public health

A study led by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) shows that, between 2013 and 2018, on days when fires were recorded, there was an increase in A&E admissions for respiratory problems in nine Spanish provinces. At a briefing organised by SMC Spain, Cristina Linares and Julio Díaz, the study’s authors and researchers at the ISCIII, explained the implications of the research and called for a surveillance plan, alongside the monitoring of these harmful particles and compounds, in the face of increasingly severe wildfires.

A team from Canada analyzed nearly one million emergency room visits for migraines or headaches that occurred between 2010 and 2023 in two Canadian provinces during the peak wildfire season. Their analysis shows that the presence of small particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke was associated with an increase in emergency room visits for migraines and headaches. The study is published in JAMA Network Open. In Spain, the Ministry of Health has published health recommendations for action in the event of wildfires. The Community of Madrid, with several active fire fronts, has shared this video with safety and protection tips.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common form of pancreatic cancer, is an aggressive tumor that is often diagnosed at advanced stages. Some people are at high risk of developing it due to a hereditary predisposition (10% of cases) or an injury. A new Phase 1 clinical trial has tested, in high-risk patients, a vaccine targeting several mutations in the KRAS gene responsible for more than 90% of these tumors. The vaccine has been shown to be safe and has stimulated specific immune responses, detectable in the blood up to two years later, in 90% of the study participants. The study is published in Cancer Discovery.

An international team analyzed data from 262 clinical trials involving 100,000 people, which evaluated a total of 19 currently available obesity drugs, including GLP-1 analogs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide. Overall, the results indicate that, despite substantial weight loss, most of the drugs do not significantly improve quality of life, and few show cardiovascular benefits after one year of treatment. Furthermore, those that achieved greater weight loss were often associated with more side effects. The study is published in The BMJ.

Nature has published two independent studies demonstrating the ability of large language models based on artificial intelligence (AI) to support different stages of patient management in controlled settings. The first study analysed MIRA, an AI agent that operates within electronic health records, which achieved a diagnostic accuracy of nearly 88%, compared with 78% for a panel of physicians. The second study evaluated AMIE, a conversational clinical reasoning model, against 21 primary care physicians across 100 multi-visit scenarios. AMIE achieved performance comparable to, and in some cases better than, that of physicians in terms of treatment accuracy, test ordering, and adherence to clinical guidelines. The models are based on simulations or retrospective data, which limits the strength of the conclusions that can be drawn. The findings are consistent with another model published in Science last April.

A new United Nations (UN) report assesses the annual environmental costs of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the report, by 2030, if data centers were a country, their electricity consumption would be on par with that of France. As for carbon dioxide emissions, these could reach 400 million tons of CO₂ equivalent, comparable to the total emissions of the United Kingdom. The 9.3 trillion liters of water they use would cover the drinking water needs of the planet’s 8.1 billion people for 1.6 years. The report notes that the generation of high-resolution videos is at the top of AI’s energy consumption. Furthermore, it highlights the growing digital divide and environmental injustice between the nations that control AI systems and those that bear their environmental costs, particularly in the Global South.

The latest reports from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indicate a rise in bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across Europe. In 2024, notifications of gonorrhoea and syphilis, along with congenital syphilis, reached their highest levels in more than a decade, reflecting sustained transmission across multiple countries. Gonorrhoea has increased by more than 300 % over the past 10 years, with Spain among the countries with the highest rates, while syphilis has risen by around 100 %, with Spain also ranking second highest. Men who have sex with men are the most affected population group for both infections. Congenital syphilis increased by almost 250 %, described as “one of the most concerning findings” by two ECDC experts during the briefing presenting the results. Possible contributing factors include reduced condom use, an increase in sexual partners, as well as higher levels of testing.

A global analysis of data from more than 232 million people shows that the rise in obesity has slowed or stabilised in some high-income countries since the 1990s among children and adolescents, and, a decade later, among adults. In Spain, this stabilisation or even a slight decline is also observed. In most low- and middle-income regions, the prevalence of obesity continues to increase and, in some cases, has already surpassed that of more developed economies. The study, published in Nature, included 4,050 studies covering the period from 1980 to 2024 across 200 countries.

A study conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), in collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), has analyzed short-term mortality associated with the combined effects of multiple air pollutants in 31 European countries. According to their estimates, this exposure is associated with 146,500 premature deaths per year and affects people differently depending on age, sex, and cause of death: young men are more vulnerable than young women, but the pattern reverses with age. The authors, who published the study in Nature Health, propose creating a new generation of impact-based early warning systems specifically targeting vulnerable groups.

Amid an unprecedented international security and coordination operation, the MV Hondius has arrived at the port of Granadilla, in Tenerife, where epidemiologists and members of the Foreign Health Service will examine the passengers and crew, who have not shown any symptoms of hantavirus so far. Once assessed, they will leave the ship, which is moored in a dock, in small boats to the port, grouped by nationality – they come from 23 different countries. From there, they will board military vehicles to reach Tenerife South Airport, from where they will be repatriated on various flights. The 14 Spaniards and a member of the WHO from Africa are bound for Gómez Ulla Hospital (Madrid) to undergo quarantine. Once the process is complete, the cruise ship will refuel and sail to the Netherlands with part of the crew on board and the body of one of the three fatalities.