public health

Ingesting small amounts of apple cider vinegar daily for three months helps control weight in overweight or obese people, according to a clinical trial involving 120 young Lebanese people. The results, published in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, show that consumption of this substance - which has become fashionable among some celebrities - was associated with decreases in weight, body mass index and blood levels of glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol. The authors suggest that this substance could serve as a complementary treatment for obesity.

In the year 2023, Science magazine has chosen the development and discovery that GLP-1 medications, agonists of the glucagon-like peptide-1, can mitigate health issues associated with obesity as the most important scientific breakthrough. Similarly, Nature magazine has selected biochemist Svetlana Mojsov, a key figure in the discovery of GLP-1, as one of the top ten scientists of the year. 

An international team, led by the Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS in Barcelona together with King's College London (UK) and Dalhousie University (Canada), has published the largest meta-analysis to date studying the risk of children of people with mental disorders developing the same, or another type of disorder. The study included more than three million children of parents with different types of disorders and more than 20 million people as a control population. The results, published in the journal World Psychiatry, indicate that, overall, the former have a 1.5 to 3 times higher risk of developing a disorder in their lifetime. According to the authors, in the case of bipolar, depressive or anxiety disorders, the risk of their offspring suffering from some type of disorder is more than 50%.

Intimate partner violence is associated with an increased risk of depression and miscarriage, according to a systematic review of the scientific literature published since 1970. Sexual abuse in childhood is associated with an increased risk of alcohol use disorder and self-harm, says the study published in Nature Medicine. According to its authors, this analysis of 229 previous studies reveals that intimate partner violence and childhood sexual abuse have a more extensive impact on health than previously described.

A review of epidemiological data examines the physical and psychological complications that occur after childbirth in the medium and long term. More than a third of women reported lasting, and often neglected, health problems six weeks after childbirth. The most common complaints were: pain during sexual intercourse (35%), lower back pain (32%), urinary incontinence (8-31%), anxiety (9-24%), anal incontinence (19%), depression (11-17%) or significant fear of childbirth (6-15%). In their paper, published today in the journal The Lancet Global Health as part of a special series, the authors stress the importance of providing comprehensive health services beyond six weeks postpartum.

The absence of visits from friends and family is associated with a higher mortality rate, according to an analysis of data from more than 450,000 people followed for more than a decade in the UK. The study, published in BMC Medicine, focussed on five indicators of loneliness, and concluded that having no visits from family or friends was associated with higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality. According to the authors, this kind of study helps to identify at-risk populations and measures of social connectedness that could provide the most benefit.

On the eve of an episode of unusually high temperatures for this time of year, it is time to take stock of the summer we have experienced, characterised by a succession of extreme weather phenomena in the form of heat waves, drought and torrential rains. The seriousness and complexity of these problems and their repercussions in many areas, especially on health, make it urgent to set up the Health and Climate Change Observatory approved last July, with a stable and independent structure.

A review published in the journal Cell highlights the "urgent need" for more studies on the menopause - and at an international level, so that the results can be applied to all countries. The article, published by a research team in Australia, the US and Italy, summarises the available evidence on the biology of the menopause, its consequences for women and therapeutic options. It highlights the lack of studies in certain areas, for example on the efficacy of non-oral oestradiol, or on the efficacy and safety of hormone therapies during the perimenopause.

A research team in Belgium found perfluoroalkylated and polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) in drinking straws. The research, published in the journal Food Additives & Contaminants, analysed the presence of these persistent and potentially harmful compounds in 39 types of straws purchased from different shops, supermarkets or fast food chains. These substances were most prevalent in paper and bamboo straws, followed by plastic and glass straws. They were not detected in stainless steel straws.

Counting deaths attributable to the effects of high temperatures is basic as a public health surveillance tool, but it should not become the only research objective. It is necessary to know why the population in some places adapts better than others to heat waves, what variables influence them, and to modify them when possible.