articles of medical research

Editor's Choice: AI Could Mean Better Mental Health for All

• Original Investigation Ponatinib vs Imatinib in Frontline Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial Elias Jabbour, MD; Hagop M. Kantarjian, MD; Ibrahim Aldoss, MD; et al Editorial PhALLCON Soars to New Heights—Faster, Stronger, but Better? Rebecca P. Bystrom, MD; Daniel J. DeAngelo, MD, PhD; Jacqueline S. Garcia, MD

Just Published

• Ponatinib vs Imatinib in Frontline Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive ALL Elias Jabbour, MD; et al. Original Investigation online first Elias Jabbour, MD; et al. Editorial
• Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Stages in US Adults Rahul Aggarwal, MD; et al. Research Letter online first Rahul Aggarwal, MD; et al.
• Associations of Milestone Ratings and Certification Examination Scores With Patient Outcomes Bradley M. Gray, PhD; et al. Original Investigation online first Bradley M. Gray, PhD; et al.
• Substances in Counterfeit Prescription Pills Seized by Law Enforcement, 2017-2022 Rachel S. Wightman, MD; et al. Research Letter online first Rachel S. Wightman, MD; et al.
• Youth Parental Death Due to Drug Poisoning and Firearm Violence in the US Benjamin-Samuel Schlüter, PhD; et al. Original Investigation online first free access Benjamin-Samuel Schlüter, PhD; et al.
• Meaning of Proposed Causal Inference Framework for the JAMA Network Annette Flanagin, RN, MA; et al. Editor's Note online first free access Annette Flanagin, RN, MA; et al.
• Best Versions of Ourselves Evelyn Blankenship-Lai, RN, MSN A Piece of My Mind online first Evelyn Blankenship-Lai, RN, MSN
• PhALLCON Soars to New Heights—Faster, Stronger, but Better? Rebecca P. Bystrom, MD; et al. Editorial online first Rebecca P. Bystrom, MD; et al.
• Safeguarding Research Using Federal Health Insurance Data William L. Schpero, PhD; et al. Viewpoint online first William L. Schpero, PhD; et al.
• Risks of Harm in Alzheimer Disease by Amyloid Lowering Madhav Thambisetty, MD, PhD; et al. Viewpoint online first Madhav Thambisetty, MD, PhD; et al.
• Causal Inference and Effects of Interventions From Observational Studies in Medical Journals Issa J. Dahabreh, MD, ScD; et al. Special Communication online first has active quiz Issa J. Dahabreh, MD, ScD; et al. Editor's Note
• A 3-Year-Old With Gingival Hemorrhage and Musculoskeletal Pain Khanh Trinh, DMD; et al. JAMA Clinical Challenge online first has active quiz Khanh Trinh, DMD; et al.
• The Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Trials and Clinical Practice JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH; et al. Review online first has active quiz JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH; et al.
• Lower Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage Hira Imran, MD; et al. JAMA Clinical Guidelines Synopsis online first has active quiz Hira Imran, MD; et al.
• Interstitial Lung Disease Toby M. Maher, MD, MSc, PhD Review online first has active quiz has multimedia Toby M. Maher, MD, MSc, PhD

Latest from the USPSTF

• USPSTF Recommendation: Screening for Breast Cancer
• USPSTF Recommendation: Primary Care Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment
• USPSTF Recommendation: Screening for Speech and Language Delay and Disorders
• 56,603 Views USPSTF Recommendation: Screening for Breast Cancer
• 36,865 Views Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability
• 34,425 Views Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening and 15-Year Prostate Cancer Mortality
• 32,509 Views Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• 30,615 Views Effect of Tirzepatide on Maintenance of Weight Reduction
• 26,562 Views Interstitial Lung Disease
• 24,922 Views The Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Trials and Clinical Practice
• 24,549 Views Clinical Benefit and Regulatory Outcomes of Cancer Drugs Receiving Accelerated Approval
• 24,060 Views Good Enough
• 20,649 Views Aspirin vs Placebo as Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer
• 724 Citations Antibody Response to 2-Dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Series in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients
• 704 Citations Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Using Mendelian Randomization
• 627 Citations Pancreatic Cancer
• 624 Citations USPSTF Recommendation: Screening for Colorectal Cancer
• 622 Citations Updated Guidance on the Reporting of Race and Ethnicity in Medical and Science Journals
• 522 Citations Effect of 2 Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines on Symptomatic COVID-19 Infection in Adults
• 463 Citations The Leading Causes of Death in the US for 2020
• 448 Citations Association Between IL-6 Antagonists and Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19
• 412 Citations Association Between 3 Doses of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine and Symptomatic Infection Caused by Omicron and Delta Variants
• 383 Citations Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis With Thrombocytopenia After Ad26.COV2.S Vaccination
• Register for email alerts with links to free full-text articles
• Access PDFs of free articles
• Manage your interests
• Save searches and receive search alerts

• Search by keyword
• Search by citation

Page 1 of 87

The Healthy Start scheme in England “is a lifeline for families but many are missing out”: a rapid qualitative analysis

Healthy Start (HS) is a government scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that offers a financial payment card and free vitamins to families experiencing low income. Pregnant women and families with chi...

• View Full Text

Supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q 10 in an elderly Swedish population low in selenium — positive effects on thyroid hormones, cardiovascular mortality, and quality of life

Selenium-dependent deiodinases play a central role in thyroid hormone regulation and metabolism. In many European countries, insufficient selenium intake may consequently lead to adverse effects on thyroid fun...

A proposed simplified definition of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents: a global perspective

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is becoming prevalent in the pediatric population. The existing pediatric MetS definitions (e.g., the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition and the modified National Chol...

Glucose competition between endothelial cells in the blood-spinal cord barrier and infiltrating regulatory T cells is linked to sleep restriction-induced hyperalgesia

Sleep loss is a common public health problem that causes hyperalgesia, especially that after surgery, which reduces the quality of life seriously.

Floods and cause-specific mortality in the UK: a nested case-control study

Floods are the most frequent weather-related disaster, causing significant health impacts worldwide. Limited studies have examined the long-term consequences of flooding exposure.

Histology-specific standardized incidence ratio improves the estimation of second primary lung cancer risk

Lung cancer (LC) survivors are at increased risk for developing a second primary cancer (SPC) compared to the general population. While this risk is particularly high for smoking-related SPCs, the published st...

Driving delivery and uptake of catch-up vaccination among adolescent and adult migrants in UK general practice: a mixed methods pilot study

Migrants in the UK and Europe face vulnerability to vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) due to missed childhood vaccines and doses and marginalisation from health systems. Ensuring migrants receive catch-up va...

