• Drinking tea regularly may help reduce the risk of vascular disease, according to new research.
• Black tea, drinking 6 to 8 cups of tea per day, and choosing moderate-strength tea were linked to the greatest risk reduction.
• Experts advise that drinking tea alone cannot manage cardiovascular risks. Combining regular tea drinking with avoiding smoking and maintaining high physical activity may be more effective.

Dietary choices can significantly impact vascular health. Avoiding certain foods, such as those high in saturated fats and cholesterol, can help reduce the risk of heart problems, while drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated can help decrease the risk of circulation problems and blood clots.

However, water is not the only drink that may benefit vascular health. Regularly drinking tea could help reduce the risk of vascular disease and heart problems.

This is according to new research published in October in the Journal of Internal Medicine. The researchers compared the effects of regular tea drinking with those in people who do not regularly drink tea.

They found that drinking 6 to 8 cups of tea per day could be particularly beneficial for lowering the relative risk of vascular disease.

Black tea was most beneficial, but green tea also offered benefits for vascular health.

11% lower relative risk in regular tea drinkers

Those who regularly consumed tea had an 11% lower relative risk of vascular disease, compared with those who did not drink tea often.

Examples of types of vascular disease addressed in the study include:

• cardiovascular disease
• stroke
• pulmonary heart disease
• peripheral artery disease

The researchers examined data from 485,934 participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB). During a mean follow-up of 9.05 years, there were 14,863 cases of incident vascular disease.

They defined habitual tea drinking as drinking tea on at least 3 days per week. Among these weekly tea drinkers, the lowest risk was observed in those who drank about 6 to 8 cups per day.

Moderate-strength tea was also associated with the lowest observed risk, compared with weak or strong tea.

Christopher Yi, MD, board certified vascular surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, told Medical News Today that he was “not particularly surprised” by these findings.

“Tea contains antioxidants and polyphenols that may help reduce inflammation, improve blood vessel function, and decrease oxidative stress, all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease,” explained Yi, who was not involved in the study.

“An 11% reduction in relative risk is clinically meaningful, especially when considering how common cardiovascular disease is. However, this study demonstrates an association rather than proving that drinking tea directly prevents vascular disease,” he added.

In a Science Media Centre debrief, Dell Stanford, Senior Dietitian with the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved with the study, said:

“Although the lowest estimated risk was seen at around six to eight cups a day, we shouldn’t treat that as a recommended amount. Tea intake was only measured once, cup size wasn’t standardised and the study cannot prove that drinking more tea caused the lower risk.”

Black tea associated with lowest vascular disease risk

The researchers examined whether the type of tea could affect vascular disease risk.

They found that black tea was associated with the lowest risk, with a relative reduction of at least 35%.

Although not as effective as black tea, green tea was also associated with a lower risk of vascular disease.

“Both black and green tea contain beneficial antioxidants and polyphenols that may support cardiovascular health. Although black tea showed a greater association with reduced vascular disease risk in this study, I would not necessarily recommend switching from green tea to black tea based on these findings alone,” said Yi.

“The differences may be influenced by lifestyle habits, preparation methods, and other factors,” he added.

“I generally recommend drinking whichever type of unsweetened tea a person enjoys, while avoiding excessive sugar or high-caffeine tea products.”

“Burning hot” tea increased vascular disease risk

The temperature of the tea impacted the risk of vascular disease, researchers found.

Compared with people who did not drink tea, those who drank tea with a “burning hot” temperature had a 16% higher risk.

The researchers did not obtain information about the specific temperatures of the tea. Instead, the information was based on the subjective perception of the participants.

Yi told MNT, “This is an interesting finding because we typically associate tea consumption with cardiovascular benefits. The increased risk associated with extremely hot tea may potentially involve thermal injury and inflammation, although the exact mechanism remains unclear.”

He added, “Since this is an observational finding, we cannot conclude that hot tea directly causes vascular disease. Nevertheless, allowing tea to cool before drinking it is a simple and reasonable precaution.”

In the Science Media Centre debrief, Charalampos Rallis, PhD, Reader in Genetics, Genomics, and Fundamental Cell Biology, Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved with the study, said the following:

“The authors tested many comparisons and some of the more striking findings, such as those on black tea and ‘burning hot’ tea, should be treated as exploratory.”

Can tea really support vascular health?

As the new research is an observational study, it cannot prove that drinking tea directly reduces the risk of vascular disease.

Other factors also need to be considered when supporting vascular health. The study found that regularly drinking tea alongside avoiding smoking and having high physical activity led to the biggest vascular disease risk reduction.

“I think this is one of the most important findings because it reinforces that cardiovascular health depends on multiple lifestyle factors rather than one particular habit,” said Yi.

“Avoiding smoking and maintaining regular physical activity are among the most effective ways to reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Tea consumption may provide additional benefits, but it should complement established preventive measures rather than replace them.”

Yi concluded:

“I would emphasize that tea can be part of a heart-healthy lifestyle, but it is not a substitute for managing established cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking. The potential benefits are encouraging, but additional research is needed to determine whether tea consumption itself directly reduces cardiovascular events.”

• Menopause is the time in a cisgender woman’s life that marks the end of her reproductive years. 
• Common menopause symptoms include got flashes, mood chnages, as well as cognitive issues like brain fog. 
• Currently, menopause-related brain fog is treated through a combination of lifestyle changes, psychological therapies, and hormone therapy.
• A new study found that two ADHD medications may also help alleviate menopausal brain fog.

Menopause is the time in a cisgender woman’s life that marks the end of her reproductive years. 

While menopause symptoms vary from person to person, common signs include hot flashes, weight gain, mood swings, and cognitive issues like brain fog.

“About two-thirds of women experience brain fog or cognitive decline during the menopausal transition,” Jennifer Tat, lead author, MD candidate and fourth-year medical student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, told Medical News Today. “Although usually temporary, it creates a serious burden on women and affects their daily life.”

Currently, menopause-related brain fog is treated through a combination of lifestyle changes such as improving sleep and exercising regularly, psychological therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and menopause hormone therapy. 

Tat recently presented the study at The Menopause Society’s 2026 Annual Meeting, which found that medications used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also help alleviate menopausal brain fog.

Why try ADHD medications? 

For this study, researchers analyzed medical data from past studies examining the impact of the ADHD medications lisdexamphetamine (LDX) and atomoxetine (ATX) on cognition and ADHD symptom severity. 

From these studies, scientists focused on cisgender women between the ages of 45 and 60 years of age with a last menstrual cycle less than 10 years ago. 

Tat said that this study is based on previous research she had conducted regarding the effect of estrogen on ADHD medications, and her colleague’s experience with brain fog being a common complaint among menopausal women.

“Together, these observations led us to ask two questions: whether ADHD medications can help with menopausal brain fog, and whether women with more ADHD symptoms have a harder time with menopause,” Tat said. 

Both ADHD meds improve self-reported executive function

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that both LDX and ATX helped to significantly improve study participants’ self-reported executive function, which includes working memory and flexible thinking. 

“Brain fog is something women experience day to day: losing their train of thought, struggling to stay organized, (and) feeling less sharp at work,” Tat explained. “Lisdexamfetamine (a stimulant) and atomoxetine (a non-stimulant) both improved self-reported executive function compared with placebo, especially working memory, and that shows these symptoms can respond to treatment.”

“Both ultimately raise dopamine and norepinephrine signaling in the prefrontal cortex, which supports the idea that falling estrogen contributes to brain fog by lowering those same neurotransmitters,” she added. 

ADHD drugs have no significant effect on objective cognitive tests

Scientists also discovered that despite improvements in study participants’ subjective “brain fog,” the ADHD had little to no significant effect on objective cognitive tests of processes like working memory and prolonged attention. 

“We can’t yet say these medications measurably improve cognition,” Tat said. “Standard lab tests may miss the real-world difficulties women describe, so self-report scales capture an important part of their experience, though they measure perceived function rather than objective cognitive change.”

“These trials also may have been too small to detect modest changes. Larger trials and better ways to measure brain fog are needed,”  she said.

“We plan to publish this review so clinicians can screen midlife women for ADHD symptoms and consider these medications when hormone therapy isn’t an option. We also hope it prompts larger, independent trials that include women with ADHD, test methylphenidate, and compare ADHD medications with hormone therapy.”
— Jennifer Tat, lead author

FDA-approved treatments for menopausal cognitive changes needed

MNT spoke with Kanchi Chadha, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN and director of the Midlife Women’s Health and Longevity Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, who said her first reaction to the study’s findings was cautious optimism. 

“Nearly 60% of my perimenopausal patients bring up distressing cognitive changes like forgetfulness and trouble concentrating,” Chadha, who was not involved in this study, explained. “It is incredibly validating to see clinical research directly targeting brain fog, especially since we currently lack FDA-approved medications for it.”

“Recognizing that these symptoms so closely mirror ADHD is a smart angle that could eventually offer a real lifeline to women struggling to stay on top of their daily lives,” she added. 

Even though menopausal brain fog is usually temporary and does not lead to dementia, Chadha said it hits women right at the peak of their careers and personal responsibilities. 

Menopausal ‘brain fog’

“It causes immense stress, anxiety, and can significantly disrupt a woman’s livelihood and confidence. Current options are incredibly limited as menopause hormone therapy (MHT) is not recommended for cognition and not every woman is a candidate for MHT. Finding safe, non-hormonal treatments is crucial so we aren’t just telling women to ‘tough it out’.”
— Kanchi Chadha, MD, FACOG

How could ADHD meds help with menopausal brain fog?

When asked how ADHD medications could potentially help improve menopausal-related brain fog, Chadha said it all comes down to brain chemistry. 

“The sharp drop and fluctuation in estrogen during the menopause transition disrupts the catecholaminergic pathways — specifically dopamine and norepinephrine — in the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that controls focus, organization, and working memory,” she detailed. “ADHD medications like LDX and ATX are designed to modulate those exact pathways.”

“By boosting these neurotransmitters, the medications may help counteract the neurobiological shifts caused by estrogen loss, easing the subjective feeling of executive dysfunction,” Chadha explained. 

For the next steps in this research, Chadha said we need larger, multicenter randomized controlled trials to establish long-term safety and efficacy specifically in midlife women. 

“It’s also important to explore the discrepancy this review highlighted: why these drugs improved a woman’s subjective feelings of brain fog but didn’t actually move the needle on objective cognitive tests,” she added. 

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, affecting between 1 in 7 and 1 in 8 women in the United Kingdom and United States.
• Treatment is increasingly successful, but people recovering from breast cancer can experience lasting fatigue and cognitive impairment, or ‘brain fog’.
• These symptoms may be a result of both the cancer and the treatments for it.
• Now, a study has found that a nutritional supplement — oxaloacetate — could help alleviate both fatigue and brain fog in people after breast cancer treatment.

Breast cancer is a disease that almost exclusively affects females. According to the World Health Organization, around 99% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women, and only 0.5 to 1% of cases in males. 

The number of women surviving breast cancer has increased rapidly with improved diagnosis and treatment. In the 1970s, just over 40% of people lived for 10 years after a breast cancer diagnosis; now, almost 80% survive for at least 10 years.

However, during and after breast cancer treatment, many people experience fatigue and cognitive impairment, or ‘brain fog’, which may persist for several years, and can negatively impact quality of life.

“Breast cancer treatments often have significant long-term physical and emotional impacts, which can leave people fatigued or less able to deal with day-to-day activities due to brain fog, and can make adapting to life after treatment extremely challenging.”

– Kotryna Temcinaite, PhD, senior research and impact communications lead at UK Charity Breast Cancer Now.

Now, a small-scale study has found that a nutritional supplement — oxaloacetate — can help to alleviate these symptoms after only 8 weeks of treatment.

Patricia Ganz, MD, lead author on the study, Distinguished Professor Health Policy & Management and Medicine, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, told Medical News Today that she was surprised by their findings:

“I was a complete skeptic about the potential benefits of the oxaloacetate, and the consistent findings across the patients were very encouraging, especially the parallel benefits in fatigue, insomnia and physical function—all supporting an important biological response.”

Eight weeks of oxaloacetate treatment for ‘brain fog’

In their phase 2 clinical trial, researchers recruited 18 women who had received a diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer between 1 and 5 years before the start of the trial. All reported significant cognitive difficulties which had persisted following their diagnosis and treatment.

The women had a mean age of 50 years, most had been treated with chemotherapy, and 90% were receiving hormone treatment following their breast cancer.

All participants took 500 milligrams (mg) of oxaloacetate as an oral capsule twice a day for 8 weeks. Some reported mild gastrointestinal side effects, and 2 dropped out of the trial because of gastrointestinal symptoms, but 16 completed the course of treatment.

At the start of the trial, after 4 weeks of treatment, and after 8 weeks of treatment, all participants completed electronic questionnaires. These assessed their cognitive and behavioral symptoms, as well as their overall quality of life, using a symptom checklist of items from the PRO-CTCAE, such as gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue, pain, insomnia and headache, and the 12-item short-form health survey.

Improvement in cognitive symptoms seen after only 4 weeks  

After only 4 weeks of oxaloacetate treatment, all 16 participants reported improvements in their cognitive symptoms. This improvement continued up to the 8 week point, with all participants seeing significant cognitive improvement by the end of the study.

This improvement was reflected in significant increases in their cognitive test scores, from a mean of 29.1 (impaired) at the start of the trial, to a mean of 55.5 (normal) after 8 weeks.

Researchers also observed that participants had significant reductions in fatigue and insomnia, as well as improvements in physical functioning.

Some women saw such a great improvement in their symptoms that they opted to continue the medication, Ganz told MNT: 

“Many women continued the drug after the study ended, with the company providing the medications. Some continued to take it for more than a year.”

Why might oxaloacetate improve cognition and fatigue?

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy stimulate a neuroinflammatory response that can result in excess glutamate production, leading to neurotoxic effects, which may result in cognitive symptoms and fatigue. 

The authors suggest that oxaloacetate, which is central to energy production in cells, may have beneficial effects through regulating the metabolism of glutamate. By clearing glutamate, oxaloacetate can moderate the effects of neuroinflammation, as well as enhancing the function of mitochondria to regulate energy production within cells.

Rapid move to further trials to verify the findings

Temcinaite cautioned that “this was a very small study involving just 18 women, and from this study we can’t establish whether the supplement oxaloacetate was responsible for the improvements as it lacked a comparison group.”

To answer these questions, the researchers are now planning a larger phase 2 placebo-controlled trial, as well as an animal study to try and work out the mode of action of oxaloacetate.

“I saw each of the participants myself, and clinically assessed them at each visit,” Ganz told us, “but had no idea that we would see the magnitude and type of changes we saw with the questionnaires and neurocognitive tests. However, after the first 9 patients and review of the data, I was very motivated to complete the study and to move to a definitive efficacy trial.”

“In addition, we moved quickly to be able to study the drug in an animal model, where we see very encouraging results that we hope to publish soon,” she added.

The follow-on phase 2 randomized placebo-controlled trial will require 120 participants, Ganz told us. The researchers will test two doses of oxaloacetate (as required by the Food and Drugs Administration) against placebo, but everyone involved in the trial will be able to receive the drug. Ganz expects to see results within about 2 years.

“Optimism has rarely helped alleviate pain and suffering or cured cancer, so we need to do the trial to get the evidence. There is no reason why oxaloacetate would not be helpful to any cancer patient/survivor suffering from fatigue and cognitive complaints after cancer treatment. Breast cancer was where we had done the most research, but other patient populations will likely benefit.”

– Patricia Ganz, MD

Consult your treatment team before trying any supplement

“We don’t yet know the longer-term effects of taking oxaloacetate,” Temcinaite warned. “Unlike conventional medicines, supplements are not subject to the same regulation or rigorous testing for safety and effectiveness, and they can interact with cancer treatments. If anyone is considering taking any supplements during or after their breast cancer treatment, they should discuss it with their treatment team first.” 

She further advised:

“We know it’s not ‘back to normal’ after breast cancer treatment and there are some things you can do to improve your wellbeing, such as planning your day to balance your activities and rest times, regular physical activity, and eating a healthy well-balanced diet.” 

• Petrelintide, an experimental amylin agonist medication, may offer a new weight loss option with fewer gastrointestinal side effects than GLP-1 medications, according to a recent phase 2 trial.
• Participants taking petrelintide lost up to 9.8% of their body weight over 28 weeks, with gastrointestinal side effects similar to placebo.
• Petrelintide isn’t yet commercially available and requires further trials and more data before it can be considered a viable alternative for people who can’t tolerate GLP-1 medications.

GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, are known to cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

According to research from 2025, 42 out of 288 people with overweight or obesity taking GLP-1 medication (14.6%) quit the treatment due to an inability to tolerate side effects.

Finding alternatives to GLP-1 drugs could help some people follow the weight loss treatment with fewer side effects. A new study published in September 2026 has explored the investigational, or experimental, drug petrelintide to determine whether it could support weight loss with fewer gastrointestinal side effects.

In a combined comment, study authors Sten Madsbad and Jens Holst explain that “[t]he therapeutic landscape of obesity is changing rapidly, most recently with long-acting amylin agonists as a novel class of anti-obesity medications. Amylin is co-secreted with insulin from pancreatic β cells in response to nutrient intake; it slows gastric emptying, suppresses postprandial glucagon secretion, and probably acts as a satiety signal.”

They add that, “[i]mportantly, these effects are mediated through pathways partly complementary to those of GLP-1,” and that “the relatively favorable tolerability [per the study findings] supports the potential of amylin agonists as monotherapy.

However, while initial findings, including clinically meaningful weight reductions, are promising, further research is necessary before petrelintide becomes an available weight loss treatment.

Up to 9.8% change in mean body weight

Participants in the study experienced an up to 9.8% change in body weight after 28 weeks.

The phase 2 trial involved 485 participants with either overweight or obesity and no history of diabetes. Participants received either the placebo or different doses of petrelintide:

• 79 people received 1.0 milligrams (mg) petrelintide.
• 81 people received 2.5 mg petrelintide.
• 83 people received 5.0 mg petrelintide.
• 79 people received 7.0 mg petrelintide.
• 82 people received 9.0 mg petrelintide.
• 81 people received the placebo.

The mean percentage change in body weight ranged from 7.9% in those taking 1 mg petrelintide for 28 weeks to 9.8% in those taking 5 mg.

Medical News Today spoke with Clare Thompson, MBBS, BSc, nMRCGP, DCH, DRCOG, LMCC, general practitioner at the Cadogan Clinic, to find out more about these findings.

“Losing an 8% to 10% average of weight over a 28-week period is a significant and positive outcome for patients taking amylin.”

Similar gastrointestinal tolerability to placebo

The researchers found that those taking petrelintide experienced “similar gastrointestinal tolerability” to individuals in the placebo group.

Individuals did experience mild nausea when increasing the dose. In the combined comment, Madsbad and Holst explained the following:

“The most common gastrointestinal adverse event was nausea (20% vs 6% with placebo), whereas vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation occurred at frequencies similar to those with placebo. Gastrointestinal events were mild to moderate and occurred mainly during dose escalation.”

They added that “[o]nly six of 404 participants discontinued petrelintide because of gastrointestinal adverse events.”

Thompson told MNT that “[a]mylin and GLP-1 medications both cause delayed gastric emptying, which naturally results in a degree of nausea. In GLP-1 patients, nausea tends to wear off over time due to metabolic adaptation to the product.”

She explained that she would “expect to see a similar mechanism with amylin, as well as patients’ tolerability improving over time with each dose change.”

What’s next for petrelintide?

The trial suggests that petrelintide could be beneficial for weight management, with early findings showing notable weight loss and mild side effects.

However, it is not currently available commercially.

MNT asked Thompson what should follow before the medication might be available for patients.

She said that, while petrelintide “will interest patients who struggle to tolerate a GLP-1 medication because of side effects,” there needs to be “[m]ore data and a phase 3 clinical trial […] before prospective patients can make any meaningful conclusions about whether to try an amylin product instead of a GLP-1.”

The study authors also note in a comment that, “[w]hether gastrointestinal adverse effects occur in the same individuals who are intolerant of GLP-1-based therapies is also unclear.” As such, additional research to determine this would be necessary.

Thompson concluded, “This is an exciting new drug that needs more concrete data and larger studies on a bigger population, including diabetic patients, to see whether they might also gain benefit from an alternative product for HbA1c and weight control.”

• Researchers found elevated levels of the mitochondrial protein Miro1 in the skeletal muscles of people with type 2 diabetes, potentially impairing the muscles’ response to insulin.
• In preclinical models, eliminating the protein improved muscle insulin sensitivity, suggesting that Miro1 could be a potential target for future diabetes treatments.
• In a randomized controlled trial involving people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, aerobic exercise reduced muscle Miro1 levels and improved insulin sensitivity and the muscles’ ability to produce energy.
• The findings provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying insulin resistance, however, further studies are necessary to determine whether Miro1 could provide a suitable target for diabetes treatment.

Insulin resistance occurs when the body’s cells do not respond effectively to insulin, while insulin sensitivity refers to how effectively cells respond to the hormone.

In type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance can cause the pancreas to produce more insulin to compensate. Over time, it may become unable to produce enough insulin to regulate blood glucose levels, which may contribute to the development and progression of type 2 diabetes.

Now, research suggests that a protein, known as mitochondrial Rho GTPase 1 (Miro1), is found at elevated levels in the skeletal muscles of people with type 2 diabetes and may directly impair insulin responsiveness.

The study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that the protein may interfere with muscle cells’ ability to respond to insulin. Additionally, in preclinical models, Miro1 removal restored insulin responsiveness, and aerobic exercise also reduced Miro1 levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

The findings could help researchers better understand the biological mechanisms underlying insulin resistance and identify potential targets for future treatments. However, further research is necessary to establish whether directly targeting Miro1 could lead to effective treatments for people with type 2 diabetes.

Miro1 may play active role in insulin resistance

Miro1 is a protein found on the outer membrane of mitochondria, which are the structures within cells that produce energy. Research suggests that the protein may play a role in insulin resistance by influencing how skeletal muscle cells respond to insulin.

“This study suggests that when Miro1 accumulates excessively in skeletal muscle, it may interfere with the muscle’s ability to respond effectively to insulin,” Opel Baker, MBChB, general practitioner at the Mayfield Clinic, who was not involved in the study, explained to Medical News Today.

“Normally, insulin activates a signalling pathway involving a protein called AKT, which helps move glucose transporter proteins, known as GLUT4, to the muscle cell surface so glucose can enter. In people with type 2 diabetes, this signalling process appears to be disrupted, allowing Miro1 to accumulate and potentially further impair glucose uptake.” 
— Opel Baker, MBChB

To understand its role in diabetes, researchers examined the protein in cells, preclinical models, and people living with type 2 diabetes, enabling them to investigate Miro1’s effects on muscle function from the cellular level to its potential relevance in diabetes.

Notably, the team found that Miro1 accumulated in the skeletal muscles of people with type 2 diabetes and the protein could contribute directly to impaired insulin responsiveness. They also found that removing Miro1 restored the muscle’s response to insulin in preclinical models, suggesting that the protein may play an active role in insulin resistance rather than simply being associated with it.

“The researchers found that Miro1 accumulation was associated with defective insulin signalling, specifically reduced movement of activated AKT to the mitochondria and less interaction between AKT and Miro1,” Baker told MNT.

Insulin regulates Miro1 levels

“This suggests that insulin normally helps regulate Miro1 levels, but this process becomes impaired in type 2 diabetes. Excess Miro1 may contribute to disrupted mitochondrial function, reduced energy-producing capacity and impaired glucose uptake by muscle cells. However, the precise mechanisms still require further investigation, and Miro1 accumulation may be both a consequence of insulin resistance and a contributor to its progression.” 
— Opel Baker, MBChB

Exercise may reduce Miro1 levels in people with type 2 diabetes

The researchers also investigated whether exercise affected Miro1 levels in skeletal muscle using data from a randomized controlled trial involving people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Participants in the trial received either an aerobic exercise intervention or standard medical care.

Those in the exercise group experienced reductions in muscle Miro1 levels, alongside improvements in insulin sensitivity and muscle energy production, suggesting that changes in Miro1 may be one of the biological mechanisms underlying the metabolic benefits of exercise.

However, the results do not establish that reducing Miro1 is solely responsible for the improvements in insulin sensitivity. Exercise affects numerous processes involved in glucose regulation, muscle function, and energy metabolism.

Nevertheless, the study provides a potential new explanation for some of the beneficial effects of physical activity in people with type 2 diabetes.

Could Miro1 become a target for future diabetes treatments?

The findings suggest that treatments targeting Miro1 activity or its accumulation could improve insulin sensitivity. Investigating Miro1 across cellular experiments, preclinical models, and human studies identifies Miro1 as a potential therapeutic target and provides further insight into the relationships among muscle function, insulin resistance, and exercise.

The findings are particularly relevant because skeletal muscle insulin resistance is a major feature of type 2 diabetes, yet the molecular mechanisms driving it remain poorly understood.

However, the results do not indicate that Miro1-targeting treatment would necessarily be safe and effective in humans.

Further studies will need to determine how Miro1 contributes to insulin resistance, whether its effects can be targeted therapeutically, and what potential benefits or risks this approach might have.

What do the findings mean for people with type 2 diabetes?

The research offers a promising direction for future investigations into type 2 diabetes, but it does not change current treatment recommendations. Aerobic exercise remains an important part of diabetes management for many people, alongside appropriate medical care, dietary measures, and medication when necessary.

The observed reduction in Miro1 levels following exercise may help researchers understand another way physical activity improves insulin sensitivity. However, the study does not establish that measuring or lowering Miro1 directly would improve clinical outcomes.

“The findings offer a potential explanation for why exercise improves blood glucose regulation beyond simply increasing the amount of glucose muscles use during physical activity,” Baker noted. “In a 12-week exercise intervention, participants with obesity and type 2 diabetes showed reduced muscle Miro1 accumulation alongside improvements in insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function.”

“Exercise may therefore help restore the way muscle cells respond to insulin by improving mitochondrial health and the signalling processes that regulate glucose uptake,” he explained. “This provides further insight into the biological mechanisms behind exercise’s established metabolic benefits, although the study does not prove that reducing Miro1 is solely responsible for those improvements.” 

The findings also highlight the importance of studying diabetes at several levels, from the molecular processes occurring inside cells to the effects of interventions in people. For now, Miro1 represents a potential therapeutic target rather than an established treatment.

