A growing body of evidence shows that ultra-processed foods are displacing traditional, whole-food diets worldwide and driving major diet-related chronic diseases. Drawing on decades of dietary surveys, global sales data, cohort studies, randomized trials, and mechanistic research, this first paper in a three-part Lancet Series reports that ultra-processed foods have […]
Traditional atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk- and symptom-based screening misses nearly half of patients under age 66 who go on to experience their first myocardial infarction (MI), revealing major shortcomings in current preventive strategies. In this US retrospective study of 465 adults presenting with a first type 1 MI, simulation […]
Adding carotid-artery stenting—but not carotid endarterectomy—to intensive medical management reduced the risk of stroke or death in patients with high-grade asymptomatic carotid stenosis. In two parallel, observer-blinded trials including more than 2,400 participants with ≥70% stenosis, the 4-year incidence of the primary composite outcome (any stroke or death from randomization […]
Better mental wellbeing substantially reduces the risk of developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), with effects that are independent of genetic predisposition and partly mediated through lower depression and anxiety. In this prospective UK Biobank cohort of 75,842 IBS-free participants followed for 12.4 years, 1,400 incident IBS cases occurred, and higher […]
Higher physical activity in midlife and late life—but not early adulthood—is associated with a significantly lower risk of both all-cause and Alzheimer disease dementia. In this prospective analysis from the US Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, 1526 early-adult, 1943 midlife, and 885 late-life participants were followed for up to 37 […]
Low-dose colchicine reduces myocardial infarction and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease (CVD) without increasing serious adverse events, although it raises the risk of mild gastrointestinal symptoms and shows no clear effect on mortality or revascularization. In an updated Cochrane review of 12 randomized controlled trials including 22,983 participants followed […]
Endotyping-informed therapy guided by adenosine stress cardiovascular MRI revised diagnoses in over half of patients with chest pain and unobstructed coronary arteries and significantly improved angina and quality of life at 12 months. In this prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial of 250 patients (mean age 63.3 years; 50.4% female) in […]
In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), early subcutaneous administration of zalunfiban significantly improved coronary artery patency and reduced the risk of adverse 30-day clinical outcomes without increasing severe bleeding. In an international, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 2,467 patients randomly assigned to receive zalunfiban (0.11 mg/kg or 0.13 mg/kg) […]
Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), particularly non-DNMT3A CHIP subtypes, is an independent risk factor for incident heart failure (HF) and may represent a novel therapeutic target. In a UK Biobank cohort of 417,616 adults (mean age, 56.1 years; 56.2% women) without prior HF or major comorbidities, 7,183 participants (1.7%) […]
Daily supplementation with n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (fish oil) significantly reduced the risk of serious cardiovascular events in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial across 26 sites in Canada and Australia, 1,228 adults on hemodialysis were assigned to receive either 4 g of fish oil daily […]