Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)

The use of the antidepressants escitalopram, paroxetine, and duloxetine is associated with greater weight gain than the use of sertraline, according to the results of an analysis comparing data from more than 183,000 adults treated with one of eight types of antidepressants. Among these, bupropion is associated with the least weight gain, concludes the study, which is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

A study in England has found a link between increased exposure to air pollution during early life and the risk of developing psychotic disorders and depression during youth. In addition, greater exposure to noise during childhood and adolescence was associated with an increased risk of anxiety. The results of the study, which collected data from more than 9,000 people, are published in the journal JAMA Network Open. 

A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has analysed hospital admissions in 48 Spanish provinces during the months of June to September between 2006 and 2019. Its results, discussed at a briefing organised by Science Media Centre Spain, show that high temperatures increase admissions for issues related to obesity and renal and urinary insufficiency, among other causes. 

Twenty-three per cent of the world's population over the age of 69 will be living with acute heat exposure by 2050, compared to 14 per cent in 2020, according to a study published in Nature Communications. The research highlights southern Europe, parts of North and South America, Southeast Asia and all of Australia as areas of ‘increasing stress’, where higher heat exposure overlaps with an increasingly ageing population. The effects will be most severe in Asia and Africa, according to the study. 

Until now, it was thought that the risk of heat-related death in Spain had decreased among older people. But what if we take into account the increase in longevity? Has it decreased as much as the studies suggested? In this case it is useful to use the concept of prospective age, i.e. the years we hypothetically have left to live, rather than the years we have lived. 

Following the agreement reached a few months ago between the European Parliament and Council, in today’s plenary session the European Parliament has approved a provisional political agreement with EU countries that includes new requirements to improve air quality by 2030. The agreement sets stricter targets and limits for several pollutants that have a serious impact on health, including particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and SO2 (sulfur dioxide). Before being published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the law now must be adopted by the Council. EU countries will have two years to implement the new standards

Toledo and Alicante are suffering the first outbreaks of measles recorded in Spain since the pandemic, El País reported today. In total, 15 cases have been confirmed since 1 January, of which seven are imported and eight autochthonous.

Access to safe public spaces to meet, employment, education and public health are some of the main measures recommended to make cities more friendly to the mental health of young people and adolescents. The analysis, based on surveys of 518 people in several countries, is published in the journal Nature and is intended to serve as a guide for urban planning policies that reduce inequalities and take into account the needs of young people.

In a clinical trial of nearly 5,000 children aged 5-36 months, a new malaria vaccine - called R21/MatrixM - reduced symptomatic cases by 68-75% over the following year. According to the authors, the vaccine will be inexpensive and could contribute to a substantial reduction in malaria suffering and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. The results of the phase 3 trial are published in The Lancet.

With just days to go before COP28 kicks off in Dubai -a major city in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates- climate experts are torn between mistrust and hope that world leaders will reach ambitious agreements to combat the climate crisis.