“The key message is that exercise may help improve the underlying metabolic function of skeletal muscle, making it more responsive to insulin, rather than simply burning calories or using glucose temporarily. These findings strengthen our understanding of how regular physical activity may support better glucose control and mitochondrial health.”
— Opel Baker, MBChB

“However, this is not a reason to change current treatment recommendations,” Baker said.

“People living with type 2 diabetes should continue to follow personalised advice on physical activity, medication and nutrition from their healthcare team. The study also does not establish a new exercise prescription or show that Miro1 testing or targeted treatment is currently appropriate in clinical practice,” he concluded.

• A new study in mice has found that consuming olive oil before a glucose load led to a smaller early spike in blood sugar.
• The olive oil also helped slow stomach emptying and allowed glucose to enter the blood more gradually.
• This mechanistic link aligns with the current morning trend of olive oil shots; however, experts urge caution, noting a lack of evidence for this trend and the need for more human trials to confirm these findings.

Could olive oil shots in the morning actually have some scientific basis behind them? Although people mostly participate in this trend for its unproven “anti-aging” and “skin glow” benefits, touted on social media, consuming fats before carbohydrates may offer other health benefits, particularly for blood sugar management.

A recent study, published in the journal Diabetes, found that consuming olive oil before carbs can help blunt early spikes in blood sugar via several hormone and nerve pathways — at least in mice.

As part of their experiment, the researchers gave a group of mice olive oil 15 minutes before they conducted a glucose load test, commonly known as an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT).

Another group of mice received a water preload before the glucose load, while a third group received olive oil after the glucose load. The researchers then compared blood sugar levels between all three groups.

Olive oil may help prevent sugar spikes

The researchers observed that preloading with olive oil led to a smaller rise in blood sugar levels and delayed gastric emptying. This benefit was also seen in mice with type 2 diabetes and severe insulin deficiency.

They also observed earlier and more pronounced surges in gut and endocrine hormones, including glucagon, GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide), and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), in the group that received an olive oil preload. This happened within 15-30 minutes after eating.

These findings indicate that taking olive oil first — or consuming fats before carbs — can trigger gut hormones and nerve signals that slow down stomach digestion before the sugar arrives.

This slowdown can, therefore, prevent sugar from entering the bloodstream all at once, halting the post-meal blood sugar spike.

Senior author of this study, Daisuke Yabe, MD, a professor of medicine at Kyoto University in Japan, said in a press release:

“The order in which nutrients reach the gut can engage a coordinated hormone-nerve response that changes how quickly the stomach delivers glucose to the intestine.”

Medical News Today spoke to three experts — Noah Praamsma, MS, RDN, nutrition education coordinator with the
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Jennifer Pallian, RD, specializing in food and nutrition science, and Edmundo Rodriguez-Frias, MD, gastroenterologist at Anderson Medical Group in Maryville, Illinois, to discuss the findings and whether olive oil shots have health risks.

Why olive oil before carbs may aid blood sugar regulation

In the study, the mice that received olive oil before carbs showed signs of slowed gastric emptying. Praamsma explained the process:

“Blood sugars rise when carbohydrates get absorbed in the small intestine. One way to blunt the rate of absorption is to slow down how quickly food moves from the stomach into the intestine, and consuming fat can do that. When fat, like olive oil, gets into the small intestine, it causes hormones like GLP-1 to be released that slow down how quickly food still in the stomach gets released into the intestine.”

Apart from delayed gastric emptying, the mice that consumed olive oil before glucose also showed increases in certain gut and endocrine hormones.

When asked how these hormones may help reduce blood sugar rises, Pallian explained: “GLP-1 and glucagon appear to work through partially overlapping pathways to slow gastric emptying, with the vagus nerve, which helps regulate gastrointestinal function, also playing a role.”

“Interestingly, these effects occurred without a substantial increase in insulin secretion, suggesting that slower gastric emptying, rather than increased insulin production, was primarily responsible for the improved blood sugar response,” she added.

“Consuming olive oil before carbohydrates may help regulate blood sugar by slowing gastric emptying, which is the rate at which food moves from the stomach into the small intestine. This delays glucose absorption and helps reduce the rise in blood sugar after eating.”
— Jennifer Pallian, MS, RDN

What about humans?

Although this study was conducted in mice, similar effects have been observed in humans, too.

“In a small randomized crossover study involving six men with type 2 diabetes, consuming 30 mL [milliliters] of olive oil 30 minutes before a carbohydrate-rich meal significantly slowed gastric emptying, delayed the rise in blood glucose, and increased GLP-1 secretion compared with consuming water beforehand or incorporating olive oil into the meal,” Pallian said.

She also gave an example of a small study that found that eating fish or meat before rice helped delay gastric emptying and improve blood sugar responses.

“Together, these findings suggest that the order in which we consume foods may play an important role in blood sugar regulation,” she said.

What the mouse study may have overlooked

One of the biggest limitations of the study is that it was conducted in animals, and similar results may not be seen in humans.

“[The] findings come from mice, so we cannot assume that consuming olive oil before carbohydrates will produce the same effects in humans. Although animal models are valuable for understanding biological mechanisms, they do not always accurately reflect the complex metabolic changes associated with human type 2 diabetes, particularly when diabetes is chemically induced as was done in this study,” Pallian said.

A smaller early spike in blood sugar also does not necessarily demonstrate improved insulin sensitivity or lasting effects on diabetes management.

Rodriguez-Frias underscored that the study leaves out many crucial components of diabetes management.

“[The study] cannot establish durable effects on HbA1c, weight, cardiovascular outcomes, or medication needs. The biggest limitation is that the study was conducted in mice using a controlled oral glucose load, not in people eating regular meals. Differences in digestion and metabolism mean the same effects may not occur in humans,” he noted.

The amount of olive oil the researchers chose to give the mice was also quite a large dose, beyond what is typical consumption.

“[The] relatively large acute dose of olive oil used in the study, 5 mL per kilogram of body weight [may] not reflect typical dietary intake. These differences make it difficult to determine how directly the findings apply to people consuming smaller amounts of olive oil as part of their everyday diets,” Pallian pointed out.

Praamsma also underscored that slowing down gastric emptying does not change how much glucose the body absorbs, and said “it could cause a person’s peak blood sugar to come later when they aren’t expecting it.”

“Additionally, any type of oil is a concentrated source of calories and won’t help with long-term blood sugar management,” he added.

Are there benefits to consuming 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil daily?

Regarding consuming olive oil every day, the experts agreed on its health benefits, particularly for cardiovascular health.

“Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid, and contains beneficial compounds such as vitamin E and polyphenols, which contribute to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds may help explain why olive oil consumption has been linked to improvements in several cardiovascular and metabolic health markers, including cholesterol levels, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, blood sugar regulation, and inflammation,” Pallian told us.

Rodriguez-Frias noted a 2022 study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), that found that consuming more than 7 grams (g) of olive oil daily reduced mortality.

The same study also found that replacing fats such as butter, margarine, or mayonnaise with olive oil was associated with an 8–34% lower risk of all-cause mortality.

Rodriguez-Frias cautioned against overinterpreting these findings.

“It does not prove that one to two tablespoons taken alone causes the benefit. Of course, olive oil is still a calorie-dense food, so your best bet is to use it to replace less healthy fats in your diet,” he said.

Meanwhile, Praamsa gave examples of other foods that may help soften blood sugar spikes: “[T]here are other foods that can also blunt the risk [of high] blood sugar after a meal. Beans and other legumes, non-starchy vegetables, and plant foods rich in protein and fiber like soy (tofu, tempeh, edamame, etc.) can also have the same effect, and will help with long-term blood sugar control, too.”

“While the evidence supports regularly incorporating olive oil into a healthy diet, particularly as a replacement for certain other fats, there is no established additional benefit to consuming 1–2 tablespoons as a standalone daily shot rather than using the same amount in meals.”
— Jennifer Pallian, MS, RDN

• The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) recently released expanded clinical guidelines for managing common menopause symptoms, including sleep disturbances, hot flashes, and mood changes.
• The new guidelines aim to replace the previous recommendations, published in 2014, and they include more detailed information about hormone therapy options for the treatment of hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disturbances.
• They also highlight when to start and end hormone therapy to maximize its benefits and minimize potential side effects.
• Board certified ob-gyns Nathan Goodyear and Sheryl Ross explain what has changed and how the updated recommendations will improve the care of people going through menopause.

On October 15, 2026, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) published expanded clinical guidelines on the management of common menopause symptoms, including sleep disturbances, hot flashes, and mood changes.

These guidelines update previous recommendations, published in 2014. Nathan Goodyear, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn and integrative medicine physician at the Williams Cancer Institute in Beverly Hills, CA, told Medical News Today:

“I would not necessarily describe [the new ACOG guidelines] as a replacement; I would describe them as an add-on. Time brings discovery, which requires updating recommendations. Science is always updating.”

“The new ACOG guidelines extend their recommendations much more so than in the past in helping and treating women with vasomotor symptoms, sleep and mood changes in menopause to improve their quality of life,” added Sheryl Ross, MD, also a board certified ob-gyn, as well as women’s health expert at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.

According to her, “previous guidelines from ACOG were limited, with less direction and detail about treatment options, and did not emphasize patient collaboration.”

Neither Goodyear nor Ross were involved in the drafting of the new ACOG guidance.

Improved guidance on hormone and other therapies

The 2026 ACOG guidance specifically addresses the management of sleep issues, mood changes, and vasomotor symptoms, including hot flashes, and provides updated recommendations for both pharmacological interventions, such as hormone therapy, and nonpharmacological interventions.

Compared to the 2014 recommendations, the updated guidance includes more information on when to start menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) to ensure it offers the most benefits and minimizes potential side effects.

It also discusses nonhormonal treatments, focusing on neurokinin receptor antagonists — fezolinetant (Veozah) and elinzanetant (Lynkuet) — which can help with symptoms like hot flashes in individuals who are either unable to use MHT or would prefer to avoid it.

There are also new recommendations for the use of nonpharmacological interventions with sufficient supporting evidence, in conjunction with MHT or nonhormonal medications, as appropriate.

These include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, regular exercise, clinical hypnosis, and acupuncture.

The new ACOG review also highlights interventions that may be best avoided, as there is insufficient evidence to support their effectiveness or safety. Specifically, the guidance warns against phytoestrogens or herbal supplements for the treatment of menopause symptoms. 

“ACOG’s recommendations come from evidence-based treatments and discourage use of natural unproven remedies including supplements and plant estrogens for hot flashes,” Ross highlighted.

She added that the new ACOG recommendations further “emphasize the need for more patient education, more outreach to those with poor healthcare access, and acknowledge [the role played by] cultural, socioeconomic, and racial differences” in access to timely and appropriate interventions.

“This not only gives healthcare providers more direction in managing these patients but also empowers patients, making the hormonal transition much more collaborative,” Ross said.

‘5 major differences’ in guidelines

Goodyear told MNT that he identified “five major differences” between the previous and current ACOG recommendations for managing common menopause symptoms.

First, according to the new ACOG guidance, “hormone therapy requires more individualized risk assessment.”

“Individualized risk assessment requires precision medicine,” he explained. “Precision medicine is the right treatment for the right patient, at the right time, in the right space, and in the right context.”

“Instead of a [general] protocol, precision medicine, through individualized risk assessment, asks what the patient in front of us actually requests and requires, in the context of their individualized risk,” he detailed.

Second, that “more specific hormone therapy timeline initiation is recommended.”

“The November 2026 update builds on past updates” to ACOG guidance, said Goodyear. “Hormone therapy remains the strong cornerstone recommendation for vasomotor symptoms applied to individualized risk.”

In his view, “the timing of MHT prior to age 60 or within 10 years of menopause […] reinforces pre-existing recommendations.”

Third, the new guidance advances the “repurposing of nonhormonal medications to treat vasomotor symptoms.”

“The most significant addition in the latest recommendation is the inclusion of non-hormonal therapies for vasomotor symptoms. Instead of targeting hormonally precipitated vasomotor symptoms with hormonal therapies, fezolinetant and elinzanetant target neurokinin-3 and neurokinin-1 rather than hormone receptors, repurposing treatment for the same symptoms away from hormone- and hormone-receptor-only approaches and toward downstream neurobiological pathways.”
— Nathan Goodyear, MD

Fourth, that “sleep-circadian rhythm disruption and mood disruptions are elevated to the level of physician awareness in evaluating and treating perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.”

“In the 2026 recommendation, mood disruptions and circadian and sleep disruptions are linked to quality of life in perimenopause/menopause. Yet these signals should not be limited to symptom management; they should also signal loss of resilience and potential warning signs of broader biological ecosystem dysfunction,” cautioned Goodyear.

The fifth and last difference that Goodyear highlighted was that “integrative interventions received greater interest and recognition.”

“In this 2026 recommendation, ACOG elevates integrative therapies for perimenopausal/menopausal symptoms, particularly vasomotor symptoms, alongside conventional recommendations,” he said, referring to the nonpharmacological interventions listed.

“I applaud ACOG here for seeking to reengage patients with evidence-based integrative therapies,” commented Goodyear.

How will the revised guidance improve care?

Both Goodyear and Ross commented on how the latest ACOG guidance could improve menopause care.

Restoring doctor-patient trust

Goodyear hailed the 2026 ACOG guidance as “a good first step” toward improving the doctor-patient relationship in an environment where many people have lost their confidence in medical professionals.

He commented that:

“A growing chasm exists between patients and their doctors. Instead of reaching out to their doctors, [many patients] are more readily seeking advice from ‘Dr. Social Media’ […] Moreover, a late 2024 JAMA article found that only 40% of patients hold ‘a lot of trust’ in their doctors and hospitals, down from 71.5% in April 2020. These revised ACOG recommendations reinforce evidence-based therapies and elevate integrative therapies as adjuncts. It is a good first step in restoring the stressed and somewhat damaged patient-doctor relationship.”

Clearer understanding of MHT’s real benefits

Ross further noted that “the FDA had recently removed the misleading ‘black box’ warning for hormone therapy to treat menopausal women,” which erroneously “cautioned women and healthcare providers that hormone therapy would increase their risks of blood clots, breast cancer, and strokes, […] based on the notorious and faulty WHI [Women’s Health Initiative] study done in 2002.”

“By doing so, the FDA now supports all the benefits that hormone therapy affords women for healthy aging and longevity,” she explained. “After over 20 years of waiting, we now have a restored trust and confidence in safely using hormone therapy for menopausal women as recommended medications for quality of life and healthy aging.”

This revised and corrected information is reflected in the new ACOG guidance, which emphasizes the benefits of hormone therapy.

“ACOG is the main medical organization, trusted and respected by healthcare providers in women’s health, so their recommendations matter. The new ACOG guidelines creates an easy and safe roadmap, not only for healthcare providers, but women going through this normal hormonal transition as well. The ultimate goal is to improve women’s quality of life and encourage healthy aging.”
— Sheryl Ross, MD

• Analysis of data from nearly 16 million people found a 70% higher risk of death from all causes for people with ADHD compared with those who did not have the condition.
• ADHD was also associated with a 90% higher risk of death by suicide, 55% higher risk of death by injury, and 27% higher risk of death from natural causes.
• Data from three studies also suggested that ADHD medication use was associated with a 25% lower risk of death.

A large systematic review and meta-analysis has found that people with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis have a 70% higher rate of death from all causes compared with people who do not have the condition.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, involved researchers from University College London and the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom analyzing data from nearly 16 million people.

ADHD is a condition that affects a person’s attention, energy levels, and impulse control. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 15.5 million adults in the United States currently have ADHD.

Research has firmly established that, without management, ADHD can lead to problems with relationships, work, and education. Previous studies have also noted an association between ADHD and living shorter lives.

“We have previously found that people with ADHD have reduced life expectancies, so here we are adding to our understanding of what drives this very concerning statistic,” said senior author Joshua Stott, PhD, in a press release.

What did the researchers look at?

The research team looked at data from a total of 19 longitudinal cohort studies. These involved 15,920,970 participants — of whom 36.1% were female — spread across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Some of the studies the researchers selected for review followed their cohorts for up to 20 years.

The researchers analyzed the data to see if they could find any associations between ADHD, the use of ADHD medication, and mortality.

They looked at both mortality from all causes as well as the death rates associated with some specific causes. The specific causes were suicide, unintentional or intentional injuries, and natural causes.

Higher rates of mortality for all causes

Overall, the researchers found that having ADHD was associated with a 70% higher risk of mortality due to all causes compared with people who did not have ADHD.

The association between ADHD and a higher risk of death varied between different causes. The associated increases were:

• death by suicide: 90% increased risk
• death from intentional or unintentional injury: 55% increased risk
• death from natural causes: 27% increased risk.

“We found that people with ADHD face an increased risk not only of death by suicide and injury, but also of deaths by natural causes, adding to evidence that health inequalities faced by people with ADHD are broad and wide-ranging,” said Stott in the press release.

Medical News Today spoke with first author Lucy Corrigan of the University of Liverpool, who described the association between ADHD and mortality by natural causes as “somewhat surprising.”

“This does not mean that ADHD directly causes these deaths, but it suggests that the health risks experienced by people with ADHD may extend beyond accidents and suicide,” Corrigan said.

She noted that while the findings of the different studies analyzed generally pointed in the same direction, the strength of the association varied between studies.

“This may reflect differences in the populations studied, healthcare systems, and how the studies were carried out,” she told MNT. “These differences highlight the importance of considering the wider context when interpreting the findings.”

What impact did ADHD medication have?

While rates of death were higher for those with ADHD, the researchers also saw that ADHD medication could reduce the risks.

Among those with ADHD, participants who received medication to treat it had a 25% lower risk of mortality from all causes compared with those who did not have medication.

Only three studies specifically looked at ADHD medication, however, meaning that the amount of available data with which to assess this association was limited.

“Our findings provide early evidence to suggest that medication may play an important role in supporting the health of people with ADHD, but this is based on a small number of studies and further research is needed to clarify this link,” said Corrigan in the press release.

“And medication is just part of the story; many people with ADHD benefit from comprehensive, long-term treatment and support,” she added.

Why is ADHD linked to higher death risk?

The researchers wrote that the reasons behind the associated increases in death differed from cause to cause.

For death by suicide, they noted that this may be due to people with ADHD also experiencing higher rates of mental health issues such as depression, substance use disorders, and social exclusion.

ADHD is also associated with an increased risk of being involved in traffic accidents, which may be one factor in the higher rates of death from injury. The previously mentioned increased risk of substance use disorder may also come with its own risk of unintentional harm.

Finally, the higher rates of death from natural causes may be related to an association between ADHD and increased risks of smoking, poor diet, and sleep problems, as well as certain conditons, such as cardiovascular diseases.

Further, the researchers note that difficulties with attention and organization could make it harder for people to follow medical treatment plans or to fully engage with healthy practices.

‘ADHD is not by definition a life-limiting condition’

The researchers believe that their findings indicate that many people with ADHD are not receiving the support they need.

“ADHD is not by definition a life-limiting condition as the right support and treatment can help people with ADHD to live long and healthy lives,” said Stott in the press release.

“Our findings underscore the importance of ensuring that everyone who may have ADHD has access to accurate diagnosis and treatment,” he added.

The researchers note that more research is needed to look closely at the potential impact of being female, a historically marginalized race or ethnicity, and childhood mistreatment on mortality risks.

They also note that there is a gap between rates of diagnosis and prevalence in the general population.

“While ADHD diagnosis rates have risen in recent years, they may still lag behind actual prevalence, particularly for older age groups where mortality risk may be most pertinent,” said Stott in the press release.

As a result, the findings underline a real need to increase access to diagnosis and treatment for people who may have the condition.

“Many people with ADHD face challenges throughout their lives, so equitable access to evidence-based assessment and treatment is vital to ensure they can live long, healthy lives,” added senior author Amber John, PhD, in the press release.

Changing needs later in life

MNT also spoke with Sylvia Baker, MRCpsych, consultant psychiatrist at Re:Cognition Health, who was not involved with the study. Baker explained that as people with ADHD get older, their support needs may become more complex.

“While educational adjustments are important earlier in life, adults may need ongoing support with employment, relationships, emotional regulation, physical health, and managing co-occurring conditions such as anxiety and depression,” she said.

“Difficulties with organisation and access to healthcare can also affect long-term well-being,“ added the psychiatrist.

“The findings reinforce the importance of timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and continued, individualized support throughout adulthood, rather than assuming ADHD is a childhood condition that no longer requires attention later in life.”

– Sylvia Baker, MRCpsych

• Menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55.
• Researchers estimate that 60%–70% of women gain weight during menopause.
• Current treatment options for menopausal weight gain include menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), lifestyle changes, and GLP-1 medications. 
• A new study found that adding MHT may help improve weight loss in menopausal women taking certain types of GLP-1 medications. 

Menopause — a life stage that marks the end of female reproductive years — tends to occur between ages 45 and 55.

Although menopause symptoms can be different for each person, some commonly shared symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, fatigue, vaginal dryness, and weight gain.

“Weight gain is a common concern among midlife women,” Regina Castaneda, MD, postdoctoral research fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Women’s Health, at Mayo Clinic Florida, told Medical News Today.

“Although aging is the primary driver, the menopause transition also plays a role. As estrogen levels decline, women tend to lose lean muscle while gaining fat mass, fat shifts toward visceral deposits, and resting energy expenditure falls. Menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, may further reduce physical activity and impair metabolic health.” 

– Regina Castaneda, MD

Researchers estimate that between 60%-70% of women gain weight during menopause. Current treatment options for menopausal weight gain include menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), lifestyle changes like following a healthy diet and getting enough exercise, and prescription weight-loss medications including glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. 

Castaneda is the lead author of a study recently presented at The Menopause Society’s 2026 Annual Conference, which found adding MHT may help improve weight loss in menopausal women taking certain types of GLP-1 medications. 

The study is yet to undergo peer review.

Semaglutide vs tirzepatide with or without MHT

For this study, researchers analyzed health data for about 2,400 over the age of 45 who were taking either semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) or tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro).

Some study participants were taking MHT, while others were not. 

“Increasingly, midlife women are turning to GLP-1–based therapies such as semaglutide and tirzepatide to manage overweight or obesity,” Castaneda said. “At the same time, many encounter claims in the news and on social media that menopause hormone therapy can ‘boost’ the effectiveness of these medications, despite limited supporting evidence.”

“To our knowledge, this is the largest study comparing weight-loss outcomes with semaglutide and tirzepatide among midlife women with and without menopause hormone (therapy), drawing on real-world clinical data,” she added. 

MHT with semaglutide linked to greater, sustained weight loss

At the study’s conclusion, researchers discovered that MHT was linked to a significantly greater and sustained weight loss in participants taking semaglutide. 

“While encouraging, these results should be viewed as hypothesis-generating,” Castaneda said. “They do not mean that hormone therapy should be prescribed solely to improve weight-loss outcomes. Menopause hormone therapy has specific clinical indications, such as bothersome menopausal symptoms, and weight management is not one of them.” 

“That said, when hormone therapy is clinically indicated, relieving menopausal symptoms can meaningfully improve a woman’s quality of life,” she continued. “This, in turn, may help her stay engaged with diet and physical activity, which remain a vital part of any weight-loss journey.”

No ‘statistically significant’ weight loss from tirzepatide and MHT

When looking at tirzepatide, while researchers report study participants taking this particular GLP-1 medication initially showed greater weight loss when using MHT, the end results did not reach statistical significance.

Castaneda said there are two possible explanations for these findings. 

“The first is the ceiling effect,” she explained. “Tirzepatide produces substantially greater weight loss on its own, and that effect may be strong enough to overcome many of the metabolic disadvantages associated with menopause, leaving less room for hormone therapy to add a measurable benefit.” 

“The second relates to how these medications work,” Castaneda continued. “Preclinical studies suggest that the potential synergy between estrogen and GLP-1-based therapies centers on GLP-1 receptor signaling specifically: estrogen appears to amplify the GLP-1’s appetite-suppressing effects.“

“Semaglutide acts solely on the GLP-1 receptor, whereas tirzepatide is a dual agonist that also targets the GIP (gastric inhibitory peptide) receptor. This broader mechanism may make estrogen’s added contribution less pronounced,” she detailed.

“Importantly, this finding does not mean hormone therapy has no effect in women taking tirzepatide,” added Castaneda. “It means the question remains open, and larger studies with longer follow-up, and better controls for possible confounders are needed to answer it.”

Controlling menopause weight gain important for healthy aging

MNT spoke with Sheryl Ross, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn, and Women’s Health Expert at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who said that weight gain is often the most common complaint women in menopause talk about daily. 

“Many women are typically motivated to lose weight when the scale tips above a certain number and find success in the beginning of their weight loss journey, but quickly gain it back as their motivation fades and hormonal changes work against them,” said Ross, who was not involved in this study. “Weight gain, especially in the ‘meno’ belly increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease.”

“Finding ways to control weight gain for women in menopause is not only important emotionally, but also matters physically and for healthy aging,” Ross continued.

“There has been an obvious uptick in the use of GLP-1’s in menopause for good reasons. More research is needed to give menopausal women the best recommendations on how to lose weight and keep it off long term,” she cautioned.

How does MHT help support weight loss?

MNT also spoke with Prudence Hall, MD, an ob-gyn in private practice in Santa Monica, CA, who likewise was not involved in this study, to find out more about how MHT might aid GLP-1s in increasing and sustaining weight loss in menopausal women. 

Hall explained that hormone replacement therapy addresses the systemic root causes of midlife weight gain that GLP-1 medications simply cannot treat on their own, such as:

• estradiol depletion
• adrenal dysregulation and cortisol
• testosterone decline
• thyroid slowing.

“Estrogen loss triggers systemic inflammation and chronic fatigue, which often halts physical activity and accelerates weight gain,” she said.

Menopause also places significant stress on the body, elevating cortisol levels. “Over time, adrenal burnout compounds metabolic dysfunction,” Hall explained. “Restoring hormonal balance stabilizes the stress response and facilitates fat loss.”

Lower testosterone levels at this stage of life further reduce lean muscle mass and lowers basal metabolic rate, she noted.

Finally, “even subclinical drops in thyroid hormone function can easily drive 20 to 25 pounds of weight gain,” Hall explained. 

“When hormone deficiencies are comprehensively balanced, weight loss becomes sustainable. A GLP-1 can certainly accelerate results, but hormone therapy restores the underlying metabolic engine that keeps weight off long term,” Hall concluded.