A randomized controlled trial of an app-based intervention on physical activity and glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes

We investigated the effects of a physical activity encouragement intervention based on a smartphone personal health record (PHR) application (app) on step count increases, glycemic control, and body weight in ...

The effectiveness of a standardized tobacco cessation program on psychophysiological parameters in patients with addiction undergoing long-term rehabilitation: a quasi-experimental pilot study

Although there is a very high comorbidity between tobacco dependence and other addictive disorders, there are only few studies examining the implementation and outcomes of a tobacco cessation program in patien...

Toward evidence-based communication on overweight body mass index and mortality

Reducing overweight and obesity has been a longstanding focus of public health messaging and physician–patient interactions. Clinical guidelines by major public health organizations describe both overweight an...

Colon impairments and inflammation driven by an altered gut microbiota leads to social behavior deficits rescued by hyaluronic acid and celecoxib

The exact mechanisms linking the gut microbiota and social behavior are still under investigation. We aimed to explore the role of the gut microbiota in shaping social behavior deficits using selectively bred ...

First-trimester fetal size, accelerated growth in utero, and child neurodevelopment in a cohort study

Early pregnancy is a critical window for neural system programming; however, the association of first-trimester fetal size with children’s neurodevelopment remains to be assessed. This study aimed to explore t...

Suicide mortality following the implementation of tobacco packaging and pricing policies in Korea: an interrupted time-series analysis

To prevent tobacco use in Korea, the national quitline number was added to tobacco packages in December 2012, tobacco prices were raised by 80% in January 2015, and graphic health warning labels were placed on...

Correction: Identification of a novel bile marker clusterin and a public online prediction platform based on deep learning for cholangiocarcinoma

The original article was published in BMC Medicine 2023 21 :294

Correction: Autotaxin inhibition attenuates the aortic valve calcification by suppressing inflammation-driven fibro-calcific remodeling of valvular interstitial cells

The original article was published in BMC Medicine 2024 22 :122

Mini-dose methotrexate combined with methylprednisolone for the initial treatment of acute GVHD: a multicentre, randomized trial

There is an urgent unmet need for effective initial treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) adding to the standard first-line therapy with corticosteroids after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cel...

Long-term assessment of the NHS hybrid closed-loop real-world study on glycaemic outcomes, time-in-range, and quality of life in children and young people with type 1 diabetes

Hybrid closed-loop (HCL) systems seamlessly interface continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with insulin pumps, employing specialised algorithms and user-initiated automated insulin delivery. This study aimed to...

Osimertinib in combination with anti-angiogenesis therapy presents a promising option for osimertinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer

Osimertinib has become standard care for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients whereas drug resistance remains inevitable. Now we recognize that the inter...

Very short sleep duration reveals a proteomic fingerprint that is selectively associated with incident diabetes mellitus but not with incident coronary heart disease: a cohort study

The molecular pathways linking short and long sleep duration with incident diabetes mellitus (iDM) and incident coronary heart disease (iCHD) are not known. We aimed to identify circulating protein patterns as...

Efficacy and safety of tislelizumab plus lenvatinib as first-line treatment in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 trial

Lenvatinib is widely used in treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC), but the benefit of its combination with immunotherapy needs to be verified. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety ...

Impact of perioperative low-molecular-weight heparin therapy on clinical events of elderly patients with prior coronary stents implanted > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Little is known about the safety and efficacy of discontinuing antiplatelet therapy via LMWH bridging therapy in elderly patients with coronary stents implanted for > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery. ...

A Pfs48/45-based vaccine to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission: phase 1, open-label, clinical trial

The stalling global progress in malaria control highlights the need for novel tools for malaria elimination, including transmission-blocking vaccines. Transmission-blocking vaccines aim to induce human antibod...

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on depression incidence and healthcare service use among patients with depression: an interrupted time-series analysis from a 9-year population-based study

Most studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression burden focused on the earlier pandemic phase specific to lockdowns, but the longer-term impact of the pandemic is less well-studied. In this po...

Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes is common – intensified screening of established risk groups is imperative in Sweden: the SDPP cohort

Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a global problem. Current strategies for diagnosis in Sweden include screening individuals within primary healthcare who are of high risk, such as those with hypertension, ...

Variability in the prevalence of depression among adults with chronic pain: UK Biobank analysis through clinical prediction models

The prevalence of depression among people with chronic pain remains unclear due to the heterogeneity of study samples and definitions of depression. We aimed to identify sources of variation in the prevalence ...

Prevalence and differences in the co-administration of drugs known to interact: an analysis of three distinct and large populations

The co-administration of drugs known to interact greatly impacts morbidity, mortality, and health economics. This study aims to examine the drug–drug interaction (DDI) phenomenon with a large-scale longitudina...

Anti-PD-1 antibody in combination with radiotherapy as first-line therapy for unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) has a poor prognosis despite treatment with standard combination chemotherapy. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy in combination wi...

Characterising smoking and nicotine use behaviours among women of reproductive age: a 10-year population study in England

Tobacco smoking affects women’s fertility and is associated with substantial risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study explored trends by socioeconomic position in patterns of smoking, use of non-combust...

Lipid metabolic reprogramming mediated by circulating Nrg4 alleviates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease during the early recovery phase after sleeve gastrectomy

The metabolic benefits of bariatric surgery that contribute to the alleviation of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) have been reported. However, the processes and mechanisms unde...

Quantifying the impact of hospital catchment area definitions on hospital admissions forecasts: COVID-19 in England, September 2020–April 2021

Defining healthcare facility catchment areas is a key step in predicting future healthcare demand in epidemic settings. Forecasts of hospitalisations can be informed by leading indicators measured at the commu...

COVID-19 inequalities in England: a mathematical modelling study of transmission risk and clinical vulnerability by socioeconomic status

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in major inequalities in infection and disease burden between areas of varying socioeconomic deprivation in many countries, including England. Areas of higher deprivation tend to...

Shared genetic architecture between autoimmune disorders and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: insights from large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis

To study the shared genetic structure between autoimmune diseases and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and identify the shared risk loci and genes and genetic mechanisms involved.

Association and biological pathways between lung function and incident depression: a prospective cohort study of 280,032 participants

Lung health is increasingly recognized as an essential factor in mental health. However, prospective evidence on lung function with incident depression remains to be determined. The study aimed to examine the ...

