MediWeek

A study by Nagata JM et al., recently published in the “Journal of Adolescent Health” reported that longer total screen time is potentially associated with new-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in 9 to 10-year-old children. Moreover, video games and watching videos were the specific screen modalities that were most strongly associated with new-onset OCD. This prospective […]

A study by Ye Z et al., recently published in the “European Heart Journal – Digital Health”, reported a significant association between longer weekly usage time of mobile phones for making/receiving calls (≥30 min) and higher (12%) risk of new-onset hypertension. This association was greater among those who had higher genetic susceptibility to hypertension. In

The potential of large language model artificial intelligence (AI) systems in medicine has been recognized by the introduction of chatbots, with proficient language manipulation and knowledge processing capabilities. The underlying base model technology of chatbots reflects a disruptive technology likely to change our working and living conditions, although we must be aware of its considerable

A study by Huang Y et al., recently published in the “British Medical Journal”, highlighted the adverse health effects of higher intake of dietary sugar, particularly fructose-containing sugars, majorly related to cardiometabolic risks/diseases like weight gain, ectopic fat accumulation, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Intake of free or added sugars should be reduced to <25

Soy is a rich source of plant protein. It is the only plant-derived complete protein source containing all essential amino acids present in animal proteins. Contrary to animal proteins, soy protein is devoid of cholesterol and has low contents of methionine and branched-chain amino acids, which are known to have a causative role in chronic

A new study by Inoue et al., published in the journal “JAMA Network Open”, reported that walking 8000 steps or more for 1 or 2 days a week was associated with significant reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) mortality compared to those who did not walk 8000 steps or more any

A new study by Mc Carthy et al., recently published in “Neurology” reported that the symptoms of sleep disturbances viz., short (<5 h) and long (>9 h) sleep duration, poor sleep quality, difficulty to fall asleep, unplanned/prolonged naps, snoring, snorting, and breathing cessation during sleep (sleep apnea) are associated with an increased risk of acute

Cardiovascular or cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity. It is one of the strongest predictors of mortality, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. High levels of CRF have been documented to reduce all-cause or CVD mortality risk. A new study,

Unhealthy sleeping pattern is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). People with poor sleep may have a decreased life expectancy attributed to CVD; thus, poor sleep constitutes a significant public health burden! A recently published population-based prospective cohort study has reported a loss of approximately 2 years in CVD-free life expectancy (an estimate

Frequent social interactions are linked to longer survival among older individuals while engaging in daily social interactions significantly prolongs long-term survival, according to the results of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey study (CLHLS). The CLHLS was a prospective observational cohort study that analyzed the survival data of 28,563 older adults (median age = 89