Risk


Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to the Risk of Chronic Diseases

Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) was associated with increased risks of multiple chronic diseases and all-cause mortality, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of 51 prospective cohort studies involving 8,819,894 adults. Compared with lower consumption, higher UPF intake was associated with greater risks of cardiovascular events (HR 1.24), […]


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) […]


Recombinant Shingles Vaccine Linked to Reduced Cardiovascular Risk

The recombinant shingles vaccine was associated with a 9% reduction in overall cardiovascular burden over 7 years among adults aged 60 years or older, based on a natural experiment that reduced confounding from existing studies comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Researchers compared adults vaccinated immediately before versus immediately after the […]


Central Adiposity Improves Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Beyond BMI

Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) identified important differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk that were not captured by conventional BMI categories, suggesting that central adiposity can reclassify CVD risk across normal weight, overweight, and obesity and provide additional diagnostic and prognostic information. The US Cross-Cohort Collaboration study included […]


Incidental Coronary Calcium on Routine Chest CT Predicts Future Cardiovascular Risk as Well as Dedicated Heart Scans

Incidental coronary artery calcium (CAC) identified on routine nongated chest CT scans predicts future coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events with prognostic performance comparable to dedicated gated cardiac CT, supporting its incorporation into routine clinical practice for cardiovascular risk assessment. This study included 2,472 participants from the […]


Higher TMAO Levels Linked to Greater Risk of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Higher blood levels of the gut microbiome-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) were independently associated with an increased risk of developing abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) and experiencing serious AAA-related events in apparently healthy older adults. Researchers measured plasma TMAO levels in 4,442 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older from the […]


Accelerated Biological Aging Linked to Higher Cancer Risk

Accelerated biological aging was associated with a higher risk of early-onset solid cancers in young adults, particularly lung, gastrointestinal, and uterine cancers, suggesting that biological aging may help explain the rising incidence of cancer in recent generations. In a study of 154,169 young adults from the UK Biobank, systemic biological […]