What is quality in long covid care? Lessons from a national quality improvement collaborative and multi-site ethnography

Long covid (post covid-19 condition) is a complex condition with diverse manifestations, uncertain prognosis and wide variation in current approaches to management. There have been calls for formal quality sta...

Olfactory bulb anomalies in KBG syndrome mouse model and patients

ANKRD11 (ankyrin repeat domain 11) is a chromatin regulator and the only gene associated with KBG syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. We have previously shown that Ankrd11 regulates murine embryonic cor...

Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience

Autism spectrum disorder (hereafter referred to as autism) is characterised by difficulties with (i) social communication, social interaction, and (ii) restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours. Estim...

The effects of telehealth-delivered mindfulness meditation, cognitive therapy, and behavioral activation for chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a significant problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Three widely implemented psychological techniques used for CLBP management are cognitive therapy (CT), mindfulness ...

Assessing causal links between age at menarche and adolescent mental health: a Mendelian randomisation study

The timing of puberty may have an important impact on adolescent mental health. In particular, earlier age at menarche has been associated with elevated rates of depression in adolescents. Previous research su...

PREX2 contributes to radiation resistance by inhibiting radiotherapy-induced tumor immunogenicity via cGAS/STING/IFNs pathway in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) lacks established biomarkers or molecular targets for predicting or enhancing radiation response. Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate-dependent Rac exchange factor 2 (PREX2) exhibit...

Cervical lymph node metastasis prediction from papillary thyroid carcinoma US videos: a prospective multicenter study

Prediction of lymph node metastasis (LNM) is critical for individualized management of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients to avoid unnecessary overtreatment as well as undesired under-treatment. Artifi...

Characterizing the polygenic overlap and shared loci between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular diseases

Despite substantial research revealing that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have excessive morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the mechanism underlying this association has not bee...

Patterns of comorbidities in patients with atrial fibrillation and impact on management and long-term prognosis: an analysis from the Prospective Global GLORIA-AF Registry

Clinical complexity, as the interaction between ageing, frailty, multimorbidity and polypharmacy, is an increasing concern in patients with AF. There remains uncertainty regarding how combinations of comorbidi...

Canadians’ use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes since legalization of recreational cannabis: a cross-sectional analysis by medical authorization status

There has been a precipitous decline in authorizations for medical cannabis since non-medical cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018. This study examines the demographic and health- and medical cannabis-rela...

Interventions on gender equity in the workplace: a scoping review

Various studies have demonstrated gender disparities in workplace settings and the need for further intervention. This study identifies and examines evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on interve...

Real-world performance of indobufen versus aspirin after percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the ASPIRATION registry

Indobufen is widely used in patients with aspirin intolerance in East Asia. The OPTION trial launched by our cardiac center examined the performance of indobufen based dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after pe...

Blood leukocytes as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for thyroid nodules: a prospective cohort study

Thyroid nodule (TN) patients in China are subject to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. The implementation of existing technologies such as thyroid ultrasonography has indeed contributed to the improved diagnost...

Childhood urbanicity is associated with emotional episodic memory-related striatal function and common variation in NTRK2

Childhoods in urban or rural environments may differentially affect the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, possibly through memory processing and neural response to emotional stimuli. Genetic factors may not ...

Inpatient-level care at home delivered by virtual wards and hospital at home: a systematic review and meta-analysis of complex interventions and their components

Technology-enabled inpatient-level care at home services, such as virtual wards and hospital at home, are being rapidly implemented. This is the first systematic review to link the components of these service ...

A practical evidence-based approach to management of type 2 diabetes in children and young people (CYP): UK consensus

Type 2 diabetes in young people is an aggressive disease with a greater risk of complications leading to increased morbidity and mortality during the most productive years of life. Prevalence in the UK and glo...

Comparing the clinical practice and prescribing safety of locum and permanent doctors: observational study of primary care consultations in England

Temporary doctors, known as locums, are a key component of the medical workforce in the NHS but evidence on differences in quality and safety between locum and permanent doctors is limited. We aimed to examine...

• Editorial Team
• Editorial Board
• Call for papers
• Editor’s choice
• Sign up for article alerts and news from this journal
• Manuscript editing services

Annual Journal Metrics

2022 Citation Impact 9.3 - 2-year Impact Factor 10.4 - 5-year Impact Factor 3.011 - SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper) 3.447 - SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

2023 Speed 6 days submission to first editorial decision for all manuscripts (Median) 145 days submission to accept (Median)

2023 Usage  6,375,113 downloads 24,228 Altmetric mentions 

• More about our metrics

Announcements

medRxiv transfers

BMC Medicine  is happy to consider manuscripts that have been, or will be, posted on a preprint server. Authors are able to submit their manuscripts directly from  medRxiv , without having to re-upload files.

Registered reports

BMC Medicine is accepting Registered Reports. Find out more about this innovative format in our Submission Guidelines .

• Follow us on Twitter

BMC Medicine

ISSN: 1741-7015

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]

