Public Health News and Research

RSS

Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly set to begin in May 2025

The Seventy-eighth session of the World Health Assembly (WHA78) will convene from 19 to 27 May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme "One World for Health".

16 May 2025

Socioeconomic gaps persist in COVID-19 vaccination among older Swedes

The spring COVID-19 vaccination program in Sweden is in its final stages in several parts of the country. The program has encompassed free booster doses for those at increased risk of serious illness, including the very oldest members of society.

16 May 2025

Study shows how lung capacity evolves from childhood to old age

A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by "la Caixa" Foundation, in collaboration with the Clínic-IDIBAPS, has shown for the first time, how lung capacity evolves from childhood to old age.

15 May 2025

HIV vaccine study marks breakthrough in targeting broad immune responses

A decades-long scientific challenge in HIV vaccine development has been finding a way to train the immune system to produce antibodies that can target many variants of the virus.

15 May 2025

New genetic database sheds light on Brazil’s ancestry and disease risks

Since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, the world's scientific community has been racing to decipher this "book" written in an alphabet of four letters.

15 May 2025

Study: The link between physical fitness and reduced risk of mortality may be misleading

That fit people have a reduced risk of premature death from various diseases is a recurring result in many studies.

15 May 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': GOP poised to cut billions in health benefits

After all-night markups, two key House committees approved GOP budget legislation that would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from federal health programs over the next decade, mostly from the Medicaid program for people with low incomes or disabilities.

15 May 2025

Study sheds light on public attitudes about transplant allocations

Becoming an organ donor has never been easier. Registration is available online when renewing a driver's license or, for iPhone users, through an app.

15 May 2025

New WHO report reveals the deeper health impacts caused by COVID-19 pandemic

WHO published its World health statistics report 2025, revealing the deeper health impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on loss of lives, longevity and overall health and well-being.

15 May 2025

Study links all types of cyberbullying to PTSD in teens

As concern grows over adolescent mental health, a new national study adds to the growing body of research showing that cyberbullying should be considered an adverse childhood experience (ACE) – a category of childhood trauma linked to long-term emotional, psychological and physical harm.

15 May 2025

SLIRP protein identified as key regulator of immune responses

Even after the COVID-19 pandemic, various new infectious diseases continue to emerge, posing ongoing viral threats that demand robust and sustained immune defenses.

15 May 2025

Snus withdrawal linked to weight gain and elevated blood pressure

Snus users who stopped using snus experienced higher blood pressure and gained weight. This has been shown by a research group at Linköping University, Sweden, in a study on 33 people, published in Harm Reduction Journal.

15 May 2025

Rethinking the public health workforce for a changing world

As the U.S. continues to face complex public health challenges, a new paper published by a researcher at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health calls for a redefinition of the public health workforce-one that goes beyond traditional boundaries and acknowledges the growing number of professionals outside government agencies who contribute to public health.

15 May 2025

Flavonoid-rich foods lower risk of frailty and mental decline in older adults

A large US cohort study found that higher intakes of flavonoid-rich foods, such as tea, apples, berries, citrus, and red wine, were linked to modestly lower risks of frailty, poor mental health, and impaired physical function in older adults.

14 May 2025

Loss of drug subsidies linked to higher mortality among low-income Medicare beneficiaries

While it may seem intuitive that people would die without life-saving medications, Penn and Harvard researchers have connected losing a federally funded prescription drug assistance program and an increase in mortality.

14 May 2025

AI model offers early warning for acute malnutrition in Kenya

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the USC School of Advanced Computing and the Keck School of Medicine, working alongside experts from the Microsoft AI for Good Lab, Amref Health Africa, and Kenya's Ministry of Health, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict acute child malnutrition in Kenya up to six months in advance.

14 May 2025

Portfolio diet delays heart risk and lowers cholesterol in young adults

A University of Toronto study found that higher adherence to the plant-based Portfolio Diet was associated with lower LDL cholesterol and improved cardiovascular risk markers in young adults. Modeling suggests the diet may delay cardiovascular risk onset by up to 13 years.

14 May 2025