• A new scientific statement from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) highlights that regular physical activity and improved cardiorespiratory fitness can improve exercise capacity, reduce hospitalizations, and enhance quality of life.
• Small increases in physical activity can provide meaningful benefits, with around 5,000 to 7,000 daily steps associated with clinically important benefits.
• Healthcare professionals should tailor exercise prescriptions to individual needs, considering their conditions, symptoms, functional capacity, treatment goals, and preferences.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major health concern, and identifying modifiable risk factors is an important part of prevention and treatment.

A new scientific statement from the American College of Cardiology recommends making exercise a routine part of cardiovascular care, highlighting evidence that even modest increases in physical activity may improve heart health.

Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), the statement notes that exercise should be prescribed alongside other cardiovascular treatments to help prevent and manage heart disease.

According to the ACC statement, low cardiorespiratory fitness, or the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to muscles during sustained physical activity, is a predictor of future CVD risk comparable to established risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

The statement highlights evidence that regular physical activity, structured exercise programs, and improved cardiorespiratory fitness can increase exercise capacity, reduce hospitalizations, and improve quality of life.

Notably, the statement emphasizes that people do not need to undertake intensive exercise to experience benefits. For people who are currently inactive, even small increases in daily physical activity may help reduce cardiovascular risk.

Why even small exercise increases matter for heart health

Despite the evidence supporting the benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness, exercise is not consistently incorporated into routine cardiovascular care. As such, the ACC statement argues that healthcare professionals should give exercise a more prominent role in treatment planning, alongside other appropriate interventions.

The statement highlights evidence suggesting that people may experience meaningful health benefits without reaching the often-cited goal of 10,000 steps per day. Data indicate that approximately 5,000 to 7,000 daily steps are associated with clinically important improvements and substantial reductions in cardiovascular and all-cause mortality for many adults.

These findings suggest that people who are currently sedentary may benefit from setting achievable activity goals rather than feeling that they must immediately meet demanding exercise targets.

However, step counts are not a universal prescription. The amount and type of appropriate physical activity can vary according to a person’s health, functional ability, symptoms, and treatment goals.

The authors therefore recommend tailoring exercise plans to individual circumstances, preferences, and capabilities.

“The most important message is that exercise should be viewed as a fundamental part of cardiovascular health care, not simply as a lifestyle option,” Jonathan Myers, PhD, a health research scientist with the Palo Alto VA Healthcare system and chair of the statement’s writing committee, told Medical News Today.

“We have overwhelming evidence that regular physical activity improves cardiovascular health, reduces the risk of chronic disease, and helps people live longer.”
— Jonathan Myers, PhD

“Yet despite this evidence, exercise remains underutilized in clinical practice. We routinely prescribe medications to manage blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes, but we often fail to prescribe one of the most effective interventions available to us: physical activity,” Myers said.

Myers said the ACC statement provides healthcare professionals with practical exercise-prescribing guidelines to both prevent and manage heart disease.

“For the public, I think the most important message is this: you don’t have to run marathons or join a gym to benefit. Even modest increases in daily activity can produce meaningful improvements in health. The key is to find activities that are enjoyable, achievable, and sustainable,” he added.

What should an exercise prescription include?

The ACC statement outlines several considerations for healthcare professionals when recommending physical activity.

Individualized exercise plans

Exercise prescriptions should account for a person’s cardiovascular condition, functional capacity, symptoms, treatment goals, and preferences. This approach may help people identify activities they can perform safely and maintain over time.

The authors emphasize that an effective exercise plan should be achievable and sustainable, rather than based on a one-size-fits-all target.

Combining aerobic and resistance exercise

For most adults, resistance training should complement aerobic exercise.

Aerobic activities, such as walking and cycling, can improve cardiorespiratory fitness, while resistance exercises help build and maintain muscular strength. Including both forms of exercise may help people address different aspects of physical fitness as part of their overall cardiovascular care.

Using technology to support physical activity

Wearable devices and virtual or home-based rehabilitation programs may help people monitor their activity and remain engaged with exercise plans.

According to the statement, these approaches may be particularly useful when combined with structured programs, including cardiac rehabilitation. Technology may offer additional ways to support participation, although long-term adherence remains an important consideration.

Knowing when exercise testing is needed

The authors note that routine exercise testing is not necessary before starting physical activity for most people who are asymptomatic or clinically stable.

However, testing may provide useful information when healthcare professionals need to develop an individualized exercise prescription or assess a patient’s exercise capacity. People with known cardiovascular disease or symptoms should discuss appropriate activity levels with their healthcare team.

Cardiac rehabilitation remains important for people with heart disease

The statement identifies cardiac rehabilitation as a first-line treatment for many people with CVD and calls for broader access to these programs.

Cardiac rehabilitation typically combines structured exercise with other elements of cardiovascular care and support. It can help people manage their condition and work toward improving their physical capacity and quality of life.

However, access remains a challenge, with insurance reimbursement identified as one barrier to participation.

The authors recommend providing individualized exercise prescriptions to people with established CVD who cannot participate in formal cardiac rehabilitation. They also call for exercise counseling to become more integrated into routine cardiovascular appointments.

Myers notes that exercise recommendations for those with and without established heart disease are actually quite similar:

“Both those with and without cardiovascular disease benefit from regular aerobic activity, resistance exercise, and reducing sedentary time. The main difference is that patients with established cardiovascular disease often require a more individualized approach that accounts for their symptoms, functional capacity, medications, and potential exercise-related risks,” he emphasized.

“One important message from the ACC statement is that having cardiovascular disease should not automatically be considered a reason to avoid exercise. In fact, for many patients, exercise is an essential component of treatment. The goal is to identify the safest and most effective approach for each individual.”
— Jonathan Myers, PhD

However, Myers underscored that people with certain conditions, such as active myocarditis, unstable cardiac symptoms, and some cardiomyopathies, may have to limit exercise for a period of time and require specialized assessment,

Making exercise a sustainable part of cardiovascular care

Although the evidence supporting physical activity is extensive, encouraging people to start exercising and maintain the habit over time remains a challenge.

The ACC statement calls for additional research into strategies that improve long-term adherence, as well as efforts to expand access to cardiac rehabilitation and integrate exercise counseling into standard care.

The statement aims to provide clinicians with practical tools to help people incorporate physical activity safely into their treatment plans.

For those who are currently inactive, the central message is that improving cardiovascular health does not necessarily require a dramatic lifestyle change. Small, manageable increases in physical activity may be a useful starting point, with exercise goals adapted to individual health needs and abilities.

• For many years, we’ve known that there is a strong link between type 2 diabetes and obesity, also known as ‘diabesity.’ 
• Diabesity is currently treated through a combination of different options, including healthy lifestyle modifications such as following a healthy diet, and medications like metformin. 
• A new study found that following a healthy diet high in fiber may provide better outcomes for people with diabesity than taking metformin.

For many years, we’ve known that there is a strong link between type 2 diabetes and obesity. So much so, researchers have coined the term “diabesity” for a person who has both conditions. 

Diabesity is currently treated through a combination of weight loss, healthy lifestyle changes, blood sugar monitoring, and certain medications, such as metformin. 

Healthy lifestyle modifications for treating diabesity include getting enough physical activity and eating a healthy diet. 

Now a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology reports that eating a healthy diet high in fiber may provide better outcomes for people with diabesity than taking metformin. 

High-fiber diet lowers BMI, blood sugar, promotes healthy gut bacteria

For this study, researchers recruited 48 adults who were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and who were also overweight or obese. 

Study participants were randomly selected to either follow a high-fiber diet without medication or take metformin alone for 84 days. 

At day 84, researchers found that participants on the high fiber diet had a lower baseline-adjusted mean BMI, and experienced a lower hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) — a test that checks your average blood sugar levels within the last 3 months — when compared to those in the metformin group. 

Additionally, they discovered that participants in the high-fiber diet group also showed changes in their gut microbiome, compared to the metformin-only group. 

By day 28, high-fiber diet participants increased the amount of the beneficial bacteria Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in their gut microbiome, and lowered the amount of Bilophila wadsworthia, which is linked to chronic inflammation.

Past studies show that eating a high-fat diet can cause an increase of Bilophila wadsworthia in the microbiome, and overgrowth of this bacteria can lead to metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes.

Food is info for the microbiome

Medical News Today had the opportunity to speak with Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study.

Ali, who was not involved in this study, commented he was not surprised by its findings. 

“We’ve long known that diet plays a very important role in the management of both diabetes and obviously obesity,” he continued. “This is just supporting evidence that it can dramatically make a difference.” 

MNT also spoke with Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, who likewise was not involved in this study.

Richard said that these study findings are a great reminder that food is not simply fuel, but also information for the body and its microbial community. 

“The findings offer an interesting window into how dietary fiber may influence the gut microbiome and microbial metabolism,” she explained.

“My takeaway, and confirmed in my office daily, is that fiber deserves a much bigger place in the conversation about diabetes care as part of comprehensive, individualized treatment, not as a replacement for prescribed medication. Food and medication are not competing strategies, but often critically important complementary parts of care.”

– Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN

Further research needed

Richard said due to the small participant size of the study, she would caution readers not to jump to the conclusion by interpreting this as evidence that fiber is better than metformin. 

“This was a small, single-center study involving 48 participants, with only 12 assigned to metformin, and the dietary intervention included prescribed fiber products and dietary guidance,” she detailed. “We need larger, longer studies to understand how these findings translate to everyday eating patterns and longer-term outcomes.”

Ali agreed and said he would like to see a larger study breaking it down into what types of fiber are more beneficial than others, such as fruits vs vegetables. 

“There’s a lot of variability, and when you just say high fiber diet, that’s a broad class,” he continued. “So further research into the types of food that may be most beneficial and what exactly it is that’s going on in the body that’s improving these conditions.”

How can I add more fiber to my diet? 

For readers who want to add more fiber to their diet, Richard said to first think about fiber as a family of nutrients, not a single substance. 

“Soluble, insoluble, viscous, fermentable, and resistant-starch fibers have different properties,” she explained. “Food sources often provide several types at once, along with polyphenols, minerals, vitamins, and other compounds that may work together.”

“I encourage people to think about adding fiber-rich foods they enjoy, rather than overhauling their entire diet overnight,” Richard added. “Fiber is found in a wide variety of plant foods, so there are plenty of ways to build it into familiar meals and cultural food traditions.”

Richard provided a few practical places to start adding more fiber to diet:

• “Give beans, lentils, and peas a regular place at the table. Add lentils to soup or chili, beans to tacos or salads, or chickpeas to a grain bowl. Don’t have time to cook dried beans (often most economical), frozen or canned beans are convenient, affordable, and are an option as well.
• Choose whole fruit more often. Berries, pears, apples, and oranges provide fiber along with water and other beneficial nutrients. Enjoy the whole fruit, after washing, rather than relying on juice or fruit packed in syrup.
• Try swapping whole grains for refined grains. Try oats at breakfast, barley in soup, wild rice, whole-grain bread, or whole grain pasta mixed in with your regular pasta. These provide beta-glucan, a soluble fiber associated with improved cholesterol and glycemic outcomes.
• Add vegetables wherever they fit. Toss greens into eggs, add frozen vegetables to a stir-fry, or build a meal around roasted vegetables. Fresh, frozen, and canned options can all contribute. 
• Add seasoning, flavor and benefits with these powerful plants. Onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, and chicory root contain fibers such as inulin and fructans that can support certain microbes.
• Don’t forget nuts and seeds. Sprinkle chia seeds, ground flaxseed, or toasted nuts into oatmeal, yogurt, or salads, on top of casseroles, or for snacks.”

“The general principle is to build fiber into foods you already eat, slowly and consistently,” Richard said. “You don’t need expensive powders, specialty products, or a completely different way of cooking to get started.”

“Increase fiber gradually and drink enough fluids, especially if you’re making a substantial change,” she added. “A sudden increase can cause gas, bloating, or discomfort, and some people need a more tailored approach because of gastrointestinal conditions, swallowing difficulties, or other medical considerations.” 

• A study of Canadian adults suggests that those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods (UPFs) were 40% more likely to show small areas of brain damage on MRI scans than those who consumed the least.
• The findings also indicate that females with the highest UPF intake were nearly twice as likely to show signs of brain damage as those with the lowest intake.
• UPFs typically displaced healthier options, as those with higher intakes also ate fewer fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other minimally processed foods.
• The associated brain changes can be early indicators associated with an increased risk of stroke and future memory problems. However, the study cannot establish cause and effect, and further research is necessary.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs), such as packaged snacks, sugary drinks, processed meats and many ready meals, often contain high levels of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats, alongside additives and ingredients designed to improve taste, texture and shelf life.

Regularly consuming large amounts of UPFs has been associated with an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other adverse health outcomes.

Now, research suggests that consuming high amounts of ultra-processed foods may be associated with signs of brain damage in otherwise healthy middle-aged adults.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that participants with the highest UPF intake were 40% more likely to show certain brain changes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans than those with the lowest intake.

These changes, which may occur without noticeable symptoms, can be early indicators of damage to small blood vessels in the brain and have been associated with an increased risk of stroke and cognitive problems later in life.

While further research is still necessary, the findings raise questions about how dietary habits during middle age may influence long-term brain health.

Higher ultra-processed food intake linked to brain changes

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 9,000 Canadian adults aged 35 to 69 who had no history of heart disease. Participants were enrolled into either the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds or the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology-MIND study.

Participants completed detailed dietary questionnaires and underwent MRI brain scans. Neurologists reviewed the scans without knowing the participants’ dietary habits.

The researchers classified foods according to the extent and purpose of the industrial processing used to produce them. The researchers found that participants who consumed the highest amounts of these foods were 40% more likely to have small areas of brain damage than those who consumed the least.

“The finding is concerning because the brain changes we studied are not considered benign,” Russell de Souza, ScD, RD, first author of the study and an associate scientist at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, told Medical News Today.

“White matter hyperintensities and silent brain infarcts are established markers of cerebrovascular disease and have been associated in previous research with a higher risk of future stroke, cognitive decline, and dementia,” said de Souza.

“That said, it is important to distinguish between relative risk and absolute risk. In our study, participants with the highest ultra-processed food intake had about a 40% higher likelihood of vascular brain injury compared with those with the lowest intake. However, because these MRI findings are relatively uncommon in middle-aged adults, that does not mean 40% of people will develop brain injury,” he explained.

“Put another way, if roughly 1 in 10 people had these MRI findings, a 40% relative increase would translate to about 14 in 100 people rather than 10 in 100 people. The individual increase in risk is modest, but because ultra-processed foods are consumed by a large proportion of the population, even modest increases in risk could have important implications at a population level.”

– Russell de Souza, ScD, RD

“What makes the finding particularly noteworthy is that these associations were observed in a relatively healthy, middle-aged population before measurable differences in memory and thinking were apparent. At the same time, this was an observational study, so we cannot conclude that ultra-processed foods caused these brain changes, although our models did account for other risk factors for brain injury,” the study author added.

Association stronger among females

The association appeared particularly strong among females. Women in the highest UPF consumption group were nearly twice as likely to show signs of brain damage as those in the lowest consumption group.

The researchers noted that the findings were unexpected because the study participants were relatively young and had no history of heart disease. The findings suggest that signs of brain damage associated with vascular health may be detectable before people develop noticeable symptoms.

“Overall, the associations appeared stronger in women, but the reasons remain uncertain,” de Souza noted to MNT. “I would view this as an intriguing signal that merits further study rather than a firm conclusion that women are more susceptible to the effects of ultra-processed foods on brain health.”

“Several explanations are possible. Women and men differ in body fat distribution, vascular biology, cardiometabolic risk, and hormonal factors, all of which can influence brain and vascular health,” he suggested.

“In particular, hormonal changes that occur during midlife and the menopausal transition may affect vulnerability to vascular risk factors. It’s also possible that women and men consume different types of ultra-processed foods, or that ultra-processed foods displace different whole foods in their diets,” de Souza detailed.

“Two people may consume similar amounts of ultra-processed foods, but obtain them from very different sources with different nutritional profiles. Finally, we cannot exclude the possibility that the finding reflects residual confounding or chance, particularly given the smaller sample sizes involved in subgroup analyses,” he continued.

Dietary habits in midlife may impact long-term brain health

As the study analyzed data from relatively healthy adults aged 35 to 69, it highlights the potential importance of dietary choices in middle-aged adults and how it could affect their long-term brain health.

“Many of the biological processes that contribute to stroke, cognitive decline, and dementia develop gradually over decades, often before symptoms become apparent,” de Souza noted.

“In our study, we observed differences in MRI markers of vascular brain injury in a relatively healthy, middle-aged population, even though we did not observe differences in memory and thinking. This suggests that potentially important brain changes may already be detectable during midlife,” he told us.

“I view our findings as adding to growing evidence that dietary habits in midlife may have implications for long-term health, including brain health. While we cannot determine cause and effect from this study, the results support the large body of evidence that lifelong healthy dietary habits that emphasize whole and minimally processed foods, while limiting ultra-processed foods, probably promote brain health as well,” he concluded.

How might ultra-processed foods affect brain health?

Dietary patterns high in UPFs have been associated with several health concerns, including obesity and metabolic problems. These conditions can affect blood vessels and may contribute to inflammation, potentially influencing blood flow to the brain.

Additionally, in the study, those who consumed the most UPFs also had more body fat and more deep abdominal fat than those who consumed the least. Deep abdominal fat, also known as visceral fat, surrounds internal organs and is associated with inflammation and an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic conditions.

Damage to small blood vessels in the brain may develop when these vessels become impaired, potentially affecting the supply of oxygen and nutrients to brain tissue. Over time, such damage can be associated with an increased risk of stroke and problems with memory and thinking.

“One possibility is that diets higher in ultra-processed foods contribute to risk factors such as excess body fat, visceral fat, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other cardiometabolic conditions that can affect blood vessels throughout the body, including those that supply the brain,” de Souza explained.

“The brain relies on a healthy network of blood vessels to deliver oxygen and nutrients. Over time, factors that damage those blood vessels may contribute to the development of vascular brain injury,” he continued.

“Other research groups are actively investigating whether characteristics of ultra-processed foods themselves, including aspects of food formulation, additives, food structure, or processing-related exposures, might influence health in ways that are not fully explained by calories or body weight alone,” added the researcher.

However, the researchers did not establish whether body fat, inflammation, or blood vessel damage explained the association between UPF intake and the MRI findings.

Additionally, as they assessed participants’ dietary habits and brain scans at a single point in time, they cannot determine whether greater consumption preceded the brain changes or whether reducing UPF intake would prevent or slow their development. Other factors may also contribute to the observed association.

Thus, the findings do not mean that everyone who eats UPFs will develop brain damage, experience memory loss, or have a stroke. Further research is still necessary to determine the biological mechanisms involved.

Ultra-processed foods may displace healthier options

The study also found that people who ate more UPFs tended to eat fewer minimally processed foods, including fruits, vegetables, and grains.

On average, ultra-processed foods accounted for approximately 25% of participants’ daily food servings. Among the highest consumers, these foods made up 45% of daily servings, compared with 16% among those who consumed the least.

Meanwhile, whole and minimally processed foods accounted for 41% of daily servings among the highest consumers of ultra-processed foods, compared with 68% among the lowest consumers.

This suggests that UPFs may not simply be added to an otherwise balanced diet. Instead, they may replace foods that provide important nutrients and dietary fiber.

The researchers also highlighted the role of affordability, convenience, availability, and marketing in shaping dietary habits.

For people with limited time or financial resources, UPFs may be a more accessible option than fresh or minimally processed alternatives. These factors could contribute to differences in dietary quality and potentially widen existing health inequalities.

What can people do to support brain health?

Although this study does not establish that avoiding UPFs will prevent brain damage, its findings add to the evidence supporting a balanced dietary pattern.

People looking to improve their diet may consider:

• Eating more minimally processed foods: Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and other nutrient-rich foods can help provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
• Limiting foods high in added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat: Checking nutrition labels can help people compare products and make informed choices.
• Making gradual, affordable changes: Frozen vegetables, canned beans, and other convenient options can help people include more nutritious foods without relying entirely on fresh ingredients.
• Focusing on overall dietary patterns: No single food determines a person’s risk of stroke or cognitive decline. Diet is one of several factors that may influence long-term health.

It is also important to remember that UPFs are not all nutritionally identical. Their ingredients and nutritional profiles vary, and the current study does not show that every food in this category carries the same risk.

“Some relatively affordable and convenient options include beans, lentils, oats, frozen vegetables, frozen fruit, eggs, milk, plain yogurt, peanut butter, and canned fish,” de Souza highlighted. “These foods often provide excellent nutritional value, require relatively little preparation, and can fit within many household budgets.”

“Practical changes might include replacing sugary drinks with water, choosing plain yogurt instead of highly processed snack foods, incorporating more beans or lentils into meals, or keeping frozen vegetables on hand for convenience. Small substitutions made consistently can add up over time,” he advised.

• New dementia cases worldwide are projected to rise to 24.7 million each year by 2050, a 116% increase from 11.4 million in 2023.
• An aging population accounts for this increase in new cases annually, according to recent research published in JAMA Neurology.
• Women face a higher incidence rate than men, and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) also show higher dementia incidence compared with high-income countries.

The number of new dementia cases each year is projected to more than double by 2050.

This is according to a study published in October in JAMA Neurology. In addition to a 116% increase in the number of new cases, previous research suggests that the total number of dementia cases is projected to reach 150 million globally, as noted by the study authors.

The research also found that dementia incidence was higher among women and individuals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

“For the first time, we can compare dementia incidence across a geographically diverse group of populations using the same statistical approach, giving us a clearer picture of where and among whom new cases are occurring,” Ashleigh Vella, PhD, lead study author, and postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Healthy Brain Aging (CHeBA), UNSW Sydney, said in a press release.

“Understanding these differences is critical if we are to develop dementia prevention, diagnosis, and care strategies that respond to the populations facing the greatest future risk.”

New dementia cases to double by 2050

In 2023, there were an estimated 11.4 million new dementia cases worldwide. The researchers projected that this figure will rise to 24.7 million new dementia cases annually by 2050, a 116% increase over 27 years.

To estimate this increase, they analyzed data from 22 studies involving 38,418 participants across 18 countries or territories.

A total of 3,001 people developed dementia after a follow up of 287,632 person-years. The researchers calculated an incidence of 9.7 new cases per 1,000 person-years after accounting for differences in the age and sex of participants.

These figures assume the same rate of occurrence each year, with an aging population accounting for the rise in new cases annually.

Emer MacSweeney, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR, consultant neuroradiologist and CEO at Re:Cognition Health, spoke with Medical News Today about these findings.

“We need to put this figure into context. People are living longer, and age remains the biggest risk factor for dementia, so an increase in cases is expected. But I wouldn’t dismiss it as an inevitable consequence of aging. It is a wake-up call to accelerate prevention, diagnosis, and treatment,” said MacSweeney, who was not involved in the study.

She added, “The encouraging news is how far dementia research has changed our understanding of and treatment for Alzheimer’s. We know so much more about the biological processes driving Alzheimer’s and can identify certain disease-related change earlier. […] Continued research, alongside better management of modifiable risk factors, could improve, significantly,  the trajectory of Alzheimer’s we are projecting today.”

Higher incidence rate among women

The study found an age-standardized incidence rate of 10.6 per 1,000 person-years among women, compared with a lower 8.6 per 1,000 person-years among men.

The researchers did not establish why the incidence was higher among women. They did suggest that reasons other than an average longer life span among women, such as sex-specific factors like menopause and estrogen exposure, could play a role, but this has not yet been determined.

MNT asked MacSweeney whether it was surprising that women had a higher age-standardized incidence of dementia than men.

“The difference is not entirely surprising, as women have a higher lifetime burden of dementia, but longer life expectancy does not necessarily explain everything,” responded MacSweeney.

“The study reported 10.6 new cases per 1,000 person-years in women, compared with 8.6 in men. That is a notable difference, although we should avoid calling it statistically significant without confirmation from the relevant statistical tests.”

Higher incidence rate among low- and middle-income countries

There were 13.6 cases per 1,000 person-years in LMICs, according to the study. This compares with 8.3 cases per 1,000 person-years in high-income countries.

However, the study authors also note that LMICs are underrepresented. The study included data from 12 high-income countries but only 6 LMICs.

While the exact reason for the difference in incidence has not been determined, the researchers suggest that various factors could play a role, including:

• declines in smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol in high-income countries
• increases in obesity, stroke, and cardiovascular disease in LMICs

“Cardiovascular health likely plays a role,” explained MacSweeney. “High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and smoking all affect the brain, while access to prevention and healthcare varies considerably around the world. However, these findings do not prove that these factors alone explain the difference.”

Importance of sex-specific dementia risk factors and prevention

The higher incidence of dementia among women highlights the importance of investigating risk factors that may affect women differently from men.

The researchers highlight the importance of sex-specific prevention needs and the necessity to prioritize sex-specific risk factors.

The study suggests that cardiometabolic factors and hormonal changes could play a role, though more research is necessary.

MacSweeney said, “Women may have additional considerations, including the potential influence of menopause and reproductive factors, but we are not yet at the point of recommending an entirely separate prevention strategy.”

She added, “For everyone, the fundamentals remain important: control blood pressure and cholesterol, exercise regularly, don’t smoke, eat well, manage diabetes, protect hearing and vision, and maintain social connections. These are practical steps that can support brain health, although they cannot eliminate risk entirely.”

• Analysis of data from 20 countries suggests that improved preventive care for hypertension could prevent over 500,000 deaths a year from cardiovascular disease.
• Improved cholesterol and blood sugar management could also prevent a total of nearly 650,000 deaths annually.
• An increase in screening for colon cancer would prevent over 200,000 deaths a year.

Preliminary research suggests that effectively controlling high blood pressure (hypertension) could save more than 518,000 lives a year.

This finding comes after researchers performed a modeling analysis of health data for 20 countries that had the highest deaths from noncommunicable diseases.

Noncommunicable diseases are the cause of around three out of five deaths worldwide, and cardiovascular disease is behind more of these deaths than other chronic conditions like diabetes or cancer.

The analysis aimed to estimate how many lives could be saved through increasing the delivery of six specific forms of preventive medicine:

1. management of high blood pressure
2. management of high cholesterol with statins
3. management of high blood sugar in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
4. colon cancer screening
5. breast cancer screening
6. cervical cancer screening.

