2 diabetes in the USA.

Adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet could improve the atheroprotective functions of high-density lipoprotein among people with high cardiovascular risk, results from a substudy of the PREDIMED trial suggest.

The number of people with elevated systolic blood pressure and the number of associated deaths have “increased substantially” in the past 25 years, results from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 study suggest.

Smoking is associated with an eightfold increase in the risk of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction among people younger than 50 years of age, researchers report.

Dietary intake of saturated fatty acids is associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease, with individual fatty acids making a similar contribution to risk, according to the results of two large cohort studies.

The number of people living with high blood pressure has almost doubled worldwide over the past 4 decades, with the biggest rise in low- and middle-income countries, according to an analysis of data from 19.1 million people.

The occurrence of 91 confirmed or probable hypocalcaemic seizures in children with vitamin D deficiency over a 2-year period in the UK highlights a failure to promote appropriate supplementation.

New consensus recommendations for the management of nutritional rickets include universal vitamin D supplementation during the first year of life.

An algorithm-based quantitative approach is the best means of caries risk assessment in preschool children, suggests research published in the Journal of Clinical Dentistry.

A study of US servicemen shows that, despite being eligible for active surveillance, the overwhelming majority of young men diagnosed with very-low-risk prostate cancer opt for immediate treatment.

Continuous intracompartmental pressure monitoring is highly accurate for the detection of acute compartment syndrome after tibial diaphyseal fracture, say UK researchers who believe it may allow diagnosis before signs and symptoms occur.

Researchers in China have found that a health education package targeted at schoolchildren can improve hygiene behaviors and reduce the incidence of soil-transmitted helminth infection.

Over 40 million hours are lost each year due to dental problems and their treatment in the Canadian population, study findings indicate.

Direct communication with healthcare professionals, in the form of so-called “Dear doctor” letters, can be effective in reducing inappropriate and unsafe use of medicines, Dutch scientists believe.

Research shows that there is a strong association between rates of transition from substance use to substance use disorder and the lifetime risk for mental illness, particularly personality and psychotic disorders.

The introduction of subsidized health insurance for poor people in Colombia resulted in decreased access to HIV tests in antenatal care, research shows.

Results from a Chinese study suggest that exposure to arsenic through contaminated drinking water may increase a person’s risk for developing hypertension.

Women who are diagnosed with pre-eclampsia or hypertension during pregnancy are at increased risk for developing diabetes, particularly if they experience these conditions alongside gestational diabetes, research shows.

Researchers have found that over the past 20 years, the incidence of Lyme disease has increased in the northern-most states of the USA, while declining in more southerly states.