Spanish epidemiologists and geologists have found associations between esophageal cancer and soils where lead is abundant, lung cancer and terrains with increased copper content, brain tumor with areas rich in arsenic, and bladder cancer with high cadmium levels. These statistical links do not indicate that there is a cause-effect relationship between soil type and cancer, but they suggest that the influence of metals from the earth's surface on the geographical distribution of tumors should be analyzed.

A study of nearly half a million people has revealed that muscular strength, measured by handgrip, is an indication of how healthy our brains are.

Faster walking patients with heart disease are hospitalised less, according to research presented today at EuroPrevent 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress, and published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

A recent study finds that older adults are better than younger adults at anticipating stressful events at home – but older adults are not as good at using those predictions to reduce the adverse impacts of the stress.

The 12 largest bicycle sharing systems in Europe offer health and economic benefits. Currently, the use of shared bicycles by people who previously used their cars avoids 5 deaths and saves 18 million euros per year. If all public bicycle trips were made by previous car users, 73 deaths and 226 million euros would be saved every year. These are the conclusions of a new study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation.

Bacteria in the gut, known as the gut microbiome, could be the culprit behind arthritis and joint pain that plagues people who are obese, according to a new study published today in JCI Insight.

Becoming more physically active after a heart attack reduces the risk of death, according to research presented today at EuroPrevent 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress.1 The study, which followed more than 22,000 patients, found that those who became more physically active after a heart attack halved the risk of death within four years.

It has been known for more than three decades that individuals with a particular version of a gene — human leukocyte antigen (HLA) — have an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis.

A Mayo Clinic study finds no evidence that children given anesthesia before their third birthdays have lower IQs than those who did not have it. A more complex picture emerges among people who had anesthesia several times as small children: Although their intelligence is comparable, they score modestly lower on tests measuring fine motor skills, and their parents are more likely to report behavioral and learning problems. The findings are published in Anesthesiology.

The hazes can be choking and can reduce visibility at noon to a few tens of yards. Fumes belch from factory chimneys, coal-fired power plants, heating systems in apartment blocks, and millions of road vehicles. When the weather traps smog in the streets, city hospital admissions soar and the morgues fill.