The research was presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2026 in Arlington, VA. The findings are yet to undergo peer review.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a major contributor to deaths from cardiovascular disease worldwide.

Without treatment, it can damage blood vessels and narrow the inside of arteries, leaving them susceptible to blockage. Over time, this can increase the risk of serious conditions, such as coronary heart disease.

“Previous research has confirmed that following the evidence-based recommendations in the latest guideline can reduce the risk of death from high blood pressure and also reduce the risk of other serious conditions, such as heart failure, stroke, and dementia,” said Daniel W. Jones, MD, FAHA, who was not involved in the study, in a press release.

What did the researchers look at?

“In this study, we analyzed existing data to assess if expanding use of non-communicable disease preventive healthcare services across 20 countries worldwide could reduce cardiovascular death,” explained study author Scott Pilla, MD, MHS, in the press release.

The countries were a mixture of upper- and lower-middle income countries.

The researchers assessed the use of the preventive services against major guidelines, looking at health targets and the number of people who might be eligible to receive the services.

For instance, the target for blood pressure management was a level of less than 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), and adults aged 45 to 75 were eligible for colon cancer screening.

The researchers calculated what the outcomes might be each year if the levels of preventive care were increased from their current levels until they were provided to approximately 80% of eligible patients.

Expanding hypertension treatment ‘prevented the most deaths’

“We found that expanding treatment of high blood pressure to more people prevented the most deaths, followed by more broad use of statin medications for high cholesterol and managing blood sugar in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes,” said Pilla.

The researchers found that around one in five adults with high blood pressure had their blood pressure under control and lower than 140/90 mmHg.

Increasing preventive care from 20% to 80% was estimated to prevent 518,476 deaths from cardiovascular disease each year.

Elsewhere, increasing statin use for cholesterol management from 16% to 80% of cases would prevent an estimated 340,682 deaths, and improving glucose control in diabetes would prevent an estimated 309,520 deaths.

With cancer screening, increasing colon cancer screening prevented the most deaths. A rise from 14% to 80% would prevent an estimated 206,767 cancer deaths.

Room for improvement

The study shows that there is a lot of scope for patients to receive more preventive care.

The researcher found that the following percentages of patients were receiving the recommended levels of care:

• patients with hypertension who had controlled blood pressure — 20%
• patients with high cholesterol receiving statins — 16%
• patients with diabetes with blood sugar at recommended levels — 39%
• eligible patients undergoing recommended colon cancer screening — 14-26%.

“While there were substantial gaps in the use of preventive healthcare services for these conditions in all countries, lower-middle-income countries had large opportunities for improvement, with low rates of hypertension control and high cholesterol management and minimal use of cancer screening tests,” said Pilla.

While this analysis shines a helpful light on areas where clinicians can look to improve outcomes, it does not provide any suggestions on how access to important preventive care can be expanded.

Future research will be needed to find effective ways to bridge these gaps, as well as to explore what the need is in countries with different levels of income.

Around 73% of deaths from noncommunicable diseases occur in low- or middle-income countries, and low-income countries were not represented by the analysis.

In the meantime, it is clear from these findings how important the management of high blood pressure can be.

“Treatment of high blood pressure to goal leads to longer lives and also healthier lives,” said Jones. “This study should inspire clinicians and patients to give more attention to appropriate management of high blood pressure using both lifestyle measures and medication.”

Barriers to care

Medical News Today asked Opel Baker, MBChB, general practitioner at the Mayfield Clinic, who was not involved in the study, what he thought the main barriers to preventive care might be.

“I think one of the biggest barriers to preventive care is that people often don’t feel unwell, so they don’t see the urgency of getting checked,” Baker told us. “Hypertension is a classic example because it can develop silently for years, without obvious symptoms, while increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

“From a patient’s perspective, it is easy to put a blood pressure check or routine health appointment at the bottom of the list when nothing feels wrong,” he said.

MNT also spoke to Nissi Suppogu, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and Medical Director of the Women’s Heart Center at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, who was likewise not involved with the study.

Suppogu agreed that a lack of symptoms was a key issue. “Other barriers include the cost of healthcare, limited access to providers, and difficulty maintaining healthy habits,” she added.

Baker said that clinicians had a significant part to play in making preventive care more accessible, identifying people at risk and helping them understand why early intervention matters:

“Ultimately, prevention needs to feel manageable, not overwhelming. Small, consistent steps, like checking blood pressure regularly, staying active, and making realistic dietary changes, can make a meaningful difference. The challenge is making these steps part of everyday healthcare, not something people think about only when a problem develops.”

• A recent review has explored whether pistachios could help support sleep, but the evidence remains uncertain.
• Pistachios contain tryptophan and phytomelatonin, though it is unclear whether the amounts in a typical serving would be enough to enhance sleep.
• Randomized controlled trials are necessary to determine whether pistachios can improve sleep quality or duration.

Researchers regularly examine the effect of diet on sleep, as certain foods can directly impact sleep quality and help regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

Pistachios are a source of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that plays a role in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin as well as melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep.

A recent review, published in September in Nutrition Research Reviews and funded by the American Pistachio Growers and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), explored whether tryptophan, phytomelatonin, and other components of pistachios could be beneficial for people looking to support sleep.

“Pistachios are compelling for sleep research because they bring together several nutrients and plant compounds connected to sleep physiology within one whole food,” said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, senior review author and director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, in the press release.

“Rather than focusing on a single ‘sleep nutrient,’ this review provides a rationale for studying how the complete pistachio food matrix may affect sleep-related pathways,” St-Onge added.

The researchers found that pistachios may influence several biological processes relevant to sleep, though they also highlight that randomized controlled trials are necessary to better determine the potential relationship between pistachio consumption and sleep outcomes.

Can the tryptophan in pistachios help with sleep?

The researchers describe pistachios as a “good-to-excellent source” of tryptophan, depending on the weight. They say that a 28.3-gram (g) serving contains 71 milligrams (mg) of tryptophan.

However, it is unclear whether this amount would be conducive to improved sleep.

Other components in pistachios, such as magnesium and vitamin B6, help convert tryptophan into serotonin and melatonin. However, again, it is not clear whether the amounts present in a serving will make any discernible difference in sleep quality.

Sebnem Unluisler, MSc, genetic engineer at the London Regenerative Institute, spoke with Medical News Today about pistachios as a source of tryptophan.

“A 28 g serving [of pistachios] provides about 71 mg of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, along with vitamin B6 and magnesium, which support neurotransmitter synthesis and neurological function,” Unluisler, who was not involved in the review, explained.

“However, compared with foods such as turkey, eggs, or pumpkin seeds, pistachios are not an exceptionally concentrated source of tryptophan. More importantly, dietary intake does not directly translate into increased melatonin production, as absorption, metabolism, and transport across the blood-brain barrier all influence its biological effects,” she added.

Can the melatonin in pistachios help with sleep?

The reviewers examined whether phytomelatonin, a plant-derived source of melatonin, in pistachios could serve as a natural sleep aid.

According to the review, pistachios can contain anywhere from 0.074 micrograms (mcg) to 18.7 mcg of phytomelatonin per serving.

Many people take melatonin supplements to help with sleep, with one review suggesting that up to 5 to 6 mg of melatonin in supplements may be a safe daily dose.

In general, however, the optimal melatonin dosage for sleep support is unclear and not standardized. Furthermore, as the phytomelatonin content in pistachios is uncertain or variable, it is unclear whether they can help support sleep.

Unluisler suggested that the “potential benefits [of pistachios] may therefore come from the combined effects of nutrients, polyphenols, and gut microbiome interactions rather than melatonin alone.”

Does the timing or amount of pistachios matter for improved sleep?

The review does not establish the amount of pistachios a person would need to eat in order to experience potential sleep benefits, nor does it determine whether it would be necessary to eat them regularly.

While people typically take melatonin supplements a few hours before bed, there is currently no evidence to suggest that eating pistachios in the same timeframe would have the same effect.

What are the next steps?

While some of the findings in the review about the properties of pistachios are promising, further research is necessary to determine their potential benefits for people with sleep problems.

According to the press release, American Pistachio Growers is already supporting multiple university-led human clinical studies that will further explore the possible link between pistachios and sleep quality.

“Well-designed human trials can help us determine whether the unique combination of nutrients and bioactive compounds in the pistachio food matrix produces measurable changes in melatonin, sleep quality, sleep duration, or other sleep outcomes,” said St-Onge.

Unluisler explained that “[p]istachios may be a valuable component of a sleep-supportive dietary pattern, but the evidence does not yet justify recommending them as a specific intervention for insomnia or poor sleep quality.”

If a person has concerns about their sleep quality, a medical professional can provide information about ways to improve sleep hygiene or manage conditions such as insomnia.

A registered dietitian can help create a suitable eating plan based on individual needs that may best support sleep.

• Recent research has found a link between ADHD and a heightened risk of cognitive decline, which, in turn, is a risk factor for dementia.
• The study also found that individuals who have high genetic risk for ADHD have a heightened dementia risk, as well.
• Longer-term studies are needed to confirm the potential mechanisms behind this striking association.

New research led by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UMPC) has found that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a heightened risk of mild cognitive impairment in later life.

Mild cognitive impairment is characterized by memory issues and a slight decline in thinking skills, and can be a risk factor for developing dementia.

The study findings appear in JAMA Psychiatry.

Speaking to Medical News Today, Douglas Teixeira Leffa, MD, PhD, co-first author of this study, psychiatry resident at UPMC at the time when this study was conducted, explained what motivated the research team to investigate this association.

“Researchers have been seeing this link for a while, and what this study adds is a stronger look at it,” said Teixeira Leffa.

“We observed this association both when ADHD was defined clinically and when we examined an estimate of genetic liability to ADHD, which provides complementary evidence that the relationship is not simply explained by how ADHD is diagnosed or recorded in healthcare settings,” the study author explained.

35% greater odds of dementia with highest ADHD genetic risk

For this study, the research team analyzed the electronic health records and genomic data of 187,341 adults ages 50 and older from the All of Us Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Of this cohort, 3,026 participants had ADHD.

In the first instance, the researchers found that 6.7% of participants with ADHD developed cognitive impairment as they got older, while only 3.4% of participants without ADHD experienced the same.

They concluded that people with ADHD had a more than four-fold higher risk of cognitive impairment compared with their neurotypical peers. The increase in risk remained stable even after the researchers accounted for confounding factors including age, biological sex, and comorbidities.

When they calculated participants’ genetic risk score for ADHD, the research team further found that those with the highest genetic risk for this neurodivergent profile had 35% greater odds of developing dementia than those with the lowest genetic risk for ADHD.

Why is ADHD linked to cognitive impairment risk?

The current study did not look at the potential mechanism behind the link between ADHD and cognitive impairment risk but previous research from a different team of scientists may offer some subtle clues.

A study conducted by researchers from the Geneva University Hospitals and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in Switzerland – which appeared in Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience in 2025 — used a brain imaging method known as quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to search for signs of brain changes linked to dementia risk.

The UNIGE researchers assessed the iron content in the brains of 32 adults ages 25–45 with ADHD, and those of 29 age-matched neurotypical peers. The researchers also measured neurofilament light chain protein (NfL) levels in the participants’ blood. 

Over-accumulation of iron in the brain is associated with neurodegeneration, and blood NfL can be used to determine whether a person has dementia.

The UNIGE study found that adults with ADHD presented altered levels of iron accumulation in different regions of the brain compared to their neurotypical peers, as well as increased blood NfL levels.

So far, however, the exact reasons for a higher risk of age-related neurodegeneration in adults with ADHD remain unconfirmed.

“Why individuals with ADHD may be more likely to develop dementia remains a crucial unanswered question,” said Teixeira Leffa.

“One possibility is that ADHD may be associated with lower cognitive reserve or resilience, meaning that people with ADHD may have less ability to compensate for pathological age-related changes in the brain, so symptoms such as memory problems could become noticeable earlier. Another possibility is that people with ADHD are, on average, more exposed over the life course to factors that are themselves associated with poorer cognitive health, including sleep problems, cardiometabolic risk, physical inactivity, substance use, chronic stress, and social adversity.”
— Douglas Teixeira Leffa, MD, PhD

Does ADHD cause cognitive impairment?

Commenting on the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study, Thomas MacLaren, BMBS, MRCPsych, consultant psychiatrist at Re:Cognition Health in London, United Kingdom, emphasized that “we need to look beyond ADHD as a condition affecting attention and concentration.”

“It can affect executive function, sleep, emotional regulation, and overall health throughout a person’s life, all of which may shape long-term cognitive wellbeing,” MacLaren, who was not involved in the research, explained. “Shared genetic factors may also be involved,” he hypothesized.

According to study co-author Teixeira Leffa, ADHD may be linked to cognitive impairment risk due to a multitude of interacting factors.

“The answer likely involves multiple interacting processes,” he told us. “In our analyses, we used statistical methods to account for several potentially relevant factors, but the role of each of these processes is difficult to quantify precisely using a study design such as ours.”

“Disentangling their relative contributions will likely require prospective longitudinal studies with repeated measurements over time,” noted Teixeira Leffa.

Will I develop dementia if I have ADHD?

According to MacLaren, we need to exert caution and not assume that ADHD itself is necessarily the factor causing the decline in thinking and memory as people age. He told us:

“The study suggests that genetic susceptibility to ADHD could be associated with a greater risk of cognitive impairment later in life. However, we cannot yet say that ADHD directly causes this increased risk. Co-existing conditions, including depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders, may also contribute.”

“Importantly, this does not mean that people with ADHD will inevitably develop dementia,” MacLaren emphasized. “We need to better understand the relationship, but the findings highlight why long-term cognitive health deserves greater attention.”

Teixeira Leffa likewise emphasized “that having ADHD does not mean that someone will develop dementia.”

“Most individuals with ADHD in our study did not develop cognitive impairment, and our findings should not be interpreted as demonstrating that ADHD causes dementia,” he pointed out, adding that “at this point, we also do not have convincing evidence that a specific ADHD treatment prevents later cognitive impairment.”

What can people with ADHD do to mitigate dementia risk?

Teixeira Leffa suggested that people with ADHD who worry about their brain health as they age should focus on following the same advice as everyone else.

“[A]dults with ADHD can focus on the same factors that are important for brain health in the general population, such as regular physical activity, good sleep, management of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, avoiding smoking and harmful substance use, and remaining socially and cognitively engaged,” he told us.

MacLaren echoed this advice, also “encourag[ing] people to seek appropriate support for their ADHD and any co-existing conditions.” He explained that “treatment can improve symptoms and daily functioning, although we do not yet know whether ADHD medication reduces future dementia risk.”

“From an ADHD perspective, effectively managing symptoms and associated medical or psychiatric conditions is also important,” Teixeira Leffa added.

Further, “as people with ADHD age, clinicians and patients should also be attentive to meaningful changes in memory or other aspects of cognition rather than automatically attributing new difficulties to longstanding ADHD,” the study author advised.

ADHD and dementia research: Where to next?

“I would like to see long-term studies following people with ADHD into later life to establish how their cognitive health changes over time and what drives the increased risk,” MacLaren told MNT.

“We particularly need to understand whether ADHD severity, genetics, lifestyle factors and co-existing conditions influence outcomes, and whether treatment has any protective effect,” he explained. “Research should also explore how clinicians can distinguish longstanding ADHD symptoms from early signs of cognitive decline.”

“Ultimately, the aim should be to identify opportunities for earlier intervention without causing unnecessary alarm,” said the consultant psychiatrist. “An increased statistical risk is not a prediction of an individual’s future, and better evidence could help us provide more targeted support as people with ADHD age.”

Finally, Teixeira Leffa stressed that “there are certainly many unanswered questions in this area,” and that the research team’s first aim going forward is “to understand why this relationship exists.”

“We need long-term studies that follow people with well-characterized ADHD across adulthood and into older age, ideally with repeated cognitive assessments, biomarkers, and information about treatment and other health and lifestyle factors. This would help determine whether ADHD itself contributes to risk, and whether the association is driven by shared biological or environmental factors.”
— Douglas Teixeira Leffa, MD, PhD

“Another important question is whether ADHD treatment, or better management of associated risk factors, can influence later cognitive outcomes. At this point, we do not have convincing evidence to answer that question,” the study author concluded.

• Pope Leo XIV received a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
• Doctors removed the growth, found on the Pope’s right lung, during a scheduled surgical procedure, and there were no complications.
• Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common form of non-small cell lung cancer.
• Robert Van Haren, MD, associate professor of clinical surgery in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, explains the ABCs of lung adenocarcinoma for Medical News Today.

Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, received a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, during a scheduled surgical intervention.

The intervention took place at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, Italy, after the pontiff’s medical team discovered a growth during a routine health check that they decided to remove and examine.

According to a press release published by the Holy See press office, during the procedure, doctors removed the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung “using a video-assisted technique.”

“The intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected by the pre-operative tests,” the press release stated.

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common form of non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for approximately 85% of all lung cancers globally.

According to the Holy See press release, Pope Leo’s operation, which lasted 90 minutes, went well, there were no complications, and the pontiff is currently recovering.

What should you know about lung adenocarcinoma?

To find out more about this type of lung cancer — how it gets diagnosed, treatment options, and prognosis — Medical News Today spoke with Robert Van Haren, MD, a University of Cincinnati Cancer Center physician researcher and associate professor of clinical surgery in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Who is most at risk of developing lung adenocarcinoma?

“Cigarette smoking remains the most important risk factor for lung cancer. However, lung adenocarcinoma is also the most common type of lung cancer diagnosed in people who have never smoked,” Van Haren told MNT.

“Other risk factors include increasing age, exposure to secondhand smoke, radon, air pollution, certain occupational exposures, and a family history of lung cancer,” he added.

“An important point is that anyone with lungs can develop lung cancer, including people who have never smoked. Although smoking remains the leading risk factor, we are increasingly recognizing lung cancer in individuals without a history of tobacco use.”
— Robert Van Haren, MD

“For individuals at higher risk, particularly those between ages 50 and 80 with a significant smoking history, annual low-dose CT screening is recommended when they meet established eligibility criteria,” he advised.

For anyone concerned they may be at risk of developing lung cancer, the first port of call should always be speaking directly to a doctor.

• Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are medications that can assist with weight loss, but many people who use them ultimately discontinue them. 
• One concern after discontinuing GLP-1 medications is regaining weight.
• One study suggests that structured support, such as a wellness app, may help minimize weight regain that can occur shortly after stopping GLP-1 medications. 

A recent study published in Obesity Science & Practice explored possible strategies to address weight regain that often occurs after discontinuing GLP-1 receptor agonists, a popular group of medications used to treat diabetes, and can assist with obesity management.

As noted in the current study, many people discontinue these medications, and weight regain is common afterward.

The study found that participants who ate meals specifically developed by a dietitian or used a wellness app experienced less weight gain than participants in the control group. 

2 possible strategies to minimize weight regain

For this study, participants were individuals who had recently stopped taking GLP-1 medications but had experienced more than 10% weight loss from taking GLP-1 medications. The average weight loss participants had experienced was just over 18%. 

Researchers divided the 39 participants into three groups. The first was a control group, which received the typical care for maintaining weight loss. The second was provided with medically tailored meals, which the study describes as meals prepared specifically by a dietitian. Participants received ten of these meals each week. The third group used the app Noom for at least 15 minutes each day. This app helps with managing things like overeating and “social and environmental eating cues.” 

The study lasted 4 months. The main focus of the research was to examine how well participants adhered to the two interventions and their satisfaction with them. Researchers also focused on how well the groups maintained their weight loss and diet quality. Participants filled out questionnaires at the beginning and end of the intervention timeframe, and weight data were collected every 30 days and before the intervention started. 

Overall, participants’ perceptions of adhering to intervention recommendations were similar between groups. Scores were similar for participants’ responses regarding effectiveness, convenience, and satisfaction. All groups also had similar scores for diet quality and participants’ perceptions of diet and health quality.

However, the diet quality scores were slightly higher in the wellness application group than in the other two groups. The authors suggest this may show a trend in this group toward higher diet quality. 

However, there was a difference in the amount of weight regained between the groups. The wellness application and medically tailored meals groups were both associated with lower total weight gain.  

The wellness application group only had an estimated 3.60% weight regain, and the medically tailored meals group had 3.58% weight regain, compared to a 10.75% weight regain in the control group. Rates of weight gain were also lower for the intervention groups. Each month, the control group had a 2.94% weight gain, while the other groups experienced less than a 1% weight gain each month. 

Study author Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, PhD, MPH, explained the findings to Medical News Today: 

“People who stopped taking a GLP-1 weight-loss medication were better able to maintain their weight loss over the next 4 months if they received additional support, such as a nutritious home-delivered meal program or access to a digital wellness app.”

“The findings suggest that what happens after people stop these medications matters. Rather than assuming weight regain is inevitable, providing behavioral tools and tangible nutrition support may help people navigate this transition more successfully,” she said.

What the study may have missed

This study had a small number of participants, so it can only provide limited data and indicates the need for more research. The authors note that it wasn’t “powered for definitive efficacy testing.” As such, the areas where they found insignificant effects may reflect limited statistical power. Because of the goals of this study, researchers also didn’t establish a benchmark for adherence to interventions. 

The sample presents other limitations as well. A lack of diversity limited the application. For example, participants were from only two regions in Texas, over 80% were women, and most had stable finances.  

The trial also can’t establish a causal relationship between the factors studied. The intervention timeframe only lasted four months, so it cannot speak to long-term effectiveness. The trial was fully remote, which could have influenced several factors and differed from how things would have been with in-person visits. The use of technology could also have affected who participated in the study.  

Exclusion and inclusion criteria may have affected the study sample and the researchers’ ultimate selection of participants. Furthermore, researchers had limited data and findings because of relying on participant reporting.

The findings may also have been limited by the questions researchers chose to ask and other components of data collection. Use of questionnaire data can only show so much, and the researchers suggest that objective measurements may be a helpful component of future research. Blinding was fairly limited in this study, and there may have been variation in the care the control group received. 

Participants who used the Noom app reported using it, on average, just under three days a week, which could also have affected the results. The authors note that using the app requires consistent effort, whereas using medically tailored meals reduces the effort required. Researchers also suggest several factors that could have affected the diet quality scores, such as the need for a longer time frame for self-report results to appear. 

What does this mean for maintaining weight loss after GLP-1s?

As noted in the study, post-discontinuation support for GLP-1 RAs is important. Hollis-Hansen noted the following: 

“The results suggest that healthcare providers should plan for what comes next when patients may need or choose to stop taking GLP-1 medications. Clinicians and patients can work together to develop a transition plan that includes behavioral support, ongoing follow-up, and discussions about other treatment options if needed.”

“Rather than viewing medication discontinuation as the end of treatment, it may be more helpful to think of it as a new phase of weight management that often benefits from continued support,” Hansen added.

This study should also be viewed within the broader body of knowledge on GLP-1 RAs, as medical professionals don’t recommend discontinuing them.

Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, who was not involved in the study, noted : 

“If patients discontinue these medications, alternative forms of structured support will likely be necessary to help them maintain their weight loss.”

“This research demonstrates that providing alternative support upon discontinuing GLP-1 medications improves the likelihood of weight maintenance. However, continuing GLP-1 medication long-term remains the most effective strategy at this time.”
— Mir Ali, MD

It’s important for people to work closely with medical professionals for weight loss and obesity management, including the use of GLP-1 medications. People can get relevant medical advice when starting these medications and when discontinuing them. 

• New post-hoc analyses suggest that females taking the oral weight loss drug orforglipron experienced substantial weight loss regardless of whether they were premenopausal, perimenopausal, or postmenopausal.
• The highest orforglipron dose produced weight reductions of up to 14.4% in women without type 2 diabetes and up to 13.6% in women with type 2 diabetes.
• Additionally, an indirect comparison found that orforglipron was associated with greater weight loss than oral semaglutide.
• The indirect comparison also suggests that forglipron was associated with greater reductions in blood sugar, but the findings should be interpreted with caution.

Orforglipron, marketed as Foundayo and produced by Eli Lilly, is a once-daily oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for adults with obesity, or overweight with weight-related medical problems. Notably, unlike other oral GLP-1s, it does not require the fasting and water restrictions associated with oral semaglutide.

New analyses from previous trials, presented at the Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy, suggest that orforglipron’s effects on body weight may be consistent across different stages of menopause.

Separate analyses also indicate that the drug may produce greater weight loss and reductions in blood glucose than oral semaglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes, although the comparison was indirect.

The findings come as researchers continue to investigate whether oral GLP-1 treatments can provide an alternative to injectable medications for people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, it is important to note that these reports are based on conference presentations, so the analyses have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Weight loss seen across menopause stages with Foundayo

One of the new analyses examined females participating in the phase 3 ATTAIN 1 and ATTAIN 2 trials.

The ATTAIN-1 trial evaluated orforglipron in adult participants with obesity or overweight with weight-related comorbidities, whereas ATTAIN-2 looked at people living with both overweight or obesity and diabetes.

The researchers analyzed women by menopausal status, including premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal. Notably, women receiving orforglipron experienced significant reductions in body weight across all 3 menopausal groups

In ATTAIN-1, a 36 milligram (mg) dose of orforglipron was associated with weight reductions of roughly 12.8% in premenopausal females, 14.4% in perimenopausal females, and 14.1% in postmenopausal females.

In ATTAIN-2, the corresponding reductions were approximately 11.3%, 8.9%, and 13.6%, respectively.

The analysis also found reductions in waist circumference. Across the studies, waist circumference decreased by as much as 12.5 centimeters (cm) in participants receiving orforglipron. Up to 83% of women receiving the medication achieved at least 5% weight loss, compared with 30% of those receiving a placebo.

The researchers described the weight-loss effects as similar across menopausal stages. However, the analysis was post hoc, meaning the researchers examined existing clinical trial data rather than designing trials specifically to test whether menopausal status altered the medication’s effectiveness.

“The findings show that orforglipron helps with weight loss regardless of menopausal stage,” Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, who was not involved in the trials, told Medical News Today.

“Because post-menopausal women typically struggle with weight loss more than premenopausal women, this study highlights that the medication is beneficial across different menopausal stages.”

Ali noted the significance of the 14% weight loss but reminded that long-term results still need further investigation.

“Research indicates that a larger waist circumference, which reflects higher intra-abdominal fat, correlates with an increased risk for conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Consequently, reducing waist circumference can help lower these health risks,” he added, highlighting how weight loss can improve clinical outcomes in many conditions.

