Study Examines Off-Target Mortality in Cancer Screening
Cancer screening reduced targeted cancer mortality without significantly increasing deaths from other causes. Meta-analysis of 17 studies found a 0.2% increase in off-target mortality rates in screened patients. Results suggest a need to analyze on-target cancer mortality and off-target mortality separately in trials of cancer screening. Screening for cancer reduced targeted cancer mortality without a […]
Global study links consumption of ultraprocessed foods to preventable premature deaths
A study analyzing data from nationally representative dietary surveys and mortality data from eight countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, United Kingdom, and United States) shows that premature deaths attributable to consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) increase significantly according to their share in individuals’ total energy intake. The new study, appearing in the American […]
Amid Surge, CDC Unveils New Syphilis Testing Guidance
The CDC has published its first comprehensive laboratory recommendations for syphilis testing. Published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the new recommendations include approaches for laboratory-based tests, point-of-care tests, sample processing, and how laboratories should report test results to clinicians and health departments. The recommendations are primarily for clinical laboratory or disease control personnel, […]
Mortality Reaches 20% for Hospitalized Patients With High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism
Mortality rates were high among patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE), with the worst outcomes in those with hemodynamic collapse, according to a retrospective analysis of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) Consortium Registry. In nearly 5,800 patients, in-hospital mortality occurred over five times more frequently among those with high-risk PE compared with those with […]
Convalescent Plasma Improves Survival in COVID Patients with ARDS, New Trial Shows
Convalescent plasma reduced mortality in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) when provided within 5 days of invasive mechanical ventilation, the randomized open-label CONFIDENT trial showed. Mortality at 28 days was 35.4% among patients who received donated convalescent plasma with at least 1:160 neutralizing antibody titer, compared with 45% in patients who received […]
Mortality Risk From Damaged Bronchi Extends to People Without COPD
Bronchiectasis was associated with an increased mortality risk in current and former smokers even if they did not meet the spirometric criteria for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an observational study found. Compared with patients without suspected bronchiectasis, the 10-year mortality risk was greater among patients who had suspected bronchiectasis — evidenced by CT and […]
External Causes of Death More Likely in Those With Bipolar Disorder
While bipolar disorder is known to be associated with early mortality, deaths are more likely to be caused by external factors, such as suicide, than somatic factors, such as alcohol-related diseases, according to a Finnish nationwide cohort study. In the cohort of people ages 15 to 64, those with bipolar disorder had six-fold higher mortality […]
This Leading Cause Of Death For New Moms May Surprise You
You may have heard about the distressing rise in maternal mortality in the U.S., which disproportionately affects Black women. In a study of 11 high-income countries, the U.S. had the highest rate of maternal mortality. “Pregnancy-related deaths are defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 1 year of the end of […]
Weekly Exercise May Help Reduce Flu, Pneumonia Deaths
Meeting weekly exercise guidelines was associated with lower pneumonia and influenza mortality, a longitudinal study of U.S. adults showed. People who met both aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening activity guidelines had a 48% lower adjusted risk for pneumonia and influenza death over a median of 9.2 years of follow-up compared with those who met neither […]
Leading Causes of Death Hit Childhood Cancer Survivors Earlier
Survivors of childhood cancer had a fourfold higher risk of mortality decades after their diagnosis, typically from the same leading causes of death afflicting the general U.S. population, a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) showed. The 40-year all-cause mortality rate was 23.3% among the more than 34,000 pediatric cancer patients who had […]