public health

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, cervical cancer screening rates in England have fallen from 72.2 percent in 2020 to 68.4 percent in 2024, NHS England data shows. A recent YouGov survey of 3,000 eligible individuals—commissioned by Cancer Research UK—finds that 30 percent of respondents are now overdue for their routine cervical screening. Experts warn that this sustained decline poses a serious obstacle to the NHS’s pledge to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.

A landmark study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on 18 June 2025 links living near heavily microplastic-polluted ocean waters to an increased prevalence of major cardiometabolic diseases. Researchers analyzed data from 152 U.S. coastal counties and found that residents of areas bordered by waters containing over 10 microplastic particles per cubic meter had:

A large retrospective analysis of more than 665,000 bariatric procedures presented at the ASMBS 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting shows a clear correlation between preoperative body mass index (BMI) and postoperative complications. Patients in the highest BMI category (≥50 kg/m²) experienced the greatest increase in both overall and serious adverse events compared with those in lower BMI ranges.

In a significant policy update, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released draft guidelines calling for deeper and more meaningful involvement of consumers and community members in health and medical research. The proposed changes aim to move beyond tokenistic consultation, embedding patient and public voices at every stage of the research process—from idea generation to governance—without yet making such involvement a mandatory funding requirement.

A document circulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to justify Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s abrupt policy change on COVID-19 vaccines has drawn fierce criticism from leading medical experts. Titled “COVID Recommendation FAQ,” the memo was sent to members of Congress who questioned Kennedy’s decision to remove routine recommendations for pregnant women and healthy children—an action that bypassed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) established review process. According to multiple specialists, the HHS briefing misrepresents legitimate peer-reviewed research, cites unpublished or disputed studies, and omits key evidence demonstrating vaccine safety, amounting to what one prominent OB-GYN professor labeled “willful medical disinformation.”

Concussions remain a pervasive—and often hidden—risk in sports, construction, defense, and everyday life. Despite widespread use of helmets and hardhats, many protective devices are bulky, uncomfortable, or insufficiently effective against high-speed impacts and blunt force trauma. Now, a team at The Ohio State University College of Medicine has unveiled a novel, cost-effective composite material that could revolutionize head protection. By integrating ordinary starch into ultralight aerogel foam, researchers report absorbing up to 70 percent of impact force in laboratory tests—an innovation with the potential to make headgear both lighter and more protective.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University suggests that the solution to restless nights may lie in the produce aisle. According to investigators, increasing daytime intake of fruits, vegetables, and healthy complex carbohydrates is associated with significantly improved sleep quality that same night. These findings, published in Sleep Health: The Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, offer promising, accessible strategies for addressing widespread sleep disturbances—and their downstream effects on health and well-being.

A large-scale Canadian study has found that use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) medicines—widely prescribed to manage diabetes and promote weight loss—may significantly increase the risk of developing neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) among older diabetic patients. Researchers at the University of Toronto analyzed medical data for more than one million Ontario residents with diabetes and identified a cohort of 46,334 individuals, predominantly taking semaglutide (Ozempic) or, to a lesser extent, lixisenatide. Over a three-year follow-up period, those who used GLP-1 RAs for at least six months exhibited double the risk of new-onset nAMD compared with matched diabetic controls not on these medications. Risk escalated further—to more than three times higher—among patients taking the drugs for 30 months or longer.