How does orforglipron compare with oral semaglutide?

A separate analysis presented at the EASD meeting compared orforglipron with oral semaglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Rather than being a direct head-to-head clinical trial, the analysis used data from two separate studies: ACHIEVE-3, which evaluated orforglipron, and PIONEER PLUS, which evaluated higher doses of oral semaglutide.

The analysis found that people receiving 17.2 mg of orforglipron had, on average, 1.5 percentage points greater weight loss than those receiving 25 mg of oral semaglutide. Orforglipron was also associated with a 0.3 percentage-point greater reduction in HbA1c, a measure of average blood glucose levels.

Eli Lilly reported that alternative statistical approaches produced estimates ranging from 1.5% to 2.4% greater weight loss and from 0.3% to 0.6% greater HbA1c reduction with orforglipron.

However, these findings should not be interpreted as evidence from a direct comparison between the two medications. Indirect treatment comparisons can be affected by differences between the underlying studies and their participants.

In the head-to-head ACHIEVE-3 trial, orforglipron was compared with lower doses of oral semaglutide. At 52 weeks, the 17.2-mg orforglipron group lost an average of 9.2% of body weight, compared with 5.3% with 14 mg of oral semaglutide. HbA1c reductions were 2.2% and 1.4%, respectively.

Both orforglipron and semaglutide are GLP-1 receptor agonists. If one proves more efficacious than the other, differences in absorption or bioavailability may be contributing factors. Further research and longer-term studies are needed to determine the reasons behind any differences in efficacy.

What do the findings mean for obesity or menopause?

Together, the analyses add to evidence that oral orforglipron can promote clinically meaningful weight loss in people with obesity or overweight, including females at different stages of menopause.

The menopause findings may be particularly relevant because hormonal changes during the menopausal transition can be accompanied by changes in body composition and weight distribution.

Nevertheless, the new analysis does not establish that menopausal status has no effect on treatment response. Rather, it found broadly similar weight reductions among the groups studied.

The semaglutide analysis provides another point of comparison, but its indirect design is an important limitation. Direct randomized trials comparing the same doses and populations would provide stronger evidence about differences between the medications.

It is also important to distinguish the populations involved. The semaglutide comparison examined adults with type 2 diabetes, whereas the ATTAIN studies included people with overweight or obesity, with ATTAIN-2 specifically enrolling people who also had type 2 diabetes. Results from one population should therefore not automatically be applied to another.

• Researchers investigated the impact of physical activity on the progression of cognitive decline and movement-related symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.
• Participants who reported more than 8 hours of physical activity per week had the slowest cognitive decline over 5 years.
• These participants also improved movement-related Parkinson’s symptoms over a follow-up period of 7 years.

A new study, published in Neurology, found that higher levels of physical activity were associated with slower Parkinson’s disease progression across both cognitive and movement-related symptoms.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive condition affecting the nervous system. It can cause tremors and changes to the way people move, and in some cases, it can affect memory and the ability to think.

While doctors recommend physical activity to help manage the movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, they are more likely to try managing cognitive symptoms with medication, therapy, and behavioral management.

“Previous research has shown associations between physical activity and movement symptoms,” said study author Dong-Woo Ryu, MD, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, in a press release.

“Our study found physical activity may have dual benefits, with associations with slower declines in movement and cognition,” Ryu said.

What did the researchers look at?

For the study, the researchers followed 294 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease to see how the amount of physical activity they did each week might affect the progression of their symptoms.

The participants had an average age of 66, and around a third were female.

The researchers got the participants to report their physical activity each week, noting how much they did at work, at home, and through hobbies.

They also conducted annual tests to track the progression of participants’ Parkinson’s symptoms over 7 years and their cognitive abilities over 5 years.

“Our study used data from the Cincinnati Cohort Biomarker Program (CCBP), a prospective cohort study,” Ryu explained to Medical News Today.

“Although participants are scheduled for annual follow-up visits, complete data were not always available at every visit. Therefore, the number of participants and the available follow-up periods differed between the cognitive and motor analyses. Importantly, the median follow-up duration was 3 years for both analyses,” he said.

Assessing weekly physical activity

For their analysis, the researchers measured physical activity in three separate ways:

• the total time spent doing any physical activity each week
• the total time spent doing vigorous exercise each week
• the total volume of physical activity done each week, giving greater weight to vigorous exercise

Examples of vigorous exercise included jogging, singles tennis, and carrying heavy loads. In comparison, moderate-intensity exercise included brisk walking, doubles tennis, and household chores like vacuuming and mowing the lawn.

With total physical activity time, the researchers split the participants into three separate groups depending on how much they did each week:

• Low activity: up to 4 hours per week
• Medium activity: 4 to 8 hours per week
• High activity: over 8 hours per week

Higher physical activity levels linked to slower symptom progression

The researchers found that having the highest levels across all three physical activity measures was associated with slower progression of cognitive decline and movement symptoms.

They assessed Parkinson’s symptoms using a scoring system ranging from 0 to 132, with higher scores indicating worse symptoms. At the start of the study, the participants had an average score of 23.

The low-activity group had an estimated annual increase in score of 0.143. However, the medium- and high-activity groups had estimated annual score decreases of 0.225 and 0.783, respectively.

For cognitive decline, the researchers used a scoring system ranging from 0 to 30, with lower scores indicating worse cognitive functioning.

Here, the low-activity group had an estimated annual decrease of 0.478, compared with 0.090 for the medium-activity group and 0.007 for the high-activity group.

Further analysis of the data found that the amount of vigorous activity people engaged in was not associated with long-term outcomes after adjusting for total activity. In short, it was the overall amount that participants did that was most important.

How compelling are these findings?

While offering some positivity for people with Parkinson’s disease, there are some limitations to be aware of when interpreting the findings.

“Since participants generally had good thinking and memory skills at the start of the study, our results should be interpreted with caution, and further studies are needed,” said Ryu in the press release.

Another limitation of the study was that participants self-reported their physical activity. This means the accuracy of this information is uncertain, and that participants may have been doing more or less exercise than they recorded.

Finally, as the study was observational, it was unable to account for other factors that may have influenced how the participants’ symptoms progressed.

MNT spoke with Derk W. Krieger, professor of neurology and consultant neurologist at Re:Cognition Health, who was not involved with the study.

“This longitudinal study provides encouraging evidence of an association between greater physical activity and slower cognitive decline. However, reverse causation remains a major concern: patients with milder disease and better preserved cognition may simply be more active,” he said.

“The findings are compelling as an association, but not as proof of disease modification. Exercise should be encouraged as part of comprehensive Parkinson’s care, while randomized trials are needed to establish whether it can genuinely slow neurodegeneration.”
— Derk W. Krieger, consultant neurologist

Differences could be ‘more meaningful’ over time

“The possible benefits of physical activity for people with Parkinson’s disease may depend on how long they stay active and whether they continue exercising over time,” said Ryu, in a press release.

“While our study found small differences between activity levels, these differences may become more meaningful over time,” he continued.

MNT asked Ryu what was next for the team.

“We believe that more evidence is needed to build on our findings,” he said. “Future studies with larger populations and longer follow-up periods could help determine whether these associations remain consistent over time.”

“Imaging and biological biomarkers may also help us better understand the mechanisms underlying the relationship between physical activity and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, advances in digital technology may allow us to monitor physical activity more accurately and develop better ways to maximize its benefits. These technologies could also be valuable tools for future research.”
— Dong-Woo Ryu, MD, PhD, study author

MNT also spoke with Daniel Truong, MD, neurologist and medical director of the Truong Neuroscience Institute at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, who was not involved with the study. He said that exercise was one of the most important non-pharmacological strategies for managing Parkinson’s disease.

“It has both symptom-relieving and potential disease-modifying effects, especially when started early and performed consistently,” he explained.

Truong’s advice for people looking to increase their physical activity includes starting small — “even 10 minutes of mindful movement counts” — choosing something enjoyable, and making it a social activity.

Tracking progress could also help. “Improvements in balance, energy, and mood often appear within weeks,” Truong said.

• About 95 million people around the world are living with glaucoma. 
• There is currently no cure for this eye condition. 
• There are several risk factors for glaucoma, including high cholesterol. 
• A new study says that statins, which are typically used to treat high cholesterol, may also help lower a person’s glaucoma risk. 

Researchers estimate that about 95 million people around the world are living with glaucoma, an eye condition that damages the optic nerve, which is responsible for transmitting vision information from the eyes to the brain. 

Known as the “thief of sight,” glaucoma gradually causes blurry vision, vision loss, and in some cases, complete blindness. 

There is currently no cure for glaucoma. The eye disease is usually treated with a combination of medications and surgical therapies. 

There are several risk factors for glaucoma. Some, such as age, ethnicity, and family history, are not changeable. Risk factors that are modifiable include smoking, long-term steroid use, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. 

Now a new study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reports that statins — medications used to treat high cholesterol — may also help lower a person’s glaucoma risk, as well as the need for surgical treatment in those with glaucoma. 

Statin use lowers glaucoma risk by 15% after 5 years

For this study, researchers analyzed medical data from about 210,000 people over 40 years of age with a record of using statins. These people were matched against another set of participants who had never used statins. 

At the 5 year follow-up, researchers found that study participants using statins had a 15% lower risk of developing open angle glaucoma. After 10 years, statin users had a 10% reduced risk for glaucoma. 

“Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness,” Robert N Weinreb, MD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Morris Gleich Chair of Glaucoma at the University of California San Diego, lead author of this study, told Medical News Today.

“Lowering the risk of developing open angle glaucoma reduces the likelihood of vision loss,” added Weinreb.

Statin use lowers glaucoma surgical risk 

Additionally, researchers discovered that statin use was also linked to a lower risk of requiring surgical intervention for those with glaucoma. 

After 5 years, participants taking statins had a 36% lower risk of needing incisional glaucoma surgery, 55% lower risk of needing minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), and 60% lower risk of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT). 

The risk for these procedures continued to reduce after a 10-year follow up — 32% lower risk for incisional glaucoma surgery, 46% lower risk for MIGS, and 51% lower risk for SLT. 

“If confirmed in prospective studies, use of statins should be viewed as complementary to standard intraocular pressure-lowering treatments,” Weinreb said. “Although statins may protect against vision loss in glaucoma, their use is not meant to replace conventional treatments that lower intraocular pressure.”

“Prospective randomized trials are needed to better understand the effects of statin use on glaucoma incidence and treatment,” he added. 

Is a ‘neuroprotective statin’ possible? 

MNT had the opportunity to speak with Benjamin Bert, MD, a board-certified ophthalmologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study.

Bert, who was not involved in the research, commented he found it to be quite interesting since it shows that statin medications helped reduce the risk of developing glaucoma, as well as reduced the escalation of treatment for those who have glaucoma.

“While the exact mechanism is unknown, it does support the previous idea that statins have a neuroprotective effect that benefits the optic nerve as well. Much of our treatment in glaucoma is lowering the eye pressure. However, we know that there are some forms of glaucoma that progress despite adequate control of the intraocular pressure.”

– Benjamin Bert, MD

“Making new discoveries like this study allows us to have additional treatment options for patients and ways to try and further protect the optic nerve from glaucomatous damage,” he continued.

“Further exploration into the exact physiology of how the statins are protecting the optic nerve in a patient with glaucoma, would be quite helpful to see if there is an even more targeted medication that can be developed for this cause. A specific ‘neuroprotective statin’ could be helpful in many degenerative neurological disorders,” Bert told us.

Need for glaucoma treatments besides lowering intraocular pressure

MNT also spoke with Daniel Liebman, MD, MBA, ophthalmologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and instructor in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, who likewise was not involved in this study. 

Liebman commented that this was a large well-designed study using an excellent database, and it’s notable that they studied both the development of glaucoma (incidence) and the control of existing glaucoma. 

“This isn’t the first study to look at the link between statins and glaucoma, but it is one of the largest studies to date,” he explained. “It isn’t a randomized controlled trial, however, so while the results are noteworthy, it is not proof of a definite causative or protective effect from statins.” 

“I wouldn’t necessarily start someone on a statin purely for glaucoma at this stage, but as many glaucoma patients do take statins, it is nice to see a potential additional benefit aside from controlling their cholesterol,” Liebman added.

Hypothesizing on how a medication used to treat high cholesterol could impact the eyes, Liebman said that some studies have suggested that statins can have an effect on certain biological pathways which control how fluid drains out of the eye, which might help to control eye pressure. 

Other studies, he added, have shown statins may have anti-inflammatory or nerve-protective properties which might help the optic nerve resist damage. 

“Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, and while we have greatly improved our treatment options in recent years, nearly all of these treatment options are focused on one goal of lowering eye pressure,” Liebman continued.

“We know that there are more factors at play than just eye pressure in glaucoma, but until now, we haven’t had any ways to address those other factors. Research helping to explore other treatment options and targets may help open up new avenues to treat this challenging disease,” he concluded.

• A new study compared how adults responded to ultra-processed and less processed meals with similar nutrients.
• The ultra-processed meal led to a higher insulin response and changed how the body used energy.
• The team also examined the participants’ brain activity while they viewed pictures of ultra-processed and less processed foods.

Nutrition labels can help people choose foods that meet their calorie or protein needs, but those numbers may not tell the whole story about how the body will respond after eating.

Researchers at Virginia Tech recently explored whether food processing affects the body’s response independently of nutrient content.

They compared the body’s responses to two meals that were similar in nutrient makeup but differed in processing level. They also examined brain activity to explore whether metabolic differences related to participants’ responses to food pictures.

The study appears in Nature Metabolism.

Can foods with similar nutrients still affect the body differently?

Ultra-processed foods often have ingredients that improve flavor, texture, or shelf life. The NOVA classification system groups foods by their level of processing. For example, plain nuts and eggs belong to group 1, while soda and many packaged chips belong to group 4.

Since ultra-processed foods can provide nutrients such as protein and fiber, processing level alone does not describe a food’s nutritional profile. To better understand whether processing matters beyond those nutrients, the researchers compared nutritionally matched meals.

The study included 57 healthy-weight adults aged 18 to 45. Of these, 32 completed both meal-testing sessions, and the researchers included 52 in their brain imaging analysis.

After participants fasted overnight, the team collected baseline measurements and served a meal of around 300 calories. Each of the 32 participants ate both meal types on separate days, and the researchers randomized the order.

Both meals contained similar amounts of calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, fiber, and sodium.

Some of the foods the researchers served in the non-ultra-processed session included banana slices and cheese. For the ultra-processed meal, some foods included a portion of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and veggie chips.

After the participants finished eating, the researchers collected blood samples multiple times over the following three hours.

During another visit, participants bid on pictured foods while researchers monitored their brain activity with functional MRI. The researchers used the bids to estimate how much participants valued each item.

Ultra-processed meals prompted a greater insulin response

The researchers tracked blood sugar, insulin, and energy use after each meal.

Despite similar overall blood sugar responses, the participants had a greater insulin response after the ultra-processed meal. Their insulin levels stayed higher between 40 and 120 minutes after eating.

The higher insulin response made the researchers wonder whether ultra-processed foods place greater demands on how the body regulates blood sugar. However, the study did not establish that this response was harmful or indicated insulin resistance.

Participants also burned fewer carbohydrates and more fat while expending more energy after eating their ultra-processed meals.

The researchers also linked differences in carbohydrate burning after the meals to differences in brain responses to food pictures during the MRI visit. The participants bid similar amounts for both food categories, but the findings suggested that metabolic responses may relate to how the brain processes food cues.

Overall, the findings suggest that nutrient content alone may not fully explain the body’s response to food. Processing may also matter.

However, the study tested only one pair of small meals in relatively young, healthy-weight adults. The researchers need to conduct larger, longer studies to determine whether these differences persist and affect health over time.

What do these findings mean for food choices?

Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center, who was not involves in the study, discussed the findings with Medical News Today.

“This study showed that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have a significant hormonal and metabolic effect on the body, altering insulin response and carbohydrate metabolism,” said Ali.

However, he emphasized that the researchers still need to identify which aspects of these foods drive the differences.

“The study did not differentiate between processing methods and extra ingredients in [ultra-processed foods],” Ali noted. “Further research is needed to determine the most harmful aspects of ultra-processed foods.”

For everyday food choices, Ali recommended limiting ultra-processed foods while acknowledging the challenges people face.

“I advise my patients to minimize UPFs, though they remain difficult to avoid because they are inexpensive, accessible, and highly palatable,” shared Ali.

Qianzhi Jiang, PhD, RD, a pediatric and family dietitian with The Nutrition Changer, also discussed the study findings with MNT.

“It adds to growing evidence that what happens to food during processing may matter beyond what we see on a nutrition label,” shared Jiang, who likewise was not involved in the study.

Jiang explained that insulin release responds to protein and amino acids and that the differences in ingredients and protein sources could have contributed to the findings.

“We should be cautious about interpreting the higher insulin response as evidence of a more severe problem,” she said.

Jiang pointed out that the study did not examine whether hormones, such as GIP and GLP-1, contributed to the higher insulin response. 

She also noted that the NOVA system was not originally intended to be “a measure of nutritional quality or overall healthfulness” and that it would be interesting to see how the foods scored on the Healthy Eating Index.

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms are usually managed through a combination of medications and lifestyle changes, including eliminating “trigger” foods.  
• People in IBD remission may experience lingering sensitivities to certain foods. 
• A new study says that gut inflammation from IBD may change a person’s microbiome, causing food sensitivities even during remission.

As of 2021, about 3.8 million people globally were living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — an umbrella term for conditions that cause inflammation of the digestive tract. The two main types of IBD are ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease. 

There is currently no cure for IBD. IBD symptoms are usually managed through a combination of medications and lifestyle changes, including eliminating “trigger” foods that can cause or worsen symptoms. Types of IBD trigger foods include foods high in fat, dairy products, and foods containing gluten. 

If a person with IBD reaches remission, where their symptoms are no longer apparent, they may still have lingering sensitivities to certain foods. 

“Many people with IBD continue to experience food-related symptoms even when these conditions have been ruled out, and their IBD is otherwise under control,” Alberto Caminero, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute at McMaster University in Canada, told Medical News Today.

“In fact, up to 70% of people with IBD report that certain foods trigger symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, or changes in bowel habits,” he said.

Most common IBD food triggers

“Dairy and wheat are among the foods that IBD patients most commonly identify as triggers, but we still don’t fully understand why this happens. We don’t know exactly which components of these foods are responsible, what biological pathways are involved, or why some people develop these reactions while others don’t.”
— Alberto Caminero, PhD

Caminero is the senior author of a new study published in the journal Gastroenterology that provides an explanation as to why those in IBD remission may still experience negative reactions to certain foods. Researchers believe that gut inflammation from IBD may change a person’s microbiome, causing food sensitivities even during remission.

Inflammation promotes IgE responses in the gut

For this study, researchers first used a mouse model to see how gut inflammation caused by IBD might impact their food sensitivity risk. 

“We used two different mouse models of intestinal inflammation,” Caminero detailed. “We found that inflammation in the gut can make animals more susceptible to developing immune responses to certain foods, including gluten and dairy.” 

More specifically, Caminero said, their preclinical studies suggest that inflammation can promote the development of food-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) responses in the gut. 

“These responses involve mast cells, which are immune cells that are also important in food allergies,” he continued. “Interestingly, in our mouse models, the response was largely confined to the gut rather than spreading throughout the body. This makes it different from a typical food allergy, where the immune response can be much more widespread and, in severe cases, lead to a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis.” 

Caminero said their findings suggest that inflammation itself may be an important factor in why some people with IBD develop reactions to foods that they previously tolerated. 

“In other words, the inflammation may change the way the immune system responds to food,” he explained. “This opens up an interesting new avenue for understanding and potentially diagnosing food-related symptoms in people with IBD.” 

Inflammation reduces beneficial bacteria, leading to food reactions

Researchers also recruited 148 study participants between the ages of 18 to 75 years old. Participants included a mix of Crohn’s disease and UC diagnoses, as well as non-IBD controls. 

Through both the mouse model and human participants, scientists discovered that intestinal inflammation disrupts the gut microbiota, reducing some of the bacteria that normally help us break down food components such as gluten and dairy. 

“We had previously shown that these bacteria play an important role in processing food triggers, so we asked what happens during inflammation,” Caminero said. “We found that inflammation reduces these beneficial bacteria, weakening the gut’s ability to break down certain food components and potentially favoring adverse food reactions.” 

“When we transferred the microbiota from inflamed mice into healthy mice, the recipient mice became more susceptible to adverse food reactions,” he continued. “We also saw similar changes in the gut microbiota of people with IBD who reported adverse reactions to certain foods.” 

Mice vs. humans

“While this does not prove that the same mechanism occurs in people, it provides an important clue that a similar process may be involved. Our research helps explain why some people with IBD develop food-related symptoms and could point to new ways of managing them.”
— Alberto Caminero, PhD

Validating findings for people with IBD

MNT spoke with Alyssa M. Parian, MD, gastroenterologist and medical director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) in New Jersey, who commented that this research is incredibly validating for patients. 

“We are learning more and more about the gut microbiome and know how critical it is in IBD,” Parian, who was not involved in this study, said. “We know IBD patients have alterations in their gut microbiome that can proceed their diagnosis for several years and even despite adequate endoscopic remission, the microbiome doesn’t always seem to return to normal.”  

“For years, IBD patients who are in clinical remission have told me that foods they used to tolerate perfectly well — like dairy or gluten — suddenly trigger GI symptoms. Historically, we haven’t had a great physiological explanation for this when a patient’s endoscopy shows that their gut lining is completely healed.”
— Alyssa M. Parian, MD

“However, now understanding that the microbiome is paramount to digestion of specific foods helps us to better understand and eventually to treat these patients,” Parian said.

“Seeing concrete evidence that previous gut inflammation fundamentally alters how our microbiome breaks down food — turning those food byproducts into new immune triggers — connects a major missing piece of the puzzle,” she added.

Will restoring the microbiome help eliminate food issues? 

MNT also spoke with Rudolph Bedford, MD, a board certified gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who likewise was not involved in this study. 

Bedford agreed and said these findings provide some plausible biological mechanism for what patients have been telling gastroenterologists for years about their sensitivities to certain foods in the setting of their ongoing disease. 

Could these findings help treat or eliminate food sensitivities for those with IBD? 

“The question is whether or not getting the microbiome back to some state or restoring missing bacterial functions in patients, whether or not that will help in patients being able to tolerate certain foods,” Bedford answered. “It’s obviously going to require much larger human studies in order to answer that question, but it certainly is a good beginning.” 

Bedford also commented that this is not just a situation seen in people with IBD. 

“We also see these situations in patients after they’ve taken antibiotics — they may develop food sensitivities, what I’ll call post-infectious IBS,” he said. “So this may very well extend to other diseases also that we deal with.”

• A large global study spanning 118 countries has found that women consistently report experiencing more pain than men across 11 bodily sites.
• The study also found that, across sexes, the sharpest increases in self-reported pain tend to occur before the age of 55.
• These findings may inform a new approach towards chronic pain prevention and management throughout the lifespan.

A recent study analyzing self-reported pain data from 6,125,459 participants across 118 countries confirms that women consistently experience more pain than men.

The findings — which appear in Nature Medicine — indicate that women consistently report experiencing more pain across no fewer than 11 anatomical sites.

These are the head, face, neck and shoulder area, hand and wrist area, elbows, foot and ankle sites, the knees, the chest, the back, abdominal area, and the hips. The highest prevalence was for back pain, at 40%.

First author Matt Fillingim, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, told Medical News Today that, while the exact reasons why women experience more pain remain unclear, they are likely to be related to a combination of different factors.

“There likely isn’t one single explanation,” said Fillingim. According to him:

“The difference probably reflects a combination of biological and social factors, including sex hormones, immune function, nervous-system pain processing, stress, reproductive burdens, occupational exposures, healthcare use, and differences in how symptoms are reported.”

He also cited studies in animal models that appear to suggest “genuine sex differences in pain mechanisms.”

Specifically, he referenced studies from McGill professor Jeffrey Mogil, PhD, FCAHS, FRSC, “showing in animal models that males and females can recruit different immune pathways in pain hypersensitivity.”

“What stood out in our [recent] study is that the difference [of reported pain between sexes] was present across all 11 body sites, though the size of the gap varied considerably by pain type, which again suggests there is unlikely to be one universal mechanism,” Fillingim pointed out.

Shuchita Garg, MD, an associate professor of clinical medicine in the Department of Anesthesia/Division of Chronic Pain, and the medical director of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Pain Clinic, who was not involved in this study, commented on the findings for MNT.

“This study is a major contribution to the field and challenges some of the existing data,” Garg told us. However, she also offered a word of caution regarding the interpretation of the methodology.

“Since most of the data are cross-sectional, they show the age patterns within populations rather than the changes that take place in individuals,” she explained. “Moreover, the estimates refer to point or period prevalence and not to chronicity, meaning that this study deals generally with pain and not just with chronic pain.”

Why is pain prevalence higher in women?

Since the recent study highlights the consistently higher prevalence of pain in women, it also raises the question as to why.

According to Garg, “the reasons why women have a higher prevalence of pain are complicated and include biological, hormonal, and psychosocial elements, the greatest differences being found in the case of facial and abdominal pain, headaches as well as in instances of severe symptoms.”

“The differences are greatest in the case of migraine, temporomandibular, and visceral pain — conditions which correspond with the reproductive years. It is believed that pubertal development and sex hormones cause the difference between adolescent boys and girls,” she explained.

Garg also highlighted differences in immune pathways, noting that neuropathic pain has been linked to the activity of specialized immune cells called microglia in males, and T-cell — a type of white blood cell — activity in females. However, she also stressed that these findings are currently based largely on preclinical research in rodent models.

“Conditions that differ by sex — such as dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, and pelvic pain — contribute directly to the size of the abdominal area,” she explained. “The pain in question is nociplastic [a form of dull, deep, persistent pain], and the type of pain amplification seen in fibromyalgia is more frequently observed in women, which is consistent with the severity and the extent of the pain.”

Finally, “the role of psychosocial factors and access to care includes the possibility that higher rates of depression, anxiety, trauma exposure, caregiving burden, and delays in diagnosis and treatment may be involved,” Garg hypothesized.

Sharper increase in pain before age 55 across sexes

The recent Nature Medicine study also found that, across sexes, the most rapid increases in musculoskeletal pain occurred earlier in life, between the ages of 20 and 55 years, to be precise, though the most pain tended to be reported around or after the age of 75.