Research articles

Ultra-processed food consumption and all cause and cause specific mortality, comparative effectiveness of second line oral antidiabetic treatments among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, efficacy of psilocybin for treating symptoms of depression, reverse total shoulder replacement versus anatomical total shoulder replacement for osteoarthritis, effect of combination treatment with glp-1 receptor agonists and sglt-2 inhibitors on incidence of cardiovascular and serious renal events, prenatal opioid exposure and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders in children, temporal trends in lifetime risks of atrial fibrillation and its complications, antipsychotic use in people with dementia, predicting the risks of kidney failure and death in adults with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, impact of large scale, multicomponent intervention to reduce proton pump inhibitor overuse, esketamine after childbirth for mothers with prenatal depression, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use and risk of thyroid cancer, use of progestogens and the risk of intracranial meningioma, delirium and incident dementia in hospital patients, derivation and external validation of a simple risk score for predicting severe acute kidney injury after intravenous cisplatin, quality and safety of artificial intelligence generated health information, large language models and the generation of health disinformation, 25 year trends in cancer incidence and mortality among adults in the uk, cervical pessary versus vaginal progesterone in women with a singleton pregnancy, comparison of prior authorization across insurers, diagnostic accuracy of magnetically guided capsule endoscopy with a detachable string for detecting oesophagogastric varices in adults with cirrhosis, ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes, added benefit and revenues of oncology drugs approved by the ema, exposure to air pollution and hospital admission for cardiovascular diseases, short term exposure to low level ambient fine particulate matter and natural cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory morbidity, optimal timing of influenza vaccination in young children, effect of exercise for depression, association of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with cardiovascular disease and all cause death in patients with type 2 diabetes, duration of cpr and outcomes for adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest, clinical effectiveness of an online physical and mental health rehabilitation programme for post-covid-19 condition, atypia detected during breast screening and subsequent development of cancer, publishers’ and journals’ instructions to authors on use of generative ai in academic and scientific publishing, effectiveness of glp-1 receptor agonists on glycaemic control, body weight, and lipid profile for type 2 diabetes, neurological development in children born moderately or late preterm, invasive breast cancer and breast cancer death after non-screen detected ductal carcinoma in situ, all cause and cause specific mortality in obsessive-compulsive disorder, acute rehabilitation following traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation, perinatal depression and risk of mortality, undisclosed financial conflicts of interest in dsm-5-tr, effect of risk mitigation guidance opioid and stimulant dispensations on mortality and acute care visits, update to living systematic review on sars-cov-2 positivity in offspring and timing of mother-to-child transmission, perinatal depression and its health impact, christmas 2023: common healthcare related instruments subjected to magnetic attraction study, using autoregressive integrated moving average models for time series analysis of observational data, demand for morning after pill following new year holiday, christmas 2023: christmas recipes from the great british bake off, effect of a doctor working during the festive period on population health: experiment using doctor who episodes, christmas 2023: analysis of barbie medical and science career dolls, christmas 2023: effect of chair placement on physicians’ behavior and patients’ satisfaction, management of chronic pain secondary to temporomandibular disorders, christmas 2023: projecting complete redaction of clinical trial protocols, christmas 2023: a drug target for erectile dysfunction to help improve fertility, sexual activity, and wellbeing, christmas 2023: efficacy of cola ingestion for oesophageal food bolus impaction, conservative management versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy in adults with gallstone disease, social media use and health risk behaviours in young people, untreated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 and cervical cancer, air pollution deaths attributable to fossil fuels, implementation of a high sensitivity cardiac troponin i assay and risk of myocardial infarction or death at five years, covid-19 vaccine effectiveness against post-covid-19 condition, association between patient-surgeon gender concordance and mortality after surgery, intravascular imaging guided versus coronary angiography guided percutaneous coronary intervention, treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms in men in primary care using a conservative intervention, autism intervention meta-analysis of early childhood studies, effectiveness of the live zoster vaccine during the 10 years following vaccination, effects of a multimodal intervention in primary care to reduce second line antibiotic prescriptions for urinary tract infections in women, pyrotinib versus placebo in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel in patients with her2 positive metastatic breast cancer, association of dcis size and margin status with risk of developing breast cancer post-treatment, racial differences in low value care among older patients in the us, pharmaceutical industry payments and delivery of low value cancer drugs, rosuvastatin versus atorvastatin in adults with coronary artery disease, clinical effectiveness of septoplasty versus medical management for nasal airways obstruction, ultrasound guided lavage with corticosteroid injection versus sham lavage with and without corticosteroid injection for calcific tendinopathy of shoulder, early versus delayed antihypertensive treatment in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, mortality risks associated with floods in 761 communities worldwide, interactive effects of ambient fine particulate matter and ozone on daily mortality in 372 cities, association between changes in carbohydrate intake and long term weight changes, future-case control crossover analysis for adjusting bias in case crossover studies, association between recently raised anticholinergic burden and risk of acute cardiovascular events, suboptimal gestational weight gain and neonatal outcomes in low and middle income countries: individual participant data meta-analysis, efficacy and safety of an inactivated virus-particle vaccine for sars-cov-2, effect of invitation letter in language of origin on screening attendance: randomised controlled trial in breastscreen norway, visits by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the usa, non-erosive gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, venous thromboembolism with use of hormonal contraception and nsaids, food additive emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease, balancing risks and benefits of cannabis use, promoting activity, independence, and stability in early dementia and mild cognitive impairment, effect of home cook interventions for salt reduction in china, cancer mortality after low dose exposure to ionising radiation, effect of a smartphone intervention among university students with unhealthy alcohol use, long term risk of death and readmission after hospital admission with covid-19 among older adults, mortality rates among patients successfully treated for hepatitis c, association between antenatal corticosteroids and risk of serious infection in children, the proportions of term or late preterm births after exposure to early antenatal corticosteroids, and outcomes, safety of ba.4-5 or ba.1 bivalent mrna booster vaccines, comparative effectiveness of booster vaccines among adults aged ≥50 years, third dose vaccine schedules against severe covid-19 during omicron predominance in nordic countries, private equity ownership and impacts on health outcomes, costs, and quality, healthcare disruption due to covid-19 and avoidable hospital admission, follow us on, content links.

• Collections
• Health in South Asia
• Women’s, children’s & adolescents’ health
• News and views
• BMJ Opinion
• Rapid responses
• Editorial staff
• BMJ in the USA
• BMJ in South Asia
• Submit your paper
• BMA members
• Subscribers
• Advertisers and sponsors

Explore BMJ

• Our company
• BMJ Careers
• BMJ Learning
• BMJ Masterclasses
• BMJ Journals
• BMJ Student
• Academic edition of The BMJ
• BMJ Best Practice
• The BMJ Awards
• Email alerts
• Activate subscription

Information

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Physical Fitness Linked to Better Mental Health in Young People

A new study bolsters existing research suggesting that exercise can protect against anxiety, depression and attention challenges.

By Matt Richtel

Physical fitness among children and adolescents may protect against developing depressive symptoms, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study also found that better performance in cardiovascular activities, strength and muscular endurance were each associated with greater protection against such mental health conditions. The researchers deemed this linkage “dose-dependent,” suggesting that a child or adolescent who is more fit may be accordingly less likely to experience the onset of a mental health disorder.

These findings come amid a surge of mental health diagnoses among children and adolescents, in the United States and abroad, that have prompted efforts to understand and curb the problem.

The new study, conducted by researchers in Taiwan, compared data from two large data sets: the Taiwan National Student Fitness Tests, which measures student fitness performance in schools, and the National Insurance Research Databases, which records medical claims, diagnoses prescriptions and other medical information. The researchers did not have access to the students’ names but were able to use the anonymized data to compare the students’ physical fitness and mental health results.

The risk of mental health disorder was weighted against three metrics for physical fitness: cardio fitness, as measured by a student’s time in an 800-meter run; muscle endurance, indicated by the number of situps performed; and muscle power, measured by the standing broad jump.

Improved performance in each activity was linked with a lower risk of mental health disorder. For instance, a 30-second decrease in 800-meter time was associated, in girls, with a lower risk of anxiety, depression and A.D.H.D. In boys, it was associated with lower anxiety and risk of the disorder.

