Mortality News and Research

RSS

Review outlines key strategies to reduce gynecologic cancer-related mortality

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear a disproportionate burden of gynecologic malignancies-cancers of the cervix, endometrium, ovary, vagina, and vulva.

24 Aug 2026

Shortages in ambulance staff increase emergency department death risk

Unexpected staff shortages in ambulance services are costing lives, with patients significantly more likely to die within 24 hours when ambulance crews are unexpectedly off sick, according to new research from the University of Surrey and the University of York.

24 Aug 2026

Semaglutide’s heart benefits may partly involve reduced inflammation

A prespecified analysis of 17,604 SELECT participants found that higher baseline hsCRP was associated with greater risks of major cardiovascular events and death in people with overweight or obesity and established cardiovascular disease. Semaglutide produced rapid and sustained reductions in hsCRP, with changes emerging before substantial weight loss, although the study could not establish whether reduced inflammation directly mediated its cardiovascular benefits.

24 Aug 2026

These simple fitness tests revealed which older adults had the lowest death risk

Objective fitness tests in 13,423 Taiwanese adults aged 65 years or older linked better balance, agility, lower-body strength, and cardiorespiratory fitness with lower all-cause mortality over a median seven years. A multidomain fitness index showed the strongest association, suggesting that simple performance tests may add useful information to conventional geriatric risk assessment.

24 Aug 2026

Blood protein biomarkers predict future disability risk in very old adults

Japan has one of the world's fastest-aging populations, but maintaining independence into very old age remains a growing public health challenge.

21 Aug 2026

Younger mismatched donors offer new hope for blood cancer patients

Blood cancer patients who cannot find a closely matched stem cell donor may have more transplant options than previously thought.

21 Aug 2026

Potassium-competitive acid blockers match proton pump inhibitors for preventing bleeding after PCI

Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal. Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) increases the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB).

20 Aug 2026

Only three of 1,357 FDA-cleared AI devices tested patient outcomes

Researchers found that among 1,357 FDA-cleared or approved AI/ML-enabled medical devices, only 34 were linked to registered clinical trials and just three had been evaluated for patient-centered outcomes. The study highlights major gaps in prospective testing, demographic representation, transparency, and evidence showing whether medical AI meaningfully improves patients’ health.

20 Aug 2026

Active screening cuts colorectal cancer death risk drastically

People who take part in screening for colorectal cancer may have as much as 43 per cent lower risk of dying from the disease, according to new estimates published in JAMA Network Open by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Umeå University in Sweden.

20 Aug 2026

This 29-year heart study tracked what happens after smokers quit

Long-term data from the Copenhagen City Heart Study linked both current and former smoking with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, with risk rising alongside cumulative smoking exposure. Among former smokers, risk generally declined with longer time since quitting and approached that of never smokers only after prolonged abstinence.

20 Aug 2026

A single blood test could offer a glimpse of disease risk years in advance

Machine learning-derived cellular aging clocks mapped more than 7,000 plasma proteins to over 40 cell types, revealing marked differences in how individual cell populations age. These blood-based signatures were associated with future risks of Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, lung cancer, type 2 diabetes, and mortality across follow-up extending to 15 years.

19 Aug 2026

New AI tool helps personalize care after heart attacks

The health of heart attack survivors follows three distinct paths in the five years after their health event, say researchers from the University of Surrey.

19 Aug 2026

A decades-long study raises questions about sugary drinks and stomach cancer

A large prospective U.S. study followed more than 111,000 adults to examine whether sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverage intake was associated with gastric cancer incidence. Researchers identified 278 gastric cancer cases over 3.2 million person-years and found that associations differed according to beverage type and level of consumption.

19 Aug 2026

Special journal issue highlights precision prevention in cancer epidemiology

Cancer epidemiology is not merely about counting cases; it is a dynamic field that informs screening policies, resource allocation, and clinical trial design.

19 Aug 2026

NYU study shows diverse cannabis use patterns signal heavier use

Nearly half of adults in the United States who use cannabis mainly smoke it, but about 1 in 7 use it in nearly every form available, a behavior tied to daily cannabis use and increased addiction risk, a new study shows.

19 Aug 2026

Global study reveals rising chronic kidney disease burden in women

Chronic kidney disease is now the seventh leading cause of death among noncommunicable diseases globally, affecting 11–13% of the adult population.

19 Aug 2026

Study analyzes how BMI and waist circumference affect mortality in older adults

In a Journal of the American Geriatrics Society analysis of nationally representative data from 6,905 US adults aged 65 or older followed between 2011–2024, higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with lower mortality risk, whereas higher waist circumference, a marker of abdominal obesity, was independently associated with higher mortality risk after accounting for BMI.

19 Aug 2026

Global study reveals brain injury prevention lies far outside hospitals

Tens of millions of people suffer from traumatic brain injury every year worldwide, with almost 5 million deaths. Yet when it comes to improving clinical outcomes, new research suggests the solution lies far outside hospital operating rooms.

19 Aug 2026

COVID-19 mortality gap between men and women narrowed sharply as the pandemic progressed

Men experienced higher absolute excess mortality than women across many high-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during pre-vaccine mortality peaks. Relative differences were much smaller, showing that sex disparities depended strongly on baseline mortality, age, country, and pandemic phase.

19 Aug 2026

What 3,600 adults with diabetes revealed about lifestyle and heart health

In 3,612 British adults with type 2 diabetes, greater adherence to the Mediterranean Lifestyle Index was associated with lower risks of major adverse cardiovascular events, cardiovascular death, and all-cause mortality over more than a decade of follow-up. Dietary patterns, physical activity, rest, and social habits all contributed to the observed associations, although the observational study cannot establish causality.

19 Aug 2026