Pain across all the studied anatomical sites, across genders, increased in prevalence most rapidly before the age of 55.

“Importantly, this does not mean pain is highest before age 55,” stressed Fillingim. “Rather, it means that across much of the body, the proportion of the population reporting pain is increasing most rapidly during this period,” he clarified.

“For some conditions, such as back, hip, and knee pain, prevalence continues to rise well into older age,” the researcher added.

While, once again, he noted that the exact reason why the most rapid increases in pain occur before the age of 55 remains unclear, “one explanation is that early and middle adulthood are when many exposures that contribute to pain begin to accumulate,” he suggested.

This includes “physical workload, injuries, weight gain, metabolic disease, stress, and repetitive strain.” He also noted that, “by older age, a substantial portion of that burden may already be established.”

Speaking to MNT, Vernon Williams, MD, a sports neurologist and founding director of the Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Los Angeles and B-ASE Performance, Inc, also emphasized that age may not be the only factor responsible for the increase in pain prevalence.

Williams, who was not involved in the recent study, likewise explained that an accumulation of different factors is likely to explain this increase before age 55:

“By midlife, people may have accumulated injuries, repetitive strain, changes in physical activity, stress, sleep disruption, and other factors that can influence how the nervous system processes pain. Pain is a complex experience, and the brain’s response can become more sensitive over time. So, the increase we see before 55 may reflect the cumulative effects of these biological, psychological, and social factors rather than a single age-related cause.”

Following from this, Garg suggested that “efforts to prevent pain should be directed at adults in their 20s and 40s, and pain management must be tailored to the individual — this should begin with a thorough investigation for possible treatable causes, promote physical activity, take into account psychological therapies, and look at modifying risk factors.”

“In practice, the most effective way of supporting people who have pain is through a multifaceted approach,” she advised.

Some important pain data still missing

“I hope the findings encourage a more lifespan-based approach to pain prevention and surveillance,” Fillingim told MNT, reflecting on the desired impact of his and his colleagues’ study. “The fact that many pain trajectories change most rapidly before later life suggests there may be important windows for earlier prevention or intervention.”

At the same time, he emphasized that important chunks of data are still missing at the global level, and that much more information is needed in order to complete the picture.

“I also hope the work brings more attention to major gaps in global pain data,” he said, noting: “We had tremendous difficulty identifying and accessing suitable datasets from lower-HDI [Human Development Index] regions, particularly parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and other underrepresented regions.”

According to Fillingim, “this reflects several challenges, including limited existing data collection, fewer large cohort studies, resource constraints for data storage and maintenance, limited research infrastructure, and difficulties making data available for secondary analysis.”

“One of the clearest goals from this work is to motivate greater investment in collecting and maintaining high-quality pain data in these regions. Without those data, it is much harder to understand why pain burden is so high at certain ages, how it changes across the lifespan, and which prevention or treatment strategies are most appropriate.”
— Matt Fillingim, PhD

Expert advice for people experiencing chronic pain

Addressing people experiencing life-quality-altering pain, Williams said: “My first advice is not to simply try to ‘live with’ chronic pain or mask it with medication.”

Instead, he advised, “get[ting] a thorough evaluation to understand what may be contributing to the pain, because the most effective treatment depends on identifying the type and source of pain.”

“From there, focus on restoring function and movement, while considering a comprehensive approach that may include physical therapy, exercise, behavioral strategies, mindfulness, and medication when appropriate. Chronic pain is complex, but it does not necessarily have to be permanent,” said Williams.

Garg also emphasized that “exercise helps to reduce pain, improve functioning and enhance general health,” noting that “there is no one type that is better than the others” as long as it is a consistent habit.

“Exercise programs, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy should be emphasized as treatments for chronic musculoskeletal pain; these forms of therapy affect the way pain is processed in the nervous system and must not be misunderstood as suggesting that the pain is imagined.”
— Shuchita Garg, MD

“Modifiable factors such as sleep, smoking, weight loss, and mood are important factors that could impact the intensity and quality of pain, hence due attention to treatment of these need to be addressed,” she added.

Finally, “it is better to focus on functional goals, such as improving mobility, quality of life and activities of daily living or getting back to work than it is to aim at eliminating all pain,” Garg concluded.

• A new review examined links between insomnia and neurological, mental, and general health.
• The researchers found associations between insomnia and hospitalization, dementia, and suicidal behavior.
• They also found a link between insomnia and stroke, and people with insomnia had a 26% higher relative risk of stroke.

Having trouble sleeping can affect more than simply how well-rested someone feels in the morning. While having an occasional bad night’s rest is not uncommon, insomnia can impact many areas of life, including concentration and memory.

Existing research connects insomnia to conditions such as psychiatric illness, but the way it influences a broader range of health outcomes is unclear. This led a European research team to examine how insomnia affects multiple aspects of health.

The team found several associations between insomnia and different health conditions, including stroke, but could not establish that insomnia causes these conditions.

The review is published in Sleep Medicine Reviews.

How researchers examined insomnia and health risks

Millions of people experience sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. The most common sleep disorder is insomnia, which makes it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep.

A 2022 review estimated that around 10% of adults have insomnia disorder, and another 20% experience occasional symptoms.

Doctors diagnose chronic insomnia when it both affects daily functioning and occurs at least 3 nights per week for 3 months or longer. Some treatment options include cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and prescription medications.

To learn more about how insomnia may impact long-term health outcomes, the research team conducted an umbrella systematic review. They searched the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for reviews that examined whether insomnia was linked to dementia, stroke, depression, and suicide-related outcomes.

The team also conducted new systematic reviews on stroke, workplace injuries, and hospital admissions because none of the other reviews had meta-analyses on these outcomes.

Insomnia associated with stroke and hospitalization

For stroke, the researchers identified 9 studies with more than 1.3 million participants and combined results from 6 of them in a meta-analysis. They also evaluated three studies examining hospital admissions.

The stroke analysis found that people with insomnia had a 26% higher relative hazard of stroke. The hospitalization analysis found 28% higher odds of admission for any reason.

The 26% increase compares the stroke risk between people with and without insomnia. It does not mean that 26% of people with insomnia will have a stroke.

They also found associations between insomnia and dementia, depression, and suicide-related outcomes. However, the researchers did not find an association between insomnia and mortality.

The researchers could not draw a firm conclusion about workplace injuries. They found only two studies and could not combine their results in a meta-analysis. 

The authors emphasized that the findings do not prove causation. They said the review shows that insomnia may signal increased health risks, but it cannot establish whether it causes these conditions.

The researchers noted that differences in how the included studies defined insomnia, as well as factors such as the use of sleep medication, may have affected the findings.

The authors recommend that clinicians ask about insomnia when evaluating a person’s neurological and mental health.

What do these findings mean for people with insomnia?

Christopher Yi, MD, a board certified vascular surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center, who was not involved in the review, discussed the review findings with Medical News Today.

“This review adds to growing evidence that chronic insomnia may be an important marker of long-term cardiovascular health,” said Yi.

Yi described some of the possible mechanisms behind the correlation between insomnia and stroke.

“Chronic insomnia can keep the body in a state of increased stress or hyperarousal,” explained Yi. “Over time, this may contribute to higher blood pressure, inflammation, arterial stiffness, and dysfunction of the blood vessel lining.”

“Insomnia should not simply be dismissed as a problem with sleep,” said Yi. “Persistent insomnia can affect overall health and quality of life, and it may be a signal that other health issues need attention.”

Yi recommended addressing chronic insomnia and traditional cardiovascular risk factors together.

Jagdish Khubchandani, PhD, MPH, a public health professor at New Mexico State University, who was also not involved in the review, also spoke with MNT about the review findings.

“This is a relative risk comparing people with and without insomnia. If all else remains the same in people, someone with insomnia has a 1.26-times higher chance of suffering a stroke compared to someone without insomnia.”
— Jagdish Khubchandani, PhD, MPH

Khubchandani noted that absolute risk for strokes and other health issues may depend on the individual.

He also said that the review underscores the need to develop better measures of sleep problems, since many studies rely on self-reported sleep behaviors.

For clinicians, Khubchandani recommended using chronic insomnia as an opportunity to assess broader health concerns.

“This would include comprehensive cardiovascular and metabolic disease screening and management,” shared Khubchandani.

• A recent review has found that even low doses of caffeine may affect sleep quality, particularly slow-wave (deep) sleep.
• While caffeine consumed closer to bedtime has a stronger impact, consuming caffeine in the morning may still reduce sleep, the researchers found.
• Experts advise that genetics, age, and metabolism may also influence how caffeine affects sleep, so there’s no universal cutoff time.

Caffeine is generally associated with increased alertness while awake, but its effects may persist while sleeping.

Caffeine affects adenosine signaling, which is vital in regulating the sleep-wake cycle. Now, researchers are investigating whether caffeine consumption impacts the brain during sleep.

A systematic review published in Nutrients assessed the effect of caffeine on sleep-related electroencephalography (EEG), a test that records the electrical activity in the brain. In particular, they looked at how caffeine might affect low-frequency brain waves associated with deep sleep.

Deep sleep occurs during the third stage of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. It is essential for repairing and restoring the body.

The researchers found that caffeine consumption could negatively impact the quality of deep sleep, potentially reducing the body’s ability to repair itself during this time.

How can caffeine affect deep sleep?

Research findings suggest that caffeine suppresses deep, restorative sleep, while increasing faster brain wave activity.

The review focused on 32 human studies from January 1980 to January 2026. The researchers used EEG data to assess the effects of caffeine on the brain’s electrical activity during sleep.

The most consistent finding was a reduction in low-frequency NREM sleep EEG activity. For example, in one study, drinking caffeine before bed reduced NREM sleep in late-middle-aged adults from 66 minutes down to 38 minutes in the first 3 hours of sleep.

Caffeine also appeared to increase faster EEG activity, suggesting that it may lead to lighter, more wakeful sleep.

Medical News Today spoke with three experts to learn more about the possible link between caffeine — including the amount and the time of consumption — and its effects on deep sleep.

Does the amount of caffeine impact how it affects deep sleep?

The researchers found that caffeine doses as low as 100 milligrams (mg) were sufficient to affect slow-wave activity early in the night.

“Generally, the more caffeine you consume, the greater the potential impact on sleep,” said Steven Allder, MD, consultant neurologist at Re:Cognition Health, in an interview with Medical News Today.

“The latest review found that higher doses can reduce slow-wave brain activity, which is closely linked to deep sleep. That does not mean one extra coffee will automatically ruin your sleep, but larger amounts are more likely to interfere with the brain’s normal sleep patterns,” Allder, who was not involved in the research, explained.

Şebnem Ünlüişler, MSc, Genetic Engineer at London Regenerative Institute, who was not involved in the research, agreed that, “[i]n general, higher doses are more likely to affect sleep, although timing and individual sensitivity also matter.”

How morning vs. evening caffeine affects deep sleep

The review suggests that caffeine consumed closer to bedtime has a greater effect on deep sleep than caffeine consumed earlier in the day.

However, morning caffeine can still impact sleep. One small study found that consuming 200 mg of caffeine shortly after waking could still lead to changes in brain activity during sleep. Participants consumed the caffeine at 07:10 a.m., and began sleeping at 11:00 p.m. Compared with the placebo group, they experienced significantly reduced sleep efficiency and total sleep time.

Another study found that consuming 400 mg around 6 hours before bed reduced slow-wave sleep from 71.5 minutes to 48.9 minutes.

However, the same study also found that taking the same amount of caffeine right at bedtime reduced slow-wave sleep to 56.7 minutes, a smaller reduction, though caffeine still affected deep sleep.

Ünlüişler told MNT that “[e]vening caffeine is more likely to interfere with sleep because the body has less time to clear it.”

Allder added, “Even caffeine consumed several hours before bed can have an effect, particularly at higher doses. Morning coffee is generally less likely to cause problems because the body has much longer to metabolize it before bedtime.”

Is everybody’s sleep affected by caffeine in the same way?

Caffeine does not affect sleep in the same way for everybody.

It is important to note that the review authors highlight limitations in the studies they included. In particular, older adults, adolescents, and people with sleep problems or psychiatric vulnerability were underrepresented.

However, they were able to determine that variations in the ADORA2A gene could affect how caffeine affects sleep quality. The authors note that a one-size-fits-all recommendation for the timing and amount of caffeine consumption would not account for people who may be more sensitive to caffeine.

Ünlüişler explained that “[g]enetics can play an important role in how we respond to caffeine. CYP1A2 influences how quickly caffeine is metabolized, while ADORA2A can affect how sensitive the brain is to caffeine’s effects on adenosine signaling and sleep.”

“Age, medications, habitual caffeine intake, and lifestyle also matter, which is why the same amount of caffeine can affect two people very differently.”
— Şebnem Ünlüişler, MSc

Allder added that everybody responds to caffeine differently. “Your sensitivity, age, habitual caffeine intake, how quickly you metabolize caffeine, and when you drink it can all make a difference. Some people can have a coffee in the afternoon and sleep soundly, while others may notice a difference from even a lunchtime coffee.”

The best way to enjoy caffeine without affecting sleep quality

There is “no universal cut off time” for enjoying caffeine without affecting sleep quality, said Ünlüişler.

“A good approach is to keep most caffeine to the morning or early afternoon and move your last caffeinated drink earlier if you notice it affecting your sleep,” she said.

Allder recommended thinking “about how much you are having and when you are having it. Keeping caffeine mainly to the morning and early afternoon is a simple way to reduce the chance of it interfering with sleep.”

“If you are waking tired or your sleep feels less restorative, try moving your last caffeinated drink earlier and see if it makes a difference. You do not necessarily need to give up caffeine, but it is worth finding the cut-off time that works for your own body.”
— Steven Allder, MD

• Participants taking a creatine supplement without participating in an exercise program gained about 2.4 pounds of lean muscle over 12 weeks.
• Meanwhile, those who took creatine and participated in a training program gained about 3 pounds of lean tissue in the same amount of time.
• All participants were ages 45-65 and not meeting physical activity recommendations prior to the start of the trial, suggesting that creatine may help build muscle regardless of exercise levels.

When people think of creatine, many see it as a supplement that regular gym-goers take to help build muscle after an intense workout. However, a new study suggests that it may have a muscle-building effect even without the exercise.

Researchers from Texas A&M University made this observation in participants ages 45-65. This finding could be of specific interest for this age group, given that aging is associated with a gradual loss of muscle.

Creatine is a naturally occurring acid that the body uses to support energy production in cells, particularly in areas with higher energy demand, such as the muscles and brain.

Creatine is present in meat and fish on its own, making these the best dietary sources. The body can also make creatine from three amino acids — L-arginine, glycine, and L-methionine. Vegetarians and vegans can get these amino acids from foods such as nuts, seeds, legumes, and mushrooms.

While research has shown that creatine supplementation can improve muscle mass when people use it alongside strength training, losing muscle mass is a bigger concern for those who do not work out regularly. This is what makes this new study an interesting one.

What did the researchers look at?

In this study, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the researchers looked at 64 healthy, sedentary adults ages 45-65 for the 12-week trial.

The participants got to choose whether or not they took part in a supervised training program for the duration of the trial, involving three sessions a week. The participants were also asked to walk 10,000 steps a day on non-training days.

Overall, 38 participants took part in the exercise intervention, with the other 26 remaining sedentary for the 12 weeks of the trial.

The researchers then randomly assigned each participant to take either a creatine supplement or a placebo twice a day. The participants did not know which they were taking.

It is important to note that participants were also instructed to follow an American Heart Association–guided diet consisting of 55% carbs, 15% protein, and 30% fat to create a daily calorie deficit of 300–500 kcal.

Testing took place at the start of the study and at 6 and 12 weeks to measure participants’ body composition, cognitive functioning, and various blood markers.

Creatine supplementation led to muscle growth even without training

The researchers found that participants taking creatine who did not participate in the exercise program gained about 2.4 pounds of lean tissue by the end of the trial.

These participants also had greater strength on bench presses and leg presses after 12 weeks.

The researchers noted that these gains occurred even when participants ate a relatively low amount of protein. This observation leaves the door open for future research investigating what might happen if sedentary people increased their protein intake alongside creatine supplementation.

The gains were greater for those who took creatine and completed the exercise program, with this group gaining about 3 pounds of lean tissue.

In addition to greater bench and leg press strength, these participants also improved their time to exhaustion, a measure of how long they can exercise at their highest intensity.

Medical News Today asked study lead author Richard Kreider, PhD, professor and director of the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab at Texas A&M, why the participants who did not take part in the exercise intervention might have developed lean tissue.

“Creatine monohydrate increases energy in the muscle,” he explained, “and non-exercise physical activity and functional activities may increase correspondingly. If you feel better and daily activities are less demanding, you are more apt to do physical activity.”

Creatine also helps blood sugar, cognitive health

There were other benefits for the exercise intervention group, who also took creatine. The researchers found that while gaining lean tissue, these participants also lost body fat mass and reduced their body fat percentage.

Creatine appeared to make the difference here, as those in the exercise intervention group who took a placebo had little change to their lean tissue amounts after 12 weeks.

The researchers noted a few other benefits among the participants taking creatine in both the exercise and sedentary groups. Taking the supplement was associated with favorable changes in certain blood fats, glucose control, and cognitive function.

The combination of observed muscle gains with other potential health benefits led the study authors to conclude that their findings “may have important implications for middle-aged and older individuals seeking to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle mass and cognitive function.”

Limitations to address in the future

One limitation to consider when looking at this study is that participants could choose whether to take part in the training program. Those who opted to join the exercise intervention group may have been more health-minded, which could have impacted their ability to gain muscle and lose weight.

On top of this, the authors note that the study is limited by the extent to which participants complied with guidelines, particularly regarding diet and exercise.

MNT spoke with Şebnem Ünlüişler, a genetic engineer and chief longevity officer at the London Regenerative Institute, who was not involved in the research.

“I think this study adds useful evidence for creatine as part of a healthy aging strategy, particularly because improvements in lean mass were seen even without structured exercise,” she said. “However, the participants were middle-aged rather than elderly, the sample was relatively small, and DXA measured lean tissue rather than muscle directly.”

“From a longevity perspective, the key priority in middle age is to preserve muscle mass, strength, and function through resistance exercise, adequate protein intake, and good metabolic health, with creatine potentially serving as a useful adjunct rather than a replacement for these fundamentals.”
— Şebnem Ünlüişler, MSc

A study with a more controlled or focused approach to diet — particularly regarding protein intake — would be of great interest.

The authors also state that their findings on metabolic or cognitive improvements should be considered exploratory and require further research to substantiate them.

Creatine alone not enough for a strong, healthy body

For now, though, this new study provides intriguing new insight into one of the most researched nutritional supplements on the market.

MNT also spoke with Clarinda Hougen, MD, a primary care sports medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Los Angeles, CA, who was not involved with the study.

“Creatine may be a useful tool as part of a broader strategy that includes resistance training, adequate protein intake, and regular physical activity,” she agreed.

“It does not directly burn fat or cause weight loss, but when combined with resistance training, it can help increase fat-free mass and improve strength. More muscle is also metabolically active and can improve insulin sensitivity, which may support healthier body composition and metabolic health over time.”
— Clarinda Hougen, MD

• A new study suggests that a higher intake of N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), a sugar present in red meat, is associated with a higher relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• The relationship remained statistically significant after adjusting for various factors, such as age, sex, physical activity, overall diet, smoking, and existing health conditions.
• While Neu5Gc is also found in some dairy products, the link with total dietary Neu5Gc appeared to be largely driven by meat-derived Neu5Gc.
• However, the study was observational and preliminary, meaning it does not prove cause and effect.

Diet is an important modifiable factor in the development of type 2 diabetes, with dietary patterns high in red and processed meat, and sugar-sweetened foods and drinks generally being associated with greater risk.

In particular, studies have consistently reported an association between higher red-meat consumption and incident type 2 diabetes. However, because much of this evidence is observational, it is difficult to establish causality.

One proposed mechanism linking red meat consumption to diabetes is the presence of a sugar known as N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), which is naturally produced by most mammals and can be found in some foods, particularly red meat such as beef and lamb, and to a lesser extent in dairy products.

Because Neu5Gc is foreign to the human body, the immune system can produce antibodies against it, which may promote inflammation and could lead to insulin resistance.

Now, preliminary findings presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy, report an association between higher dietary Neu5Gc intake and increased risk of developing diabetes.

Notably, the researchers found that people with the highest estimated dietary intake of Neu5Gc from meat had a 63% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest intake.

However, the researchers stress that the findings are preliminary, based on an observational study, and have not yet been peer-reviewed, so they cannot establish that Neu5Gc or red meat directly causes type 2 diabetes.

Higher Neu5Gc intake associated with greater diabetes risk

The researchers analyzed data from 89,953 adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé study, a large French prospective observational cohort that examines relationships between diet, lifestyle, and health. Participants were, on average, 42 years old, and 79% were female. None had type 2 diabetes or cancer when they entered the study.

Dietary intake was assessed using three 24-hour dietary records. Researchers then estimated participants’ Neu5Gc consumption using a database that contains measurements of the compound in various foods. Participants were divided into 5 groups according to their estimated intake of meat-derived Neu5Gc.

During a median follow-up of 7.2 years, 966 participants developed type 2 diabetes. Compared with people in the lowest Neu5Gc-intake group, those in the highest groups showed statistically significant associations with type 2 diabetes.

Notably, the highest group had a 63% higher relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while the second-highest group had a 41% higher risk, according to a press release.

The researchers observed the association in both males and females, although the study was not designed to establish a difference in risk between the sexes.

“This is a relative risk: people in the top fifth of meat-derived Neu5Gc intake had a 63% higher risk than those in the bottom fifth, after accounting for many other factors,” lead author Leopold Fezeu, MD, PhD, from the Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Bobigny, France, explained to Medical News Today.

“It does not mean that 63% of high consumers will develop diabetes. In our cohort, type 2 diabetes remained relatively uncommon over about seven years of follow-up, so the absolute difference in risk for any individual is much smaller than the relative figure suggests. It is also worth noting that the risk did not increase evenly: it rose mainly in the two highest intake groups.”
— Leopold Fezeu, MD, PhD

Could inflammation explain the association?

The researchers suggest that chronic inflammation could be one possible biological explanation.

When Neu5Gc is incorporated into human tissues, the immune system recognizes Neu5Gc as foreign and produces antibodies against it. This inflammatory response is known as xenosialitis.

Repeated exposure could therefore contribute to persistent immune activation. Chronic inflammation is already thought to play a role in insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes.

The findings of the preliminary study suggest that inflammation may help explain the relationship between red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes.

“It is a plausible explanation, but it remains a hypothesis,” Fezeu noted. “Humans cannot produce Neu5Gc, yet it is absorbed from red meat and incorporated into our tissues, where the immune system recognizes it as foreign.”

“The resulting low-grade chronic inflammation, called xenosialitis, could impair insulin action and the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Our findings are consistent with this mechanism: only about 13% of the association was explained by weight gain.”
— Leopold Fezeu, MD, PhD

“However, we did not measure anti-Neu5Gc antibodies in this study, so we could not test the mechanism directly. This is an important next step,” Fezeu added.

Link weakens after accounting for red meat intake

An important finding was that the relationship became weaker and was no longer statistically significant after the researchers adjusted for total red meat consumption. This means the study cannot establish that Neu5Gc itself is responsible for the observed association.

Red meat contains numerous compounds that could potentially affect diabetes risk, including haem iron and other nutrients and food components. Therefore, the researchers suggest that Neu5Gc may explain part of the relationship between red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes, but other components of red meat could also contribute.

The study also found no significant association between Neu5Gc from dairy products and type 2 diabetes. According to the researchers, this may partly reflect differences in Neu5Gc concentrations among foods, as well as in typical serving sizes.

When Neu5Gc from all dietary sources was considered together, people in the highest intake group had a 37% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those in the lowest group. The researchers said this association was largely driven by Neu5Gc from meat.

“Neu5Gc and red meat are closely linked, since red meat is the main source of Neu5Gc, so it is difficult to fully separate their effects,” Fezeu said.

What role did body weight play?

The researchers estimated that obesity accounted for approximately 13% of the association between meat-derived Neu5Gc and type 2 diabetes. This suggests that, if the association is confirmed, body weight may explain only part of the relationship.

The researchers propose that inflammatory effects on insulin-producing cells and on tissues involved in insulin sensitivity could be among the mechanisms. However, this remains a hypothesis that requires further testing.

Importantly, the study does not show that consuming a particular amount of red meat will cause diabetes.

People in the highest Neu5Gc-intake group generally consumed more red meat than those in the lowest group. Among males, median red meat intake ranged from 5 grams (g) per day in the lowest group to 97g per day in the highest. Among females, it ranged from 0 to 73g per day.

These figures describe the dietary patterns of people in the different study groups and should not be interpreted as safe or harmful thresholds for meat consumption.

More research is necessary

While the results may suggest a mechanism for the possible link between red meat and diabetes, the researchers emphasize several limitations.

First, the findings are preliminary and have not yet been independently validated. The estimates could change as the analysis is finalized.

Second, because the study is observational, it cannot determine whether Neu5Gc exposure causes type 2 diabetes. Even though researchers adjusted for a range of potential confounding factors, other lifestyle, environmental, or social factors that were not measured could have influenced the results.

Dietary intake was also estimated from participants’ dietary records rather than continuously measured throughout the follow-up period. Changes in dietary patterns over time could therefore have introduced some measurement error.

Finally, the study did not directly measure anti-Neu5Gc antibodies, meaning it could not directly demonstrate that the proposed immune mechanism occurred in participants who developed diabetes.

The researchers plan to investigate how Neu5Gc interacts with other components of red meat, including haem iron, and to measure anti-Neu5Gc antibodies in future studies.

Further research could also examine whether replacing foods particularly high in Neu5Gc, such as beef and lamb, with poultry or plant-based protein sources affects type 2 diabetes risk.

“If our findings are confirmed, this would be a logical hypothesis to test, since poultry and plant foods contain little or no Neu5Gc, whereas beef and lamb are among the richest sources,” Fezeu told MNT.

Could swapping red meat for plants help lower risk?

“[W]e did not study food substitutions, so we cannot say that such a change would reduce diabetes risk. In the meantime, current dietary guidelines already recommend limiting red meat intake, for reasons that go beyond Neu5Gc.”
— Leopold Fezeu, MD, PhD

“As a final remark, this is an observational study: it shows an association, not cause and effect, and residual confounding cannot be excluded. Our findings need to be confirmed in other populations, ideally with direct measurement of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies,” Fezeu concluded.