An increase of five situps per minute was associated with lower anxiety and risk of the disorder in boys, and with decreased risk of depression and anxiety in girls.

“These findings suggest the potential of cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness as protective factors in mitigating the onset of mental health disorders among children and adolescents,” the researchers wrote in the journal article.

Physical and mental health were already assumed to be linked , they added, but previous research had relied largely on questionnaires and self-reports, whereas the new study drew from independent assessments and objective standards.

The Big Picture

The surgeon general, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, has called mental health “the defining public health crisis of our time,” and he has made adolescent mental health central to his mission. In 2021 he issued a rare public advisory on the topic. Statistics at the time revealed alarming trends: From 2001 to 2019, the suicide rate for Americans ages 10 to 19 rose 40 percent, and emergency visits related to self-harm rose 88 percent.

Some policymakers and researchers have blamed the sharp increase on the heavy use of social media, but research has been limited and the findings sometimes contradictory. Other experts theorize that heavy screen use has affected adolescent mental health by displacing sleep, exercise and in-person activity, all of which are considered vital to healthy development. The new study appeared to support the link between physical fitness and mental health.

“The finding underscores the need for further research into targeted physical fitness programs,” its authors concluded. Such programs, they added, “hold significant potential as primary preventative interventions against mental disorders in children and adolescents.”

Matt Richtel is a health and science reporter for The Times, based in Boulder, Colo. More about Matt Richtel

Understanding A.D.H.D.

The challenges faced by those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be daunting. but people who are diagnosed with it can still thrive..

Millions of children in the United States have received a diagnosis of A.D.H.D . Here is how their families can support them .

The condition is also being recognized more in adults . These are some of the behaviors  that might be associated with adult A.D.H.D.

Since a nationwide Adderall shortage started, some people with A.D.H.D. have said their medication no longer helps with their symptoms. But there could be other factors at play .

Everyone has bouts of distraction and forgetfulness. Here is when psychiatrists diagnose it as something clinical .

The disorder can put a strain on relationships. But there are ways to cope .

Though meditation can be beneficial to those with A.D.H.D., sitting still and focusing on breathing can be hard for them. These tips can help .

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• Health Topics
• Drugs & Supplements
• Medical Tests
• Medical Encyclopedia
• About MedlinePlus
• Customer Support

Understanding Medical Research

Related issues, see, play and learn, videos and tutorials, statistics and research.

• Journal Articles

Reference Desk

Find an expert.

• No links available

It seems to happen almost every day - you hear about the results of a new medical research study. Sometimes the results of one study seem to disagree with the results of another study.

It's important to be critical when reading or listening to reports of new medical findings. Some questions that can help you evaluate health information include:

• Was the study in animals or people?
• Does the study include people like you?
• How big was the study?
• Was it a randomized controlled clinical trial ?
• Where was the research done?
• If a new treatment was being tested, were there side effects?
• Who paid for the research?
• Who is reporting the results?

NIH: National Institutes of Health

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Considering Sex as a Variable at a Research University: Knowledge, Attitudes,...
• Article: Different domains of dengue research in the Philippines: A systematic review...
• Article: The impact of a digital platform on migraine patient-centered outcome research....
• Understanding Medical Research -- see more articles

The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.

Watch CBS News

Limit these ultra-processed foods for longer-term health, 30-year study suggests

By Sara Moniuszko

Edited By Paula Cohen

May 9, 2024 / 2:13 PM EDT / CBS News

New research is adding to the evidence linking  ultra-processed foods  to health concerns. The study tracked people's habits over 30 years and found those who reported eating more of certain ultra-processed foods had a slightly higher risk of death — with four categories of foods found to be the biggest culprits. 

For the study, published in The BMJ , researchers analyzed data on more than 100,000 U.S. adults with no history of cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Every four years between 1986 and 2018, the participants completed a detailed food questionnaire.

The data showed those who ate the most  ultra-processed food — about 7 servings per day — had a 4% higher risk of death by any cause, compared to participants who ate the lowest amount, a median of about 3 servings per day.

Ultra-processed foods include "packaged baked goods and snacks, fizzy drinks, sugary cereals, and ready-to-eat or heat products,"  a news release  for the study noted. "They often contain colors, emulsifiers, flavors, and other additives and are typically high in energy, added sugar, saturated fat, and salt, but lack vitamins and fiber."

Foods with the strongest associations with increased mortality, according to the study, included:

• Ready-to-eat meat, poultry and seafood-based products
• Sugary drinks
• Dairy-based desserts
• Highly processed breakfast foods

The research included a large number of participants over a long timespan, but it did have some limitations. As an observational study, no exact cause-and-effect conclusions can be drawn. And the participants were health professionals and predominantly White and non-Hispanic, "limiting the generalizability of our findings," the authors acknowledged.

But they wrote that the findings "provide support for limiting consumption of certain types of ultra-processed food for long term health." 

"Future studies are warranted to improve the classification of ultra-processed foods and confirm our findings in other populations," they added.

This study comes after other research published earlier this year found diets high in ultra-processed food are associated with an increased risk of 32 damaging health outcomes , including higher risk for cancer, major heart and lung conditions, gastrointestinal issues, obesity, type 2 diabetes, sleep issues, mental health disorders and early death.

Sara Moniuszko is a health and lifestyle reporter at CBSNews.com. Previously, she wrote for USA Today, where she was selected to help launch the newspaper's wellness vertical. She now covers breaking and trending news for CBS News' HealthWatch.

More from CBS News

Over 321,000 U.S. children lost a parent to overdose over 10 years, study finds

New genus of tiny, prehistoric hornless deer found at Badlands National Park

How to get long-term care insurance with pre-existing conditions

Study raises concern over exposure to flame retardant chemicals in some car seats

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts

Medical research articles within Scientific Reports

Article 09 May 2024 | Open Access

Comparison of anthracycline-containing and anthracycline-free regimens in neoadjuvant HER-2 positive breast cancer treatment

• Murat Bardakci
• , Hilal Karakas
•  &  Bulent Yalcin

A novel anti-LAG-3/TIGIT bispecific antibody exhibits potent anti-tumor efficacy in mouse models as monotherapy or in combination with PD-1 antibody

• Tongcheng Dai
•  &  Binhua Lv

A nomogram to predict mortality in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome

• , Xuezhen Song
•  &  Jinshuang Bo

Differential expression analysis identifies a prognostically significant extracellular matrix–enriched gene signature in hyaluronan-positive clear cell renal cell carcinoma

