Self-employed women have fewer risk factors for cardiovascular disease compared to non-self-employed women, suggesting that the work environment may play a role in the development of risk factors that can lead to heart attacks.

In 2024, Brazil celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Bolsa Família Programme (BFP), one of the world’s largest conditional cash transfer initiatives. A new study published in The Lancet Public Health shows that the BFP has prevented more than 8.2 million hospitalisations and 713,083 deaths in Brazil between 2004 and 2019. In addition, it is estimated that an additional 683,721 deaths could be prevented if the programme's coverage is expanded by 2030.

A new study has found that depression is linked to an increased risk of dementia in both mid and later life.

 

The new research, which is published in eClinicalMedicine, was led by Jacob Brain and Maha Alshahrani from the Institute of Mental Health and School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, University of Adelaide and the Dementia Centre of Excellence at Curtin University in Australia.

 

Mr Brain said: "Our study shows that depression is linked to an increased risk of dementia in both midlife and late life. This highlights the importance of recognising and treating depression across the life course, not just for mental health, but also as part of a broader strategy to protect brain health. Public health efforts need to place greater emphasis on preventative brain health, including scaling up access to effective mental health care."

A new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal suggests that parental or caregiver intuition may outperform some traditional early warning systems in identifying children at risk of deterioration. The new analysis found that caregiver concern for worsening condition of paediatric patients was strongly associated with critical illness in pediatric patients admitted to the hospital, even after accounting for abnormal vital signs (abnormal heart rate or abnormal respiratory rate).

General service in the US military may lower, rather than heighten, the risk of depression, despite the relatively high prevalence of the condition among active duty and veteran personnel, finds a large observational study published online in BMJ Military Health. The potentially protective effects of military service challenge some previous assumptions about its overall effects on mental health, suggest the researchers.

A new analysis of Heat-Health Action Plans worldwide reveals that while most acknowledge mental health risks, such as heightened anxiety, depression, and suicide, few propose concrete interventions to protect vulnerable populations.