• Most people who receive a seasonal flu or COVID-19 vaccine experience no or very mild side effects.
• A recent study suggests that individuals who experience more serious side effects from vaccination do so because of subtle differences in their immune systems, which influence the body’s response to vaccines.
• The research took COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations as a case study, and looked at both human participants and mouse models.
• Family physician Clare Thompson, MBBS, further explains what to do if you are concerned about side effects.

A research team from the Center for Vaccinology at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and Geneva University Hospital (HUG), in Switzerland, recently looked into why some people experience serious side effects post-seasonal vaccination when, in most cases, side effects are mild or even non-existent.

The researchers found that the answer may lie in subtle changes to an individual’s immune system, which influence how their body responds to the vaccine.

The UNIGE and HUG researchers have published their findings in Science Translational Medicine. Some of the funding for the study was granted by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna.

Arnaud Didierlaurent, Ing. PhD, associate professor at the Center for Vaccinology at UNIGE and HUG, and in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, UNIGE, senior author of the study, explained in a press release:

“Whilst we know that older people tend to experience fewer reactions to vaccination because of age-related declines in immune function, and that the vaccine dose can influence the severity of side effects, the biological mechanisms underlying these individual differences in symptoms have remained poorly understood.”

Signaling protein activity influences immune response

For this study, the research team recruited 51 healthy adults with a median age of 43.5 years, who received 2 doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

The researchers closely monitored participants for 1 week following the administration of each vaccine dose to register any side effects.

What they found was that “an interferon-related antiviral defense system [likely explains] differences in side effects between individuals,” said Natacha Madelon, PhD, senior research and teaching assistant at the Center for Vaccinology and first author of the study, in the press release.

Cells release interferon, a type of signaling protein, when they sense a virus, as a means of alerting other cells to get ready to fend off the pathogen. Yet not everyone’s bodies have the same ability to release these signaling proteins.

And “the more active a person’s natural interferon response, even before vaccination, the more pronounced their reactions to vaccination are likely to be,” Madelon explained in the press release.

When a person receives a vaccine, their body is essentially learning to respond to and fight the pathogen they are getting vaccinated against.

As the body learns, the immune system becomes activated, which explains the cold and flu-like symptoms some people experience after vaccination.

Stronger reactions to the vaccines can lead to stronger side effects

To better understand the differences in immune responses following vaccination, the researchers further experimented with mouse models.

They confirmed that, after the first dose of the vaccine, the mice developed antibodies, which are disease-fighting proteins and trained T cells, a type of white blood cells, to recognize these antigens.

Following the administration of the second vaccine dose, the researchers found that this acquired immunity can boost the response of other white blood cells called monocytes very rapidly, which, in turn, can lead to a stronger reaction to the vaccine.

Commenting on the study findings, Clare Thompson, MBBS, a general practitioner at the Cadogan Clinic in London, United Kingdom, who was not involved in this research, told MNT that “this new study suggests that some people are naturally more prone to short-term vaccine reactions because their innate immune system has a more active interferon response.”

“Genetics, the microbiome, and previous inflammation may play a role, although more research is needed,” Thompson explained.

“It’s important to note that these were generally mild, temporary reactions rather than serious complications,” she added.

Read more about the current vaccine guidelines for seasonal flu, COVID-19, and RSV shots here, and how to cope with vaccine anxiety here.

• Exercise benefits both body and brain health, but how vigorous does that exercise need to be to have results?
• A new study suggests that even a small amount of exercise that barely raises the heart rate, such as very slow running, may have cognitive and mood benefits.
• In a small group of healthy people, researchers found that short, slow jogs induced a positive mood and promoted executive function in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, an area that is important for mood and cognition.

Don’t like building up a sweat or spending hours in the gym? Then the findings of a new study could be good news for you.

Researchers have found that even running very slowly for only 10 minutes may improve your mood and benefit your brain health.

In their study, published in Imaging Neuroscience, researchers from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, found that a very slow 10-minute run on a treadmill significantly enhanced mood and cognitive test scores in healthy people, when compared with their scores after a 10-minute rest.

Vernon Williams, MD, a sports neurologist and founding director of the Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Los Angeles and B-ASE Performance, Inc., not involved in the study, welcomed the findings.

Williams told Medical News Today:

“Studies consistently show that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, improve mood, and alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. This knowledge should inspire and motivate us to make physical activity a regular part of our lives.”

“Previously,” he added, “it was thought there were thresholds related to frequency, duration, and consistency for long-term and sustained cognitive benefit. This current study suggests, however, that there is at least a short-term benefit from even lower levels of activity, not necessarily traditionally viewed as formal ‘exercise’.”

Minimal exertion offered brain benefits

The researchers recruited 24 young Japanese adults, 13 men and 11 women, all in their early 20s, and with no health conditions. All were nonsmokers, were right-hand dominant and had normal or corrected-to-normal vision and healthy BMI (body mass index).

The participants were randomly assigned to two groups, which took part in two separate sessions on different days.

In one session, they sat for 10 minutes on a chair placed on a stationary treadmill; in the other, they jogged very slowly — 3-6 kilometers per hour (km/h), or 35% of their maximum exertion (VO2 max) — on the treadmill for 10 minutes. Before and after both the rest and the light exercise, they completed mood and cognitive tests.

Researchers used an event-related version of the color-word Stroop task (CWST) to assess cognitive function. To assess mood they used the two-dimensional mood scale (TDMS), a mood scale that uses eight words describing arousal and pleasure states: energetic, lively, lethargic, listless, relaxed, calm, irritated, and nervous.

During a separate 2-minute run, the researchers measured head acceleration to assess the up and down movement of the head. And during cognitive testing, they also measured blood oxygenation as a measure of brain activity.

After running, participants reported significant improvements in their mood, including greater alertness and feelings of pleasure, as well as achieving improved reaction times on the test of attention and self-control (CWST).

They also had a stronger oxygen-rich blood signal during cognitive testing in two areas of the left prefrontal cortex of the brain after running than after resting.

Why might exercise improve mood and cognition?

According to Williams:

“When we engage in physical activity, blood flow to the brain increases and delivers vital oxygen and nutrients. The enhanced circulation supports neurogenesis — creating new brain cells — particularly in the hippocampus, a region crucial for learning and memory. Furthermore, exercise triggers the release of endorphins and neurotransmitters with mood-boosting and pain-relieving effects, often contributing to that post-workout feeling of well-being.”

Gentle exercise, as in this study, does not increase blood flow as much as more vigorous exercise, so the study authors suggest another mechanism for the brain effects.

“The positive relationship between head acceleration and improved mood may be one of the underlying mechanisms through which very slow running promotes mental health,” they hypothesize.

This suggestion is supported by an earlier study in rats and mice, which found that head movements influenced the function of nerve cells in the brain involved in learning, cognition and mood, and suggests that gentler movements may be more beneficial for the brain than vigorous ones.

Preliminary findings should lead to more research

The authors acknowledge that this small study had limitations. They suggest that further research should compare slow running with activities such as walking, and that studies should include people other than healthy young adults. 

Williams cautioned that “the mechanisms associated with the cognitive benefits reported in this study as related to regular, everyday physical activity are less clear relative to neurotransmitter release and concentrations of factors with cognitive benefit.”

“However,” he added, “there may still be some association or correlation with increased blood flow to the brain’s frontal lobe associated with even ‘regular” physical activity. There is also likely some cognitive stimulation associated with regular physical activity that may also play a beneficial role.”

Further evidence that any activity is beneficial

Although these are preliminary findings, the authors suggest that they could “contribute to social wellbeing by encouraging people with various health conditions to keep physically and mentally active, while also maintaining their own safety, through very slow running.”

These findings add to the considerable evidence that any form of physical activity will benefit both your physical and mental health, with the best activity being the one that you can incorporate easily into your daily life and maintain over the long term.

“It’s not just about building muscle, shedding pounds, or even performing at peak levels; exercise is a potent elixir for the brain.”

– Vernon Williams, MD

• The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has stated that heart health appears to depend more on overall dietary patterns, food quality, and degree of processing than on individual nutrients or the precise proportions of macronutrients.
• The statement recommends vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fish, and other sources of healthy fats and protein, while limiting foods high in saturated fat, refined starches, added sugars, and sodium.
• Food availability, affordability, and accessibility can significantly influence diet quality, highlighting the importance of addressing food security and social factors when discussing nutrition.
• The statement also notes that maintaining adequate protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals remains important, even for individuals using newer treatments, such as GLP-1 medications.

Heart health is closely linked to dietary choices, with experts emphasizing that regular consumption of heart-healthy foods can not only help improve heart health but also lower the risk of developing heart disease by reducing risks like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Now, a new scientific statement from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) highlights the importance of overall dietary patterns for cardiovascular health, rather than focusing on individual nutrients or specific foods.

The statement, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), reviews current evidence on nutrition and cardiovascular disease, and provides recommendations for more consistent integration of nutrition to help prevent and manage heart disease.

Rather than emphasizing a particular percentage of carbohydrates, fats, or protein, the authors highlight the importance of overall dietary quality, food sources, and the degree to which foods are processed.

A shift from nutrients to heart-healthy dietary patterns

The central message of the ACC statement is that heart-healthy eating does not necessarily require following a single dietary plan or eliminating one particular nutrient, such as dietary fat or carbohydrates.

Instead, the authors emphasize maintaining a consistent dietary pattern centered on nutritious, minimally processed foods that are sustainable over time and support cardiometabolic health.

A suboptimal dietary pattern is a key risk factor cardiovascular disease. The concept of heart-healthy eating plans have evolved from a nutrient-focused approach toward food- and dietary-pattern-based strategies that better reflect what is known about the relationship between diet and cardiometabolic health.

The statement recommends emphasizing minimally processed, plant-forward foods while limiting foods that are high in refined starches, added sugars, sodium, and unhealthy fats.

The authors particularly support replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats, including those found in liquid plant oils, nuts and seeds, and fish. They also suggest prioritizing whole grains and other high-fiber foods.

Notably, two dietary patterns with substantial supporting evidence are the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.

Both dietary patterns emphasize an overall eating plan that includes foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and other sources of healthy protein, along with unsaturated fats.

The statement also recommends choosing water and other unsweetened beverages more often than sugar-sweetened drinks. They note that moderate coffee or tea consumption can fit within a healthy dietary pattern, while advising that people generally limit or avoid alcohol consumption.

Highly processed foods remain a concern

The statement also considers the potential cardiovascular implications of highly processed foods.

Rather than suggesting that all processed foods should be eliminated, the statement emphasizes the nutritional quality of foods and their degree of processing.

Highly processed foods that provide relatively little nutritional value are among those the statement recommends limiting.

This distinction is important because processing itself does not necessarily make a food unhealthy. Some forms of processing can improve food safety, preservation, or convenience.

The concern is particularly focused on foods that are highly processed and high in ingredients such as refined carbohydrates, added sugars, sodium, and unhealthy fats.

Diet, obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease are interconnected

The ACC statement also places nutrition within the broader context of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) health.

In June 2026, the ACC and the American Heart Association (AHA) published the first-ever clinical guideline on CKM syndrome, a complex health disorder linking cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The authors therefore emphasize dietary approaches that may support health across these interconnected conditions. Plant-forward eating, lower sodium intake, and limiting highly processed foods of poor nutritional quality are among the dietary priorities highlighted in the statement.

Access to healthy food matters

The authors also point out that a person’s ability to follow a healthy dietary plan depends partly on circumstances outside of individual choice.

Having access to nutritious food can be affected by factors including availability, affordability, accessibility, and the ability to use and prepare nutritious foods.

The statement recommends considering food security and social determinants of health when discussing dietary patterns. This means that dietary counseling may need to account for whether recommended foods are realistically available and affordable, rather than assuming that everyone has equal access to healthy options.

Another emerging area discussed in the statement is the use of “Food Is Medicine” programs.

These programs provide nutritious foods as part of clinical care, rather than treating food solely as a lifestyle recommendation. According to the statement, growing evidence suggests that such interventions can improve diet quality and may benefit clinical outcomes.

The authors say that broader implementation will require health systems to integrate these programs into routine care while developing approaches that are sustainable and appropriate for different populations.

What about GLP-1 medications?

The statement also addresses the growing use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which can lead to substantial weight loss and cardiovascular benefits in appropriate patients.

The authors emphasize that improving dietary quality remains important during treatment.

People taking these medications still require sufficient amounts of essential nutrients, including protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Thus, the statement emphasizes that maintaining adequate nutrient intake may help support overall health and reduce the risk of nutritional deficiencies.

FAQs with a cardiology dietitian

Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, a preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished, shares her expert advice on how people can incorporate dietary changes to help improve their heart health.

• New research finds surprising links between popular beverages, from coffee and energy drinks to bubble tea, and mental health.
• While most studies concur that sugar-sweetened drinks can increase the risk of conditions like depression and anxiety, research has consistently found multiple health benefits for one beverage — coffee.
• Researchers believe coffee’s protective effect on mood and mental health is based on multiple mechanisms, including high levels of antioxidants and flavanols.

Could your morning coffee or daily energy drink habit be affecting your mood? New research has revealed that our daily drink choices may be negatively affecting our mental health — bar one particular beverage.

A meta-analysis published in August in the journal Depression and Anxiety found that drinking nonalcoholic beverages was associated with an ​18% increased risk of depression,​ but that coffee appeared to have a protective effect.

It goes without saying that this benefit was only observed with plain coffee with minimal or no added sugar, and that heavily sweetened coffees have been linked to health risks.

The paper analyzed data from 59 studies, involving over 2 million participants across 22 countries. People who drank higher amounts of coffee had approximately a 13% lower likelihood (an odds ratio of 0.87) of experiencing depressive symptoms compared to people who drank little to no coffee.

However, this protective effect was only observed in the case of depression, and drinking more coffee did not seem to have the same effect on anxiety or stress.

Medical News Today looks at what evidence so far shows about how different beverages can affect mental health and speaks to two experts — Andrew Odegaard, MD, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics with the UCI Program in Public Health, and Jennifer Pallian, RD, BSc in Food, Nutrition and Health, both uninvolved in the study — on how sugar and coffee can vastly affect mental health.

How sugar-sweetened beverages affect mood​

Several pieces of research have linked artificially-sweetened and sugary drinks to a higher risk of mental health conditions and disorders, and more symptoms.

Pallian went on to discuss the biological mechanisms behind high sugar intake and anxiety levels, saying: “One [mechanism] is inflammation. Chronic consumption of a sugar-rich diet may increase neuroinflammatory activity in brain regions involved in the anxiety response, including increases in inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and TNF-α.”

“Sugar-sweetened beverages may also contribute to blood-glucose fluctuations and insulin resistance, which can affect brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, and neuroplasticity,” she continued.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a crucial protein that promotes the growth and maintenance of neurons, and low levels have been linked to an increased risk of depression.

Another mechanism by which sugar may affect anxiety levels is through cortisol.

“High-sugar diets may also disrupt normal cortisol rhythms and affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis, which regulates the body’s response to stress. Oxidative stress may be involved as well. High-glycemic-load diets have been associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and oxidative stress,” she explained.

High-sugar diets and poor fructose absorption can also lower serotonin levels in the body, which can negatively impact mood regulation, Pallian added.

Coffee may help reduce depression risk

Past research has found that drinking coffee can have a protective effect on mental health. One particular study found that drinking 4 cups of coffee daily can reduce depression risk in women as much as 20%. The recent meta-analysis adds to the growing evidence that coffee may have depression-reducing effects.

But how exactly does coffee achieve this protective effect? One way researchers think coffee has this effect is through caffeine and its influence on neurotransmitters in the brain.

Caffeine blocks adenosine, a neurotransmitter involved in us feeling sleepy and sluggish brain, which naturally triggers higher levels of dopamine and serotonin — two neurotransmitters essential for motivation, pleasure, and happiness.

Another possible working mechanism is the high antioxidant content in coffee. Antioxidants like chlorogenic acid can help calm down inflammation in the brain, which is a major trigger for depression.

“Coffee has a whole host of bioactive components and people who drink it habitually are doing so for a reason – to stay alert, enjoyment, social aspects etc. All things which are actually useful for thinking about preventing/mitigating depressive symptoms,” Odegaard said.

Do other caffeinated drinks have mental health benefits?

A question that comes to mind when looking at such data is whether other caffeine-containing drinks may have similar effects. Pallian said caffeine alone is not enough to explain coffee’s mental health benefits.

“[Coffee includes] phenolic compounds, alkaloids and melanoidins, as well as chlorogenic acid and trigonelline, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties,” she said.

“Caffeine may account for part of the association as well. As a central nervous system stimulant, caffeine affects dopamine activity through adenosine receptors and, at moderate intakes, may improve psychomotor activity, alertness, and feelings of energy. Higher dietary caffeine intake has also been associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms.”

– Jennifer Pallian, RD, BSc

However, Pallian underscored that the findings are not the same for every caffeinated drink.

“Some studies have linked black tea and other types of tea with a lower risk of depression, while others have found no significant association. Energy drinks, on the other hand, have been positively associated with depression. Caffeine may therefore be one factor, but the other ingredients and bioactive compounds in a beverage may matter as well,” she said.

Does caffeine amount matter?

Although this particular meta-analysis did not address this question, prior research has examined this link.

“In one study, intake of 450–600 mg [milligrams] per day was associated with a substantially lower risk of depression than intake of 0–300 mg, while higher intakes did not show the same apparent benefit,” Pallian said.

“Research also shows that although caffeine may reduce depression risk and improve general mental health at some levels of intake, high doses may increase anxiety and stress,” she said, adding that the health benefits seem to depend on both the source of caffeine and the amount consumed.

Are sugar-free versions of drinks healthier?

On the topic of replacing sugary drinks with sugar-free or artificially sweetened alternatives, experts agree that they aren’t necessarily better for mental health.

“In [this study], artificially sweetened beverages were positively associated with depression, with an odds ratio of 1.30. Similar associations were found for sugar-sweetened beverages (1.29), bubble tea (2.62), soft drinks (1.39), and energy drinks (1.30). In other words, replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners did not eliminate the observed association with depression,” Pallian told us.

Overall, the study adds to evidence that unsweetened coffee may help protect mental health and that sugar-sweetened drinks may increase risk. As with anything, different individuals may experience different effects, and moderation is key.

It is also important to note that mental health is affected by multiple factors, including genetics and lifestyle, and beverage choices are just one part of the puzzle.

• Recent research suggests that higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) may more effectively reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes compared with lower MVPA levels.
• These findings were strongest in adults 62 years or younger, though older adults still saw benefits in reducing the risk.
• Experts advise that aerobic exercise and resistance training can be beneficial in helping reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and manage prediabetes.

Physical inactivity is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes. There are around 40 million people in the United States with some type of diabetes, and type 2 diabetes accounts for around 90% to 95% of all diabetes cases.

Type 2 diabetes can develop if the body does not make enough insulin or if it does not respond to insulin correctly. Overweight, age, and conditions such as prediabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are also risk factors.

New research published in August in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism suggests that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), in particular, could help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in adults.

The researchers examined data from almost 88,000 participants in the UK Biobank. They found that individuals in the lower-MVPA group had twice the relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those in the higher-MVPA group.

The largest relative risk reduction was observed in adults under 63 years of age.

Higher MVPA could significantly reduce risk of type 2 diabetes

With a hazard ratio of 2.07, lower MVPA volume was associated with almost twice the risk of type 2 diabetes compared with higher MVPA volume.

The higher MVPA group accumulated a median of 409 minutes of exercise per week. The study authors note that all participants in this group met the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week.

The lower MVPA group accumulated a median of 121 minutes of exercise per week. Around 37% of participants in this group reached the WHO’s minimum recommendation of 150 minutes per week.

Opel Baker, MBChB, general practitioner at the Mayfield Clinic, spoke with Medical News Today about the significance of these findings.

“An HR of 2.07 is clinically meaningful. […] Importantly, this is an observational study, so it shows a strong association rather than proving that lower activity directly caused diabetes,” said Baker, who was not involved in the study.

“Nevertheless,” Baker added, “it reinforces something we see in general practice: physical activity is one of the most powerful and accessible tools we have for improving insulin sensitivity and reducing diabetes risk.”

David Cutler, MD, board certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was also not involved in the study, told MNT:

“An HR of 2.07 doesn’t mean that an individual person’s probability of diabetes literally doubles. It means that the rate of developing diabetes was approximately twice as high in the lower-activity group after adjustment.”

He added, “This data reinforces the message that physical activity isn’t merely a treatment for diabetes — it is an important component of diabetes prevention. This is not new information. Regular exercise improves insulin sensitivity, helps control visceral fat, improves skeletal-muscle glucose uptake, and favorably affects lipid metabolism.”

Adults 62 years or younger saw greatest risk reduction

The study found that the relationship between physical activity levels and type 2 diabetes was stronger among younger adults.

Compared with people who had higher levels of MVPA, those aged 62.7 years or younger with lower levels of MVPA were 2.44 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Among adults aged 62.7 or older with low MVPA, they were 1.65 times more likely to develop the condition.

‘[O]ne of the most interesting findings in this study is the impact of age on the benefits of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity,” said Cutler.

“At first glance, the lower HR (hazard ratio) in older participants (1.65 vs 2.44 in younger participants) might suggest exercise is less beneficial in the elderly. But those numbers can be misleading. The authors found that, although the relative association became weaker with age, the absolute difference in diabetes incidence became larger with age. That’s an important clinical distinction.”

Baker also spoke with MNT about these findings.

“What I find particularly interesting is that the relationship wasn’t identical across different age groups. The relative association between lower activity and diabetes risk was stronger in younger participants. […] But that doesn’t mean exercise becomes less important as we age,” he said.

“In fact, the absolute difference in diabetes rates between the more and less active groups became larger with age. It suggests that staying active throughout life may be particularly important because baseline diabetes risk rises with age. It is never too late to become more active,” he added.

Prediabetes management with higher MVPA

The study authors note that higher MVPA volume was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes among people with prediabetes.

Baker said that exercise with prediabetes should be thought of as “management rather than simply prevention.”

He explained that “[e]xercise improves insulin sensitivity, meaning the body becomes better at using glucose. For someone with prediabetes, increasing activity can therefore help bring blood glucose back toward the normal range and reduce progression to type 2 diabetes.”

He added, “The important point is that there isn’t necessarily a completely different exercise prescription for someone with prediabetes. The starting point should be realistic and sustainable, then gradually built up according to the person’s fitness, health, and goals. Strength training is also valuable because maintaining and building muscle helps with glucose disposal.”

Does the exercise type and duration matter?

The research did not focus on the type of exercise. Instead, it looked at the intensity of the workouts, with greater amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity generally yielding stronger results.

Cutler advises that, “[f]or diabetes prevention, there is good rationale for combining aerobic exercise (brisk walking, cycling, swimming, jogging, hiking) with resistance exercise (weights, resistance machines, bands, body weight exercises).”

He added that “[r]esistance exercise is particularly interesting because skeletal muscle is a major site of glucose disposal. Increasing or maintaining muscle mass and improving muscle insulin sensitivity can therefore be metabolically important.”

The study authors found that participants in the higher MVPA group had a median of 409 minutes of exercise each week, compared with 121 minutes in the lower MVPA group.

We asked Baker how achievable these numbers are for the average person compared with the WHO’s recommendation of 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week for optimal health and well-being.

“I wouldn’t want people to look at the 409-minute figure and think they have failed if they aren’t exercising for nearly seven hours a week. That was the median activity level of the higher-MVPA group in this particular study, not a recommended target,” Baker explained.

“The researchers also defined their higher and lower activity groups according to the age-specific median, rather than using 409 minutes as a clinical threshold. For the average adult, 150 minutes of moderate activity a week remains a very sensible and achievable target, alongside muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days.”

• Compared to what data from 27 years ago indicates, while cases of stroke are, overall, declining in the United States, younger adults are now more likely to experience these cardiovascular events.
• According to a large U.S. population study, adults aged 20 to 54 years are nearly twice as likely to experience a stroke compared to adults in the same age bracket 27 years ago.
• The most common type of stroke among these younger populations is ischemic stroke, the study also found.

A research team led by scientists at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, recently set out to analyze stroke incidence data to see how trends in these cardiovascular events have evolved over time and published their findings in the journal Neurology.

The team examined stroke cases requiring hospitalization in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region across six time periods: July 1993–June 1994, and the calendar years of 1999, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020.

Previous findings indicated that the overall incidence of stroke cases had declined over the 27-year study period. However, the current analysis suggested that strokes had actually become more common among younger adult populations, ages 20 to 54.

Specifically, they noted an increase from 33.9 cases per 100,000 person-years in 1993-1994 to 62.2 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2020 among these younger populations.

Most of the stroke cases among younger adults, the researchers also noted, were of ischemic stroke, whose rates increased from 23.8 cases per 100,000 person-years in 1993-1994 to 47.3 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2020.

Speaking to Medical News Today, David Robinson, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, who is the senior author of the study, explained:

“We have a long-running research study in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region that has been monitoring the burden of stroke in the United States since 1988. We have observed clear declines in the overall number of people who experience strokes, which is a great testament to all the public health efforts that have targeted prevention of this disease and should be celebrated; however, even as the total number declined, the people who were having strokes were getting younger and younger.”

“We wanted to understand why that was happening,” Robinson told us. “At the same time, data from death certificates in the United States suggested that stroke was more commonly being listed as a cause of death in younger people.”

“Death certificate data is really hard to interpret,” he pointed out. “More deaths with stroke listed as the cause can be the result of stroke becoming more common, or it can reflect changes in how physicians fill the certificates out, or it can be related to a higher proportion of more severe strokes leading to death.”

“Our study [was] able to look at younger individuals with stroke in a more granular way over a very long period of time. We also felt that any changes in this age group were really important to study in general. Stroke is devastating at any age, but it is particularly challenging in younger people since they are still in their prime working years and may have young families to care for,” said the researcher.

Why has stroke become more common among younger adults?

“There may not be one simple explanation why strokes are rising in young individuals,” said Robinson.

According to him, “there is no doubt that several ‘traditional’ stroke risk factors are rising in younger adults, including high blood pressure and diabetes, and we saw that in our study population as well.”