• Otto Jokelainen
• , Teemu J. Rintala
•  &  Timo K. Nykopp

LRBA, a BEACH protein mutated in human immune deficiency, is widely expressed in epithelia, exocrine and endocrine glands, and neurons

• Eleni Roussa
• , Pavel Juda
•  &  Manfred W. Kilimann

A novel multi-task machine learning classifier for rare disease patterning using cardiac strain imaging data

• Nanda K. Siva
• , Yashbir Singh
•  &  Naveena Yanamala

Preparation of orodispersible tablets of bosentan using xylitol and menthol as dissolution enhancers

• Rania Mohamed Sakr
• , Abdelaziz El Sayed Abdelaziz
•  &  Gamal Mohamed El Maghraby

Article 08 May 2024 | Open Access

Development of a clinical calculator to aid the identification of MODY in pediatric patients at the time of diabetes diagnosis

• Beverley M. Shields
• , Annelie Carlsson
•  &  Johnny Ludvigsson

Preoperative three-dimensional lung volumetry predicts respiratory complications in patients undergoing major liver resection for colorectal metastases

• Suzan Elmaagacli
• , Christoph Thiele
•  &  Iakovos Amygdalos

Comprehensive analysis of two hotspot codons in the TUBB4B gene and associated phenotypes

• Jan-Philipp Bodenbender
• , Valerio Marino
•  &  Laura Kühlewein

Post-intensive care syndrome and health-related quality of life in long-term survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective cohort study

• Simon A. Amacher
• , Christian Sahmer
•  &  Sabina Hunziker

Differential expression of angiogenesis-related genes ‘VEGF’ and ‘angiopoietin-1’ in metastatic and EMAST-positive colorectal cancer patients

• Amir Torshizi Esfahani
• , Somayeh Mohammadpour
•  &  Ehsan Nazemalhosseini-Mojarad

Selective but not pan-CDK inhibition abrogates 5-FU-driven tissue factor upregulation in colon cancer

• Annika Kayser
• , Annabell Wolff
•  &  Claudia Maletzki

Molecular histopathology of matrix proteins through autofluorescence super-resolution microscopy

• Biswajoy Ghosh
• , Jyotirmoy Chatterjee
•  &  Krishna Agarwal

Association of the CUN-BAE body adiposity estimator and other obesity indicators with cardiometabolic multimorbidity: a cross-sectional study

• Xuejiao Chen
• , Shuoji Geng
•  &  Qingfeng Tian

Article 07 May 2024 | Open Access

Molecular characterization of influenza virus circulating in Nepal in the year 2019

• Rachana Mehta
• , Bimalesh Kumar Jha
•  &  Runa Jha

Doxycycline protects against sepsis-induced endothelial glycocalyx shedding

• João Gabriel Craveiro Gonçalves de Oliveira
•  &  Carlos Henrique Miranda

Determinants of nutritional status of children aged 6–59 months in the case of Itang special woreda, Gambella, Ethiopia

• Chekol Alemu
• , Habitamu Wudu
•  &  Meseret Abeje

Prediction and causal inference of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases based on lifestyle questionnaires

• , Shigehiro Karashima
•  &  Hidetaka Nambo

Ultrasonography of the normal donkey tarsus ( equus asinus )

• Zakriya Almohamad

Stroke walking and balance characteristics via principal component analysis

• , Sunghe Ha
•  &  Hogene Kim

Analysis on efficacy of magnetic resonance lymphangiography using INV-001 in healthy beagle dogs

• Ji Sung Jang
•  &  Kyung Won Kim

Common cold viruses circulating in children threaten wild chimpanzees through asymptomatic adult carriers

• Taylor E. Weary
• , Tressa Pappas
•  &  Tony L. Goldberg

Identification of early coagulation changes associated with survival outcomes post severe burns from multiple perspectives

• Shengyu Huang
•  &  Feng Zhu

Influence of acute kidney injury and its recovery subtypes on patient-centered outcomes after lung transplantation

• Jin Ha Park
• , Jae‑Kwang Shim
•  &  Young-Lan Kwak

Clinico-epidemiological evaluation of pharmaceutical/non-pharmaceutical poisoning in a referral poisoning emergency in the Central part of Iran

• Nastaran Eizadi-Mood
• , Hamed Sanjari
•  &  Rokhsareh Meamar

Evaluating the factor structure, reliability and validity of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (CBI-SS) among faculty of arts students of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

• Kehinde Sunday Oluwadiya
• , Omolara Kikelomo Owoeye
•  &  Adekunle Olatayo Adeoti

Article 06 May 2024 | Open Access

Validity and reliability of the heart failure-specific health literacy scale in Turkish

• Asli Kalkim
• , Emine Karaman
•  &  Pinar Tosun Taşar

Ratio of plasma IL-13/TNF- ∝ and CXCL10/CCL17 predicts mepolizumab and omalizumab response in asthma better than eosinophil count or immunoglobulin E level

• Ayobami Akenroye
• , Tanawin Nopsopon
•  &  Tanya M. Laidlaw

Synthesis and in silico inhibitory action studies of azo-anchored imidazo[4,5- b ]indole scaffolds against the COVID-19 main protease (M pro )

• Deepika Geedkar
• , Ashok Kumar
•  &  Pratibha Sharma

A Japanese herbal medicine (kampo), hochuekkito (TJ-41), has anti-inflammatory effects on the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mouse model

• Masaaki Yuki
• , Taro Ishimori
•  &  Akihisa Mitani

The association of hypertension among married Indian couples: a nationally representative cross-sectional study

• Jithin Sam Varghese
• , Arpita Ghosh
•  &  Shivani A. Patel

Neurological features of Hansen disease: a retrospective, multicenter cohort study

• Xiaohua Chen
•  &  Xiqing Zhang

Article 05 May 2024 | Open Access

Potential clinical value of fibrinogen-like protein 1 as a serum biomarker for the identification of diabetic cardiomyopathy

•  &  Qing-Bo Lu

Glaucoma detection using non-perfused areas in OCTA

• Julia Schottenhamml
• , Tobias Würfl
•  &  Christian Mardin

Article 04 May 2024 | Open Access

Breath-by-breath comparison of a novel percutaneous phrenic nerve stimulation approach with mechanical ventilation in juvenile pigs: a pilot study

• Matthias Manfred Deininger
• , Dmitrij Ziles
•  &  Thomas Breuer

Evaluation of ChatGPT’s responses to information needs and information seeking of dementia patients

• Hamid Reza Saeidnia
• , Marcin Kozak
•  &  Mohammad Hassanzadeh

Differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules using heterogeneity quantification software on ultrasound images: correlation with the Bethesda system and surgical pathology

