Health

Use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) continues to rise, but this advanced form of life support is often not provided to patients equitably. Now, new research published at the ATS 2025 International Conference has confirmed that disadvantaged patients are less likely to receive ECMO, even though they live closer to hospitals that offer it.

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have shed light on which populations are more likely to be prescribed a high dose of opioid medication. This increases their risk of developing opioid use disorder.

Results from the VITAL randomized controlled trial reveal that vitamin D supplementation helps maintain telomeres, protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten during aging and are linked to the development of certain diseases.

The effects of intensive blood pressure⁠ management on rates of cardiovascular events and death vary substantially across individuals’ levels of educational attainment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences and University of Texas at Tyler.

An evaluation of 10 previously published studies suggests that a recent fad of taping one’s mouth shut while sleeping to prevent mouth breathing may have little benefit and could pose serious asphyxiation risks. Dr. Brian Rotenberg of Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues present these findings in PLOS One.

Staffing challenges related to patient safety, physician well-being and workforce sustainability are a growing concern in the subspecialty of neonatology that call for reform.

In Asian countries, New Towns (NTs) have a design gap between theory and practice from the viewpoint of self-containment. In Japan, NTs have been criticized as bedroom communities for workers and their families in urban centers. Meanwhile, the Japanese NTs have experienced rapid population aging for more than 30 years since their urban development. From a unique perspective, older adults living in old NTs have retired from work and do not frequent urban centers for daily activities.

Few studies examine how people living with a mental illness may be best prepared for the menopause transition, considering both menopause symptoms and psychiatric symptoms, according to a review published online May 6 in Menopause.

The use and marketing of nicotine snus, which does not contain tobacco, is increasing in the UK, the US, Sweden, and other countries. Nicotine is an addictive substance which, among other things, causes blood pressure and heart rate to rise immediately after intake. But it is unclear what happens in the body when snus users stop using snus.

That fit people have a reduced risk of premature death from various diseases is a recurring result in many studies. New research from Uppsala University shows that people with high fitness levels in their late teens also have a reduced risk of dying from random accidents. This suggests that the associations seen in previous studies have probably been misleading.