In recent decades, exposures to environmental toxic metals such as arsenic, copper, lead, cadmium and mercury, have become a global public health concern. Although often naturally occurring, these contaminants have made their way into water supplies and, via irrigation, into the food chain. For example, in Bangladesh, deep wells were introduced in the Ganges Delta […]

Britain has seen a dramatic transformation in recent years in its attitude towards food. We have gone from being a country ridiculed for its bland, carb-heavy cuisine, for whom the chicken tikka masala was the height of exoticness, to becoming a nation obsessed with food. But alongside this obsession with food has come a growing […]

Loneliness is a common condition affecting around one in three adults. It damages your brain, immune system, and can lead to depression and suicide. Loneliness can also increase your risk of dying prematurely as much as smoking can – and even more so than obesity. If you feel lonely, you tend to feel more stressed […]

When I ask Dr Adam Coutts what we know about the impact of unemployment on health, his response is blunt and to the point: “It’s very bad.” There’s a pause before he goes on to say that we’ve known for more than half a century that unemployment is bad for mental health and wellbeing, and […]

The study, published today in the journal Nature, characterised the genetic underpinnings of the human plasma ‘proteome’, identifying nearly 2,000 genetic associations with almost 1,500 proteins. Previously, there was only a small fraction of this knowledge, mainly because researchers could measure only a few blood proteins simultaneously in a robust manner. The researchers used a […]

Swapping your car for more physically active forms of travel may reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death, our latest research shows. Walking, cycling and even using public transport are all more physically active than using the car, so switching to one of these modes of transport can help you be more […]

Alcohol is the fifth leading cause of disease and premature death both in the UK and globally. Reducing consumption of alcohol is a public health priority in many countries. In the UK, as part of a range of steps to reduce overall alcohol consumption, policymakers are currently interested in allowing industry to label a wider […]

The study, published today in BMJ Open, found that women who had these traits did not have anxiety, even if they were living in the most deprived circumstances, but women who did not feel that they were in control of their lives and who lacked purpose and meaning in life had high levels of anxiety […]

The authors say their findings challenge the widely held belief that moderate drinking is beneficial to cardiovascular health, and support the UK’s recently lowered guidelines. The study compared the health and drinking habits of over 600,000 people in 19 countries worldwide and controlled for age, smoking, history of diabetes, level of education and occupation. The […]

According to the Stroke Associations, as many as four in ten people who have had a stroke, go on to have another one within ten years. As a second stroke carries a greater risk of disability and death than first time strokes, it is important that survivors take medicine daily to lower their risk. There […]