• Young Jae Ryu
• , Jin Woong Kim
•  &  Tae-Hoon Kim

Evaluation of the relationship between body composition and dietary habits of physically active people with disabilities

• Agnieszka Pelc
• , Katarzyna Walicka-Cupryś
•  &  Katarzyna Placek

A psychometric assessment of a novel scale for evaluating vaccination attitudes amidst a major public health crisis

• Linan Cheng
• , Jianhui Kong
•  &  Fengying Zhang

Article 03 May 2024 | Open Access

The efficacy of bracing in the treatment of progressive early-onset scoliosis

• , Jigong Wu
•  &  Litao Huo

Electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with microtia

• , Xiaoying Tian
•  &  Bo Pan

Personality traits explain the relationship between psychedelic use and less depression in a comparative study

• David K. Sjöström
• , Emma Claesdotter-Knutsson
•  &  Petri J. Kajonius

The severity of COVID-19 upon hospital admission is associated with plasma omega-3 fatty acids

• Ligia P. Fernandes
• , Igor H. Murai
•  &  Inar A. Castro

Effect of pooled tracheal sample testing on the probability of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae detection

• Ana Paula Serafini Poeta Silva
• , Robert Mugabi
•  &  Maria Jose Clavijo

Statistical analysis of three data sources for Covid-19 monitoring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

• Maximilian Pilz
• , Karl-Heinz Küfer
•  &  Neele Leithäuser

Feasibility, safety, efficacy and potential scaling-up of sofosbuvir-based HCV treatment in Central and West Africa: (TAC ANRS 12311 trial)

• Karine Lacombe
• , Raoul Moh
•  &  Rina Djubgang

Ketamine-induced prevention of SD-associated late infarct progression in experimental ischemia

• A. Zdunczyk
• , L. Schumm
•  &  Johannes Woitzik

Follicle-stimulating hormone receptor expression in advanced atherosclerotic plaques

• Nicolae Ghinea
• , Elisa Anamaria Liehn
•  &  Tine Kold Olesen

Socioeconomic and geographic inequalities in antenatal and postnatal care components in India, 2016–2021

• , Sohee Jung
•  &  Rockli Kim

Browse broader subjects

• Health sciences

Browse narrower subjects

• Drug development
• Epidemiology
• Experimental models of disease
• Genetics research
• Outcomes research
• Paediatric research
• Preclinical research
• Stem-cell research
• Clinical trial design
• Translational research

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

• Your Health
• Treatments & Tests
• Health Inc.
• Public Health

In a decade of drug overdoses, more than 320,000 American children lost a parent

Rhitu Chatterjee

Esther Nesbitt lost two of her children to drug overdoses, and her grandchildren are among more than 320,000 who lost parents in the overdose epidemic. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

Esther Nesbitt lost two of her children to drug overdoses, and her grandchildren are among more than 320,000 who lost parents in the overdose epidemic.

More than 320,000 children across the United States lost a parent due to a drug overdose between 2011 and 2021. That's according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry Wednesday.

"It's a call to arms to pay close attention to the consequences of a parent who dies due to a drug overdose," saysHarvard neuroscientist Charles Nelson III , who wasn't involved in the new study.

The impact of the country's overdose epidemic on children is something "we really don't speak much about," says Dr. Nora Volkow , director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and an author of the new study.

"The [overdose] numbers and mortality are so high that it attracts all of the attention and urgency to address it, to protect people from dying," she adds. "But at the same time, we've basically neglected to realize that when someone dies, there is a family that's left behind. And if the family has young children, that makes them very, very vulnerable."

Several federal agencies including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the study.

Kids who experience the death of a parent or a primary caregiver are at risk of a range of poor health and educational outcomes, according to previous research.

For example, the death of a parent makes children more likely to do poorly at school and even drop out . A 2018 study found that children who experienced the sudden death of a parent are more likely to have trouble functioning and have symptoms of depression and post traumatic stress disorder.

The new paper was inspired by recent studies on estimates of children who lost a parent or primary caregiver to Covid-19 , says Volkow, drawing attention to the multigenerational effects of the pandemic.

Volkow and her co-authors found that the rate of children who lost a parent from an overdose rose by 134% during the study period – from 27 per 100,000 children in 2011 to 63 per 100,000 in 2021.

More children — over 192,000 — lost a father to drug overdose compared to the 129,000 who lost a mother.

More than half of these bereaved kids had parents who died between the ages of 26 to 40 years, followed by 41 to 64 years, and 18 to 25 years.

The largest number of parents who died were non-Hispanic White, followed by Hispanic and Black. However, the highest rate of parental drug overdose losses were among American Indian and Alaska Native children.

"Children that come from underrepresented groups with higher adversity, economic and social, which already puts them at higher risk for behavioral health disorders and mental health disorders," says Volkow. Those risks can be further exacerbated by the death of a parent due to overdose, she adds.

"When I read the [new] paper, I had this sense of déja vu," says Nelson, who is an author of a 2021 study that estimated the number of children in the United States who lost a parent due to COVID-19-related causes.

However, the long term risks may be even greater for kids who lost a parent due to a drug overdose, says Nelson.

A memorial for those lost to the opioid epidemic in Binghamton, NY, in Aug. 2021. A study in JAMA Psychiatry Wednesday tallies how many children lost parents to overdoses. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

A memorial for those lost to the opioid epidemic in Binghamton, NY, in Aug. 2021. A study in JAMA Psychiatry Wednesday tallies how many children lost parents to overdoses.

"There's so many factors involved so that kids could get very, very tangled up in their thinking about why their parent overdosed," says Nelson.

For example, a child might get preoccupied with questions like "Was it preventable? Why did my father do this? Why didn't they stop taking drugs?" he says.

Besides, as the study points out, growing up in a household where a parent uses substances is itself a childhood trauma with potential for long-term health consequences for a child. "There's all the neglect that goes along with that, with certain substances. That's very common," says Nelson. "There is the abuse that sometimes travels with that."

As a result, a child whose parent died from a drug overdose may experience complex grief, and need more specialized mental health care, he adds.

There are other factors adding more stress to the lives of these bereaved children, says Nelson. "The worst of it is the stigma associated with having lost a parent to an overdose," he says. "So that would mean that these kids could be stigmatized in school."

Then there is the risk of future substance use. "As these kids get to adolescence, they too might start using drugs," says Nelson. "It gets really complicated."

