A new article published in eClinicalMedicine measures mental health problems in the Gaza Strip among the population over 40 years of age before and after the genocide committed by Israel. The study indicates that the proportion of these adults experiencing high levels of distress has tripled in the last five years, with a peak following the escalation of the massacre since October 2023. It was already known that chronic stress factors affecting victims pose a serious threat to mental health, but no longitudinal study had yet been conducted comparing distress in the same individuals before and after the genocide.
Avoiding social media for a week can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. The study measured the mental health of a group of 373 people aged 18 to 24 in the US before and after a week without using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or X. The authors caution that the durability of these results and their associations with behaviour require further research.
An investigation published in JAMA Neurology concludes that obstructive sleep apnoea is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease, according to the medical records of more than 11 million American war veterans, mainly men. The article also indicates that this risk can be reduced by early treatment with continuous positive airway pressure, suggesting intervention in sleep-disordered breathing as a strategy for preventing neurological diseases.
A team from the Center for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona and Harvard Medical School (United States) has created an artificial intelligence (AI) model to support the diagnosis of rare diseases in patients with unique genetic mutations. Called popEVE, the tool performs better than AlphaMissense—another model developed by Google DeepMind—according to an article published in Nature Genetics.
Two meta-analyses conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration confirm that vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) prevents cervical cancer. Both articles bring together the results of 60 clinical trials and 225 studies involving more than 130 million people worldwide. According to Cochrane's press release, the result “is strong and consistent evidence” that vaccines against this virus are effective in preventing cervical cancer and precancerous changes, especially when given to young people before they are exposed to the virus. The reviews also confirm that HPV vaccines usually cause only mild and temporary side effects, such as pain in the arm.
One day after the deadline, COP30 in Belém (Brazil) has finally reached a minimal agreement. The text does not mention a roadmap for abandoning fossil fuels, as requested by more than 80 states, including the European Union. The agreement states that countries agreed to accelerate climate action and triple funding for developing countries facing extreme weather events.
The BMJ has published a meta-analysis about weight gain in pregnant women and the risks it poses to their health and that of their babies. According to the study, 68% of pregnancies involve weight gain that is either above or below the recommended level, which is associated with complications such as premature birth, high birth weight, and admission to intensive care. The review included data from 1.6 million women from various regions of the world and different income levels, recorded between 2009 and 2024.
A longitudinal study published in the journal International Gambling Studies states that boys and girls who play videogames with gambling-like elements, such as tool boxes, are more likely to gamble with real money in the future. The lead researcher warns that, to protect minors, regulation should go ‘beyond loot boxes, including a variety of gambling-like elements, such as social casino games, prize wheels, and gambling videos.’
A clinical trial funded by Pfizer has tested a new influenza vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA). The phase 3 trial included more than 18,000 people aged 18 to 64, half of whom received the new compound and the other half a conventional vaccine. The results indicate that the mRNA vaccine was more effective, but it also caused more adverse reactions: for example, 5.6% of the volunteers who received it developed a fever, compared to 1.7% of those who received the conventional vaccine. The study is published in the journal NEJM.
In a sample of academic articles retracted by medical journals, the proportion of female authors is lower than the overall share of female researchers in these fields. "The underrepresentation of women among retracted authors, particularly for misconduct-related retractions, may reflect systemic gender imbalances in academia rather than differences in scientific integrity," writes the author of the study in PLoS One. His analysis, based on 878 retracted publications in nine clinical areas, estimates that 16.5% of the first authors of retracted papers were female, while the proportion of first authors of biomedical publications exceeds 40%.