Early Brain Ageing Linked to the Gut–Brain Axis

Higher functional-connectivity-derived brain age deviation was consistently associated with poorer cognitive performance—particularly working memory and executive function—and greater depressive symptoms in young and mid-life adults, while also showing links to gut microbial and metabolic signatures. In a discovery cohort of 674 participants, with replication in a cohort of 444 and […]

Nighttime Light Exposure Linked to Higher Cardiovascular Risk

Higher nighttime light exposure was associated with adverse changes in cardiac structure and function and increased risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and death. In this UK Biobank population-based study, 11,071 participants with 7-day wrist-worn light measurements and subsequent cardiac MRI were evaluated, with high nighttime light exposure (>3 lux) […]

Hot Drinks Linked to Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk

In two UK cohorts including 977,282 adults, drinking beverages at a “very hot” temperature was associated with more than a threefold higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), while drinking 6 or more hot beverages per day was associated with a 71% higher SCC risk. Over 11–14 years of […]

Hemoglobin Levels and Mortality

In a UK prospective cohort of 502,188 adults followed for a median of 13.6 years, mortality was lowest at hemoglobin concentrations approximately 1–3 g/dL above the current WHO anemia thresholds, while both lower and higher concentrations were associated with increased mortality. The association between hemoglobin and all-cause mortality was U-shaped: […]

Exhaled Carbon Monoxide Linked to Lower Parkinson Disease Risk

Regular smoking was associated with a lower risk of Parkinson disease (PD), and among people who never smoked, higher levels of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) were associated with a lower risk of PD in a broadly dose-dependent manner. This nationwide prospective cohort study included 512,724 adults aged 30–79 years from […]

Alcohol-Attributable Cancer Mortality Doubled in the USA Since 1990

Alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the USA doubled from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023, with a disproportionate burden among men and adults aged 55 years and older. This population-based observational trend analysis used Global Burden of Disease data to examine age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) attributable to heavy alcohol use […]

Rising Prevalence of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms Over the Past Two Decades

A systematic review and meta-analysis found that the prevalence of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) is increasing, particularly over the past two decades, and that the rise is only partly explained by improved detection of small aneurysms and population ageing. The analysis included 162 studies involving 316,131 participants and 11,822 people […]

Silent Atherosclerosis Common in Early Adulthood and Progressively Worsening with Age

Silent atherosclerosis was detectable as early as young adulthood and became progressively more prevalent and extensive with age, with a later and steeper increase among women. In this prospective cohort study conducted in Denmark and Spain, 16,808 adults aged 18 to 70 years without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease underwent three-dimensional […]

Higher Parental Vitamin B12 and Maternal Folate Levels Linked to Lower Birth Defect Prevalence

Higher periconception parental vitamin B12 levels and higher postconception maternal red blood cell (RBC) folate levels were associated with lower predicted prevalences of birth defects in a prospective cohort study from Shanghai, China. The study included 3032 couples with biomarker measurements obtained within 4 months before conception and 17,765 women […]

Function-Guided Complete Revascularization Improves Outcomes in STEMI

In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel coronary artery disease, complete coronary revascularization guided by functional coronary angiography significantly reduced both major cardiovascular events and key safety events compared with conventional angiography-guided treatment. In this international randomized trial, 1,823 patients whose culprit lesion had been successfully treated […]