Volkow hopes the study will spur actions to better address the needs of these children, so their long-term risks can be minimized. For example, she hopes there will be efforts made to keep children with their siblings and/or other relatives, with families receiving the supports and services they need to address these children's mental health needs.

"If a child loses a parent, [and] the child welfare system comes in and they remove them and take them away from other siblings, and then they lose not just the parent, they lose the sibling, they lose the school system that they have," says Volkow.

And there is a lot more to be done to prevent the death of parents due to overdoses in the first place, says Volkow, through policies that encourage parents to seek treatment for their substance use.

However, parents, especially mothers (and pregnant women) face tremendous stigma and punitive state laws which discourage them from seeking treatment, she says.

'As a physician, if someone comes to me and they are actually taking drugs and say they are pregnant, I have to report that," Volkow says.

In some states, such reporting eventually leads to the child being taken away from the mother soon after birth. Laws like these discourage women from seeking treatment for substance use, she adds. "Seeking treatment should not be something that people should be afraid of."

• opioid addiciton
• opioid crisis
• children grief

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Chemicals in vapes could be highly toxic when heated, research finds

AI analysis of 180 vape flavours finds that products contain 127 ‘acutely toxic’ chemicals, 153 ‘health hazards’ and 225 ‘irritants’

Chemicals used to produce vapes could be acutely toxic when heated and inhaled, according to research .

Vaping devices heat the liquid flavouring to high temperatures to form an aerosol that is then inhaled. They contain chemicals including vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, nicotine and flavourings, blended in various amounts.

Previous experiments have shown that some fruit-flavoured vapes – such as strawberry, melon and blueberry – produce dangerous compounds called volatile carbonyls due to this heating process.

These compounds are known to have health implications for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease and cancers.

With so many chemicals used in tens of thousands of different vape products, conducting experiments to test every brand and flavour for toxicity could take decades of research.

Instead, the study used AI to analyse the chemical composition of 180 vape flavours and simulate how they decompose when heated. The research, published in Scientific Reports , predicted that vapes produce 127 “acutely toxic” chemicals, 153 “health hazards” and 225 “irritants”.

Nearly every flavour put through the AI predictor showed at least one product that was classified as a health hazard, with many predicting several. The toxins were associated with vapes containing no nicotine, as well as those with.

The research team at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin , conclude there is a “potential public health threat facing the 4.5 million vapers in the UK” and an urgent need for “enhanced restrictions” on flavours and regulations that are reflective of the health risks of vaping, especially for young people.

In January, the government announced that it would ban disposable vapes and restrict sweet and fruity flavours . Lead author Donal O’Shea, professor of chemistry at RCSI, said that the UK government should go further and remove all flavours from vapes.

It is crucial to understand the impact of flavoured vapes on health “before it’s too late”, he added.

“It is plausible that we are on the cusp of a new wave of chronic diseases that will emerge 15 to 20 years from now due to these exposures.”

Given the popularity of flavoured vapes among non-smoking teenagers and young adults, understanding the long-term effects of these products on public health, morbidity and mortality is crucial, the study concludes.

“Without comprehensive regulation, as we try to treat the nicotine addictions of older tobacco smokers, there is a substantial risk of transferring new health issues to younger generations.”

Responding to the findings, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The health advice is clear – if you don’t smoke, don’t vape and children should never vape.

“That’s why we are banning disposable vapes and our tobacco and vapes bill includes powers to limit flavours, packaging and displays of vapes to reduce the appeal to children.

“It is clear that flavours like cotton candy and cherry cola are deliberately being targeted at children, not adult smokers trying to quit, which is completely unacceptable. That is why we are taking decisive action and will be restricting vape flavours.”

Prof Sanjay Agrawal, the Royal College of Physicians’ special adviser on tobacco, said that while vaping can be a very effective way to break the addiction to tobacco, it should only be used for this purpose.

“Vaping is not risk-free, so those who don’t smoke, including children and young people, should not vape either,” he said.

John Dunne, director general at the trade body the UK Vaping Industry Association, said: “The science on vaping is very clear, it is the most effective way for smokers to quit and is at least 95% less harmful than smoking. Every chemical used in vaping e-liquid in the UK is stringently tested, including analysing chemicals when heated, and is only approved for use by the UK government if it is deemed safe.”

Most viewed

Celebrating Our Research Eras: ODU COHS Research Day 2024

On Friday, April 19, Old Dominion University's College of Health Sciences (COHS) held its annual Research Day to include oral and poster presentations from undergraduate, master's and doctoral students. The symposium showcased a wide array of research with 39 presentations, including 5 podium talks and 34 poster displays, from students across various degree levels: 7 undergraduate, 8 master's, 7 doctor of physical therapy, and 17 PhD students. This diversity not only highlighted the depth of research being undertaken at ODU but also emphasized the university's commitment to fostering an interdisciplinary and inclusive academic environment.

The day concluded with compelling keynote speeches from Dr. Stacie Ringleb and Dr. Brittany Samulski, each representing different stages in their careers and offering unique insights into the lifecycle of a researcher. Dr. Ringleb, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access and Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, shared poignant stories from her career trajectory, emphasizing how personal challenges can intersect with professional achievements. She recounted a telling incident with a babysitter who thought engineering was too challenging and "for the boys," which spurred her to create the Ed+gineering program, mentoring young students in STEM. "Your personal life is going to impact your career, but you can still reach your goals," Dr. Ringleb advised, encapsulating the resilience required to navigate both realms.

Dr. Brittany Samulski’s keynote creatively paralleled her academic journey with Taylor Swift's thematic eras, illustrating the evolution from foundational experiences to periods of bold exploration and significant collaborations. "Becoming a researcher is like becoming a pop star, right?" she quipped. From her initial "Fearless" beginnings to the collaborative "Red" era, she described her academic path with infectious enthusiasm, from her beginnings in clinical work to developing impactful community partnerships and innovative research projects.

This year's Research Day not only showcased the exceptional talents and rigorous inquiry of ODU’s students and faculty but also reinforced the notion that we are all part of a broader, evolving "Research Era" at ODU, where every project and presentation contributes to the grand narrative of discovery and innovation at our university.

Reflecting on the day’s achievements, it's evident that Old Dominion University’s College of Health Sciences is a vibrant hub of scholarly activity, continuously evolving and pushing the boundaries of knowledge and practice in health sciences.

Enhance your college career by gaining relevant experience with the skills and knowledge needed for your future career. Discover our experiential learning opportunities.

Picture yourself in the classroom, speak with professors in your major, and meet current students.

From sports games to concerts and lectures, join the ODU community at a variety of campus events.