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Study reveals significant improvements in the health of older adults in England

A new study from the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at the Mailman School of Public Health reveals significant improvements in the health of older adults in England when compared to previous generations.

19 Dec 2024

Patients couldn’t pay their utility bills. One hospital turned to solar power for help.

Anna Goldman, a primary care physician at Boston Medical Center, got tired of hearing that her patients couldn't afford the electricity needed to run breathing assistance machines, recharge wheelchairs, turn on air conditioning, or keep their refrigerators plugged in.

12 Dec 2024

New computational pipeline identifies key biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have developed a novel computational pipeline designed to identify protein biomarkers associated with complex diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD).

6 Dec 2024

COP29 outcomes fall short on climate health action

Agreements made at COP29 fell short of the ambition and focus needed to fully address the impacts of climate change on health and maximize the benefits of action, according to experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

29 Nov 2024

Obesity crisis in the U.S. expected to worsen by 2050

Over the past three decades, there has been a startling increase in the prevalence of obesity across the USA, at least doubling in adult men and women (aged 25 and older) and older female and male adolescents (aged 15-24 years) since 1990, with the number of people living with overweight and obesity reaching over 208 million in 2021 - a trend set to continue in the coming decades without significant reform, according to a major new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study Collaborator Network, published in The Lancet.

15 Nov 2024

Scientists fear what’s next for public health if RFK Jr. is allowed to ‘go wild’

Many scientists at the federal health agencies await the second Donald Trump administration with dread as well as uncertainty over how the president-elect will reconcile starkly different philosophies among the leaders of his team.

14 Nov 2024

WHO calls for health-centered climate action at COP29

Ahead of the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29), the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for an end to reliance on fossil fuels and advocates for people-centred adaptation and resilience.

7 Nov 2024

Urgent need to shift focus from fossil fuels to health

As multiple health threats from climate change break dangerous new records, the 2024 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change calls for the trillions of dollars spent funding fossil fuels to be redirected and used to drive a rapid and fair transition to a net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) economy, instead of harming the health of billions of people across the world.

30 Oct 2024

Understanding climate change effects on end stage kidney disease patients

Climate change is driving more extreme heat and more air pollution from wildfires, each of which put human health at risk.

24 Oct 2024

Arsenic in water linked to increased heart disease risk

Long term exposure to arsenic in water may increase cardiovascular disease and especially heart disease risk even at exposure levels below the federal regulatory limit (10µg/L) according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

23 Oct 2024

WHO and the Netherlands renew partnership to combat climate change impacts on health

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands have renewed their strategic partnership in addressing the growing impacts of climate change on global health.

10 Oct 2024

Study reveals sharp increase in micromobility vehicle-related injuries between 2019 and 2022

The rate of e-bike and powered scooter injuries surged between 2019 and 2022-- by 293 percent and 88 percent, respectively, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

24 Sep 2024

Study highlights disparities in stroke burden across regions

Although stroke is highly preventable and treatable, there has been a rapid rise in the global stroke burden between 1990 and 2021, due to both population growth and the rise of aging populations worldwide, as well as a substantial increase in people's exposure to environmental and behavioral risk factors.

19 Sep 2024

Study reveals significant increase in drug overdoses in Colombia among young women

Overdose rates in Colombia involving illegal opioids, hallucinogens, stimulants and sedative psychotropic medication increased greatly during 2018-2021, mainly caused by overdoses in young women, according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

12 Sep 2024

Extreme heat puts children's health at risk, urging action on adaptation measures

Study highlights the severe health risks extreme heat poses to children, including increased preterm births, low birth weight, and respiratory issues, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. It emphasizes the need for adaptation measures to safeguard children's health in a warming world.

28 Aug 2024

Physicians embrace educational program on climate and health care sustainability, study shows

An educational program emphasizing the relationship that climate change has with health and health care environmental sustainability was well-received by physicians, according to a recent survey-based study published in JAMA Network Open and conducted by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

9 Aug 2024

Prenatal famine exposure tied to higher risk of Type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine used the setting of the man-made Ukrainian Holodomor famine of 1932-1933 to examine the relation between prenatal famine and adult Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

8 Aug 2024

Study: Drug-involved overdose deaths increased by over 500% in 2022

Drug-involved overdose deaths increased by over 500 percent in 2022 according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with trends attributed to synthetic opioids.

5 Aug 2024

Higher urinary metal levels linked to increased cardiovascular risk

Higher levels of urinary metals such as cadmium, tungsten, uranium, cobalt, copper and zinc are linked to increased cardiovascular disease and mortality in a racially and ethnically diverse U.S. population, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

1 Aug 2024

Physical activity offsets sedentary mortality risks in diabetes patients

Adults with diabetes who meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity may offset the risk of mortality that is associated with excessive sitting time, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

29 Jul 2024