“High blood pressure has one of the closest relationships with stroke of any risk factor, so this could be part of the story,” he noted. Nevertheless, the study author hypothesized that there are more factors at play here:

“It’s well known that obesity and sedentary lifestyles have become dramatically more common over the last 3 decades, and this could certainly contribute to what we saw. We also noted a much higher rate of illicit substance use in our population over time, with the most common substance being marijuana [cannabis]. There is some evidence that marijuana use can increase your risk of stroke, but it remains unclear whether it is a strong enough independent risk factor to explain the rising burden we observed.”

“All of these factors will need to be studied in more depth,” he told us.

Walavan Sivakumar, MD, a board certified neurosurgeon, director of neurosurgery, and chief of staff at Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance, CA, who was not involved in this study, advanced a similar hypothesis about the findings.

Like Robinson, Sivakumar believes that “the increase in stroke among younger adults is likely multifactorial.” He also noted that “the study points to a concerning rise in traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation.”

“These conditions are increasingly being diagnosed in younger adults and can significantly increase stroke risk,” the neurosurgeon explained.

He also expressed concern about the apparent rise in cannabis use and potentially that of illicit stimulant drugs among younger populations.

“While this association does not prove that marijuana itself causes stroke, it is a pattern that warrants further investigation, particularly when combined with stimulant use such as cocaine or methamphetamine, which have much stronger and more established associations with stroke,” he told MNT.

What can younger adults do to lower their stroke risk?

Speaking of what individuals can do to decrease their risk of stroke, Robinson advised following the American Heart Association (AHA)’s “Life’s Essential 8” guidelines, “specifically, controlling blood pressure, avoiding tobacco use, eating better, sleeping better, controlling blood sugar, controlling cholesterol, managing weight, and being as active as possible.”

“Addressing these issues can not only reduce your risk of a stroke in the near term, but can go along way toward keeping you healthy once you get older,” Robinson explained.

“Prevention really is the best tool that we have. If I were to recommend one thing, it would be to look for opportunities to screen for high blood pressure, which is often asymptomatic early on and can do a lot of damage before you are diagnosed,” the study author concluded.

Sivakumar concurred, noting that “adults should have their blood pressure and blood sugar checked regularly and work with their physicians to address abnormalities rather than assuming they are too young to be at risk.”

Early signs of stroke

“People who experience palpitations or have other risk factors or a family history of heart rhythm disorders should discuss whether evaluation for an irregular heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation, is appropriate. It is also important to be candid with your physician about substance use, including marijuana and stimulants, so that it can be considered as part of your overall risk profile.”
— Walavan Sivakumar, MD

“Finally, everyone should know the warning signs of stroke, including sudden facial drooping, arm weakness, or difficulty speaking,” stressed the neurosurgeon. “These symptoms require immediate medical attention regardless of a person’s age. Rapid treatment can save brain function and improve outcomes.”

Stroke research: Where to next?

Like Robinson, Sivakumar expressed that the current study suggests there is dire need of further research to confirm why exactly cardiovascular risk factors “are becoming more prevalent in younger adults and how strongly each factor contributes to stroke risk.”

“It would also be valuable to investigate the increasing incidence of atrial fibrillation and cardioembolic stroke in younger adults,” he noted.

“Understanding whether earlier screening for cardiovascular risk factors or heart rhythm abnormalities could identify people at increased risk before they experience a stroke could have important implications for prevention,” Sivakumar explained.

Furthermore, the neurosurgeon commented that longer-term studies should examine whether earlier intervention targeting key modifiable risk factors “can reverse these trends.”

“The fact that stroke survival is improving is encouraging, but preventing strokes in the first place, particularly among younger adults, should remain a major goal,” he stressed.

• Researchers in a new study examined the long-term risk of dementia following a transient ischemic attack.
• People who experienced a transient ischemic attack, also known as a mini-stroke, had a 34% higher overall risk of dementia than people without a mini-stroke or stroke.
• The finding was a correlation, though, and did not establish causation.
• About one in five participants who experienced a mini-stroke received a dementia diagnosis during a follow-up of around 7 years.

A transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke, occurs when blood flow to part of the brain becomes temporarily blocked, which causes stroke-like symptoms.

Even though symptoms typically clear up fairly quickly, a mini-stroke is still a medical emergency as it can precede having a stroke.

The authors of a new study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, note that most research on post-mini-stroke care mainly focuses on stroke prevention, so they wanted to take a closer look at dementia after a transient ischemic attack.

Their observational study found an association between mini-strokes and a higher long-term risk of dementia.

What to know about mini-strokes

According to the American Stroke Association, around 240,000 people in the United States have a mini-stroke each year. Nearly one in five people with a suspected transient ischemic attack have a stroke within 90 days.

The symptoms of a transient ischemic attack are similar to those of a stroke and can include:

• weakness or numbness on one side of the body
• dizziness
• severe headache with no identifiable cause
• difficulty speaking
• vision changes.

To learn more about dementia risk following a transient ischemic attack, the research team analyzed 20 years of healthcare data. The study included more than 110,000 people who had their first mini-stroke.

The participants had an average age of 70, and about half were women. The team did not include anyone who had a history of a prior stroke or dementia.

The researchers matched each participant from the transient ischemic attack group with a person from the general population who had not experienced a mini-stroke or stroke.

The team also compared around 100,000 people who had had a transient ischemic attack with matched participants who had experienced a first stroke. This helped the researchers to examine how dementia risk compared between the two groups.

Dementia risk remained elevated

During follow-up, 19.3% of participants who had had a transient ischemic attack received a diagnosis of dementia, compared with 15.2% of matched participants without a mini-stroke or stroke history.

After accounting for health and demographic factors, the researchers associated transient ischemic attacks with a 34% higher overall dementia risk. The risk was 75% higher during the first year and was elevated throughout 20 years of follow-up.

Study author Raed Joundi, MD, DPhil, told Medical News Today that the early increase may partly be due to people having follow-up medical care.

“What is particularly interesting is that the increased risk did not disappear after that early period but remained elevated over the long term,” Joundi said.

Compared with participants who experienced a stroke, those who had had a transient ischemic attack had a 33% lower dementia risk during the first year.

However, this difference narrowed, and the two groups developed new dementia diagnoses at similar rates after about 5 years.

Among participants with a history of mini-stroke, dementia also occurred about three times as often as a subsequent stroke. Accounting for strokes that occurred during follow-up only modestly weakened the association between mini-strokes and dementia.

One limitation was that the study did not include detailed brain imaging or cognitive testing, so researchers could not identify the type of dementia that the participants developed.

Joundi emphasized that increased risk does not mean dementia is inevitable.

“Someone who has a [transient ischemic attack] is not destined to develop dementia; most people in our study did not develop dementia,” he said.

Even though the study does not establish that transient ischemic attacks cause dementia, the association may be clinically significant enough to warrant closer attention to cognitive health during post-mini-stroke care.

Transient ischemic attack may signal broader risks

Christopher Yi, MD, a board-certified vascular surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, who was not involved in the study, told MNT that the findings broaden how clinicians should view transient ischemic attacks.

“This study suggests that we also need to think about the long-term risk of cognitive decline and dementia,” said Yi.

Since the study was observational, Yi cautioned that it could not establish that a transient ischemic attack directly causes dementia.

Instead, he said that mini-strokes may indicate underlying vascular or brain disease that contributes to both conditions.

Yi noted that while the findings do not establish a need for formal cognitive testing, clinicians could consider establishing a cognitive baseline and asking patients and families about changes.

“A [transient ischemic attack] should never be dismissed simply because the symptoms went away,” he emphasized.

• Higher glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA) levels were linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, according to a recent study.
• Trunk fat, smoking, and psychological distress were associated with higher GlycA levels, while lower GlycA levels were more common with regular physical activity and a healthier diet.
• Experts explain that, while genetics can impact inflammation in the body, lifestyle changes such as diet quality and physical activity are important for everyone.

Researchers estimate that around 34% of adults in the United States have systemic inflammation, which is associated with cardiovascular disease and related mortality.

Experts do not fully understand how inflammation can lead to changes in the structure and function of the heart.

A recent study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology analyzed data from almost half a million people, measuring chronic inflammation using a marker called glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA) to determine its potential relationship with heart health.

The researchers also examined how environmental factors such as smoking could affect inflammation, as well as the role genetics might play in the susceptibility to cardiovascular disease.

Higher GlycA levels could indicate heart problems

The researchers analyzed GlycA measurements in 488,079 UK Biobank participants. They found that people with higher GlycA levels were more likely to have a smaller volume in the heart’s left ventricle.

Higher GlycA was also associated with increased wall thickness and reduced diastolic function.

The findings also suggest that GlycA levels are associated with a higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), such as:

• heart attack
• stroke
• heart failure

Cheng-Han Chen, MD, board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA spoke with Medical News Today about the study’s findings.

“In this study, people with the highest GlycA levels had a 43% higher risk of experiencing a major cardiovascular event compared with those who had the lowest levels. That is a meaningful difference and adds to the evidence that GlycA may provide useful information about cardiovascular risk,” said Chen, who was not involved in the study.

However, Chen added, “these findings do not establish that elevated GlycA directly causes cardiovascular events, so further research is needed to determine its role as a prognostic biomarker.”

Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, a preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished, who was also not involved in the study, also shared some thoughts with MNT.

“In clinical practice, I would view GlycA as one piece of the puzzle, alongside ApoB or LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, visceral adiposity, smoking status, and overall cardiovascular history. It is a risk marker, not a diagnosis or treatment target on its own,” she explained.

Higher GlycA caused by trunk fat, smoking, psychological distress

According to the study findings, factors that were more likely to result in higher GlycA levels include:

• trunk fat
• currently smoking
• psychological distress
• low socioeconomic status

Depression, visceral fat, and android fat distribution (fat stored in the abdomen, chest, and upper body) were also more likely to lead to higher levels of inflammation.

Routhenstein explained that “[t]hese findings matter because they show how closely inflammation is tied to everyday factors that affect heart health. Extra fat surrounding the midsection is metabolically active and linked with inflammation and poorer blood sugar control.”

She said, “Smoking increases inflammation and damages blood vessels, adding to cardiovascular risk. Ongoing stress can affect sleep, physical activity, food choices, and smoking habits, so it is important to look at the whole person.”

Chen added, “This is consistent with our broader understanding that persistent inflammation can contribute to processes involved in cardiovascular disease.”

Lower GlycA associated with physical activity, healthier diets

Higher levels of physical activity and consuming a healthier diet were associated with lower GlycA levels, the study authors found.

They also determined that higher socioeconomic status was associated with lower GlycA levels.

“Regular physical activity and a heart-healthy diet have been associated with lower levels of chronic inflammation and better cardiovascular health. Therefore, it is reasonable that this study found these healthy lifestyle factors were associated with lower GlycA levels,” explained Chen.

“While this does not prove that lowering GlycA itself will prevent cardiovascular events, it reinforces the importance of established lifestyle measures for reducing overall cardiovascular risk,” he added.

Routhenstein said that these findings are “not surprising because we know that regular physical activity and a nutrient-dense, minimally processed diet can support blood sugar control, reduce harmful abdominal fat, and help lower inflammation.”

She added that “[t]he encouraging takeaway is that heart-healthy habits can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving metabolic health, inflammation, and heart-related risk factors.”

Genetics could influence cardiovascular disease risk

The study researchers also examined whether genetics could affect the relationship between inflammation and environmental exposures.

They found that genetic susceptibility “significantly modifies” this relationship.

“A person’s inflammatory profile may reflect both inherited characteristics and factors such as diet, physical activity, smoking, body composition, stress, and other environmental exposures,” said Chen.

“Understanding how these factors interact may help us better identify and manage cardiovascular risk in the future,” he added.

Routhenstein also spoke with MNT about this finding.

“I think this is an important and empowering reminder that cardiovascular risk is not simply genetics versus lifestyle. Our genes may influence how strongly our bodies respond to factors such as abdominal fat, smoking, diet, stress, or physical inactivity, but they do not determine our future on their own,” she explained.

“The important message is that the factors we can change through science-based nutrition, including diet quality, physical activity, smoking cessation, sleep, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol management, remain worthwhile for everyone, regardless of genetic background.”

• A recent review found that cefepime, a cephalosporin antibiotic, was associated with increased mortality compared with other β-lactam antibiotics.
• The review authors observed that the increased risk of death was seen in adults taking cefepime. However, it did not appear to increase the risk in children.
• Experts note that cefepime remains a viable choice for broad antibacterial treatment in life-threatening illnesses, but the potential mortality signal should be considered when framing its role in clinical practice.

Cefepime was associated with a higher risk of death than other β-lactam antibiotics, according to a recent review.

Cefepime is a cephalosporin antibiotic for the treatment of conditions such as:

• pneumonia
• urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• bacterial meningitis

Now, the review published in September in JAMA Network Open found that the widely used antibiotic may be associated with more deaths than other, similar medications.

An increased risk was noted in adults taking cefepime, though the antibiotic did not appear to increase the risk of mortality in children.

The researchers note the importance of raising awareness of the possible risks of cefepime when considering its use in clinical practice.

Cefepime associated with higher mortality

The review authors found that 778 of the 11,726 people who received cefepime — or 6.6% — died.

This compares with 6.2% in those receiving a different type of β-lactam antibiotic.

This means that there was a difference of 4 deaths per 1,000 people, when comparing cefepime with other β-lactams.

David Michalik, DO, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital, Long Beach, CA, spoke with Medical News Today.

“[Cefepime] remains a viable choice when a patient needs broad antibacterial treatment for what is often a life-threatening illness. This study is broad in its scope, including many different international studies with patients of all ages and suffering from different illnesses,” said Michalik, who was not involved in the review.

“While [the review authors] note a higher risk of death with all studies included across all ages and medical conditions, the broad scope makes it difficult to state cefepime use is more likely to lead to death compared [with] other beta-lactam antibiotics.”

Adults taking cefepime had an increased risk of mortality

The researchers found differences between age groups taking cefepime.

In the analysis, adults taking cefepime had an 18% higher risk of mortality.

However, among children taking cefepime, there was no evidence to suggest that cefepime was more or less harmful than other β-lactam antibiotics.”

“The authors do not state any specific reason to explain a mortality difference between cefepime use in adults and children,” Michalik said.

“Given the number of confounders in the included trials, along with the complexity of conditions as well as challenges with pharmacokinetics in children, it is difficult to assume there is some protective variable that children have and adults do not.”

19% higher mortality risk with febrile neutropenia

The researchers observed a potential association between cefepime use and the risk of mortality among certain conditions.

The review noted that the chance of an increased risk of death with cefepime was around:

• 19% in cases of febrile neutropenia
• 19% in cases of severe bacterial infections
• 11% in cases of pneumonia
• 10% in cases of meningitis
• 33% in cases of urinary tract infection

However, Michalik described these particular categories as “challenging to interpret and compare.”

He explained that “‘fever neutropenia’ refers to a patient with fever who has low neutrophils and is therefore susceptible to many pathogens, and ‘severe bacterial infection’ is a subjective label given to patients by their physicians for any number of reasons.” 

He added, “The other categories of pneumonia, meningitis, and urinary tract infection could all potentially be labeled as a severe bacterial infection.  Therefore, the percent difference of harm as well as odds ratio are challenging to infer concrete differences.”

Should clinicians change the way they approach cefepime?

The review authors advise that “the potential mortality signal associated with cefepime should be considered when framing its role in clinical practice guidance.”

Michalik said that “[t]his systematic review does lend caution to the start of cefepime for hospitalized patients. It is fair to make this conclusion, not exclusively because of the results of this study, but also because this antibiotic remains one of the few remaining broad antibacterials clinicians have available for treating complex and serious infections.”

He added, “All antibiotics should be used with caution, and both clinicians and patients should be clear in what antibiotic is being used and for what indication. Humanity is living in an era where multi-drug-resistant pathogens are widespread, something that affects every living thing on this planet.”

Michalik concluded, :”Antibacterials have their place, but they should only be prescribed when necessary. So much is at stake.”

• A new study suggests that higher ultra-processed food (UPF) intake was associated with greater risks of several health problems, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, digestive diseases, depression, anxiety, and death from any cause.
• The findings suggest that every additional 100 grams of UPFs consumed per day was associated with a 14% higher risk of cardiovascular events, 11% higher risk of high blood pressure, 4% higher cancer risk, 3% higher risk of death from any cause, and 2% higher risk of metabolic syndrome/diabetes.
• The researchers suggest that additives and compounds formed during processing may affect the gut microbiome and contribute to inflammation or insulin resistance, although the mechanisms are not yet fully understood.
• However, the analysis relied in part on self-reported dietary information and could not fully account for broader lifestyle factors, so the findings do not establish cause and effect.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are generally ready-to-eat or heat-and-serve products that have undergone extensive industrial processing.

They often contain additives and tend to be relatively high in calories, sugar and salt, while containing less dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals than minimally processed foods.

Common examples include packaged snacks, processed meat products, sugary drinks, and some ready-made meals.

Consumption of these foods has increased substantially in many parts of the world in recent decades, prompting researchers to investigate associations between UPF consumption and health risks.

Now, a large analysis of previous research suggests that eating larger amounts of UPFs may be associated with an increased risk of several chronic health conditions.

The analysis, published in Family Medicine and Community Health, found that higher UPF consumption was associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity and overweight, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, depression and anxiety, digestive diseases, high blood pressure, and death from any cause.

Higher UPF intake associated with several health risks

For the new analysis, researchers searched databases for relevant studies published up until the end of April 2026. They identified 51 prospective cohort studies that met their criteria.

The studies were conducted in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania and included a total of 8,819,894 participants. Participants had average ages ranging from 23 to 77 years, while follow-up periods ranged from 2 to 32 years.

Researchers assessed participants’ UPF consumption using methods including food-frequency questionnaires, 24-hour dietary recalls, and dietary histories. They examined the relationship between UPF consumption and several health outcomes.

Overall, people consuming more ultra-processed food had higher risks of several chronic health conditions and death from any cause.

Compared with lower consumption, higher UPF intake was associated with:

• 24% higher risk of cardiovascular events
• 12% higher risk of cancer
• 23% higher risk of obesity or overweight
• 24% higher risk of metabolic syndrome or diabetes
• 27% higher risk of depression or anxiety
• 31% higher risk of digestive diseases
• 18% higher risk of death from any cause.

The researchers also examined whether risk changed with increasing amounts of UPF consumption. For every additional 100 grams (g) of UPFs consumed per day, they found an associated:

• 14% higher risk of cardiovascular events
• 11% higher risk of high blood pressure
• 4% higher risk of cancer
• 3% higher risk of death from any cause
• 2% higher risk of metabolic syndrome or diabetes.

The analysis also found that every 10% increase in weight or energy intake was associated with a 16% higher risk of metabolic syndrome or diabetes.

“I wasn’t surprised to see ultra-processed foods linked to so many different diseases,” lead author David Xiao Liu, MD, PhD, Department of Cardiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, told Medical News Today.

“There had already been quite a few individual studies reporting associations between ultra-processed food and specific conditions — our meta-analysis brought all of that together in one place,” Liu added.

“Ultra-processed foods affect the body through multiple pathways simultaneously — excess sugar, salt, and calories; food additives; loss of nutrients during processing; and contaminants introduced by packaging — so it makes sense that the health consequences would show up across many organ systems rather than just one.”

– David Xiao Liu, MD, PhD

However, it is important to note that these figures describe associations rather than proof that ultra-processed foods directly cause these conditions.

Why might ultra-processed foods affect health?

The researchers point to several possible explanations. UPFs can contain combinations of additives and other ingredients that may affect health. Previous research has also suggested that combining multiple additives could produce what experts call a potential “cocktail effect.”

“The “cocktail effect” refers to the idea that it’s not just individual additives that matter, but what happens when multiple additives combine and interact inside the body,” Liu explained to MNT.

“A French cohort study of about 100,000 people found that people’s exposure to different food additives tends to cluster into recognizable patterns — people aren’t exposed to just one additive at a time, but to whole mixtures. And there’s evidence these combinations can be more harmful together than any single ingredient alone,” he told us.

“For example, a mix of food colorings and sodium benzoate has been linked to increased ADHD symptoms in children. Animal studies have found that combinations of dyes like Brilliant Blue with flavor enhancers like glutamate and sweeteners like aspartame may have greater neurotoxic effects than any of them individually,” said Liu.

“This is still an area that needs much more research — we need larger human studies specifically designed to tease apart how different additive combinations interact,” he cautioned.

Other research also indicates that the physical and chemical changes involved in extensive food processing may affect the gut microbiome and potentially contribute to processes such as inflammation and insulin resistance.

“There’s already substantial research showing that different foods have distinct effects on gut microbial composition,” Liu noted.

“The additives and preservatives in ultra-processed foods may have particularly strong effects on gut bacteria, altering the structure of the microbiome in ways that promote chronic inflammation and disease — not just digestive conditions, but potentially cardiovascular disease and other systemic illnesses as well. This is an important area for future research.”

– David Xiao Liu, MD, PhD

Certain compounds produced during food processing may also be relevant. For example, acrylamide can form when some foods are exposed to high temperatures, while acrolein can be produced when fats are heated.

Research suggests that both of these compounds have been associated with cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the precise mechanisms linking UPF consumption with long-term health remain an area of ongoing research.

“Nutritional content is certainly a big part of the picture — the high sugar, high salt, and excess calories in these foods are well-established risk factors,” Liu added.

“But processing itself adds additional concerns,” he told us. “For one, it introduces a range of additives: A study published in Nature Medicine found that artificial sweetener commonly used in sugary drinks can increase platelet aggregation, promoting blood clotting and raising heart disease risk.”

“For another, the processing itself causes loss of beneficial nutrients like vitamins. And then there’s the packaging — processing and packaging can introduce microplastics, which research now shows accumulate widely in the human body and may contribute to cardiovascular and other diseases,” he continued.

“That said, it’s very difficult to quantify exactly how much each of these factors contributes to disease, because ‘ultra-processed food’ covers an enormous range of products, each with different additives, different processing methods, and different packaging — so it’s hard to assign a precise share of blame to any single mechanism,” Liu admitted.

The findings have important limitations

While highlighting an association, the study cannot establish that eating ultra-processed foods directly causes chronic disease or premature death.

One important limitation is that all of the included studies relied on participants’ dietary assessments. Food-frequency questionnaires and dietary recalls can be affected by difficulties accurately remembering or estimating food intake.

The researchers also excluded people younger than 18, meaning the findings cannot necessarily be applied to children or adolescents.

Additionally, people who eat more UPFs may differ from those who consume less in several other ways. Diet is often part of a broader pattern of lifestyle and behavior. This means that researchers may not be able to completely account for how every factor other than UPF intake could affect long-term health.

What does this mean for diet?

The findings add to a growing body of research examining potential links between UPF consumption and long-term health.

Rather than focusing on a single food or ingredient, the researchers suggest that reducing UPF consumption and replacing these foods with minimally processed alternatives could be relevant to chronic disease prevention and primary care.

For individuals, this could mean emphasizing foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and other minimally processed foods, while considering how frequently UPFs appear in their overall dietary plan.

“One challenge is that most countries don’t yet have labeling that tells consumers whether a food is ultra-processed — currently, only Colombia has introduced that kind of UPF national labeling,” Liu highlighted. “Most food labels focus on nutrient content, and while those can be a useful reference — choosing foods with better nutritional profiles is a reasonable starting point — they don’t directly tell you about the degree of processing.”

“What I’d recommend is focusing on building healthier eating habits overall: Eat more fresh vegetables and fruit, choose whole grains and other minimally refined foods, and cut back on fast food, deep-fried snacks, and heavily processed convenience foods. It’s less about following a strict rule and more about gradually shifting your diet toward foods that are closer to their natural form.”

– David Xiao Liu, MD, PhD

More research is still necessary to determine which types of UPFs are most strongly associated with particular health outcomes, whether there are specific consumption thresholds, and how much of the observed risk is attributable to processing itself versus the nutritional composition and broader lifestyle patterns associated with UPF consumption.

• A recent meta-analysis of data from more than 1.9 million participants across 23 trials suggests that there is a high incidence of gastrointestinal issues among people with ADHD.
• Strikingly, people with ADHD have an almost 50% increase in gastrointestinal problems, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), compared with neurotypical peers.
• So far, though, the link remains unexplained.

A new review and meta-analysis conducted by a research team from the Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, in Coventry, United Kingdom, confirms a striking association.

The review, which looked at data from 23 studies totaling more than 1.9 million participants between them, found a strong link between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the experience of a varied array of gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders.

People with ADHD had a heightened likelihood of developing “every [gastrointestinal] symptom investigated,” the authors write in the paper, which appears in the Journal of Attention Disorders.

Speaking to Medical News Today, co-lead review author Sarah Blake, a medical student at Warwick Medical School, explained that her and her colleagues’ interest in this topic stemmed both from intriguing clues provided by previous research, and from some of the researchers’ own experience.

“Hugo [co-lead author Hugo Cannon, MBBS] and I came to this topic from different perspectives,” Blake told us. “My interest grew from research I encountered during my undergraduate degree, while Hugo’s interest was additionally shaped by personal experience.”

“Previous research had suggested connections between ADHD and gastrointestinal problems. We wanted to bring together the evidence on individual gut symptoms and conditions to understand which specifically were more common in people with ADHD and how consistent the findings were across studies. We hoped this would help clinicians recognise coexiting problems and help researchers identify questions that future studies need to answer.”
— Sarah Blake

58% higher odds of IBS among people with ADHD

The systematic review looked at studies conducted in 11 countries, including the United States, South Korea, Sweden, Greece, India, and Iran.

The populations covered in the studies included participants of all ages, from ages 2 to 65.

“Overall, ADHD diagnosis was associated with a statistically significant 48% increase in [gastrointestinal] symptom odds compared to the neurotypical population,” the review found.

The odds of experiencing specific gastrointestinal issues were even higher among ADHDers:

• 97% higher odds of constipation, compared to neurotypical participants
• 58% higher odds of developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• over four times higher odds of encopresis, or loss of bowel control
• 52% higher odds of dyspepsia, or indigestion
• more than twice the odds of diarrhea
• and an 88% higher likelihood of abdominal pain.

Why are gastrointestinal problems so common in ADHD?

While the link between ADHD and gastrointestinal problems is strikingly strong, based on the available data, it remains unclear why these neurodivergent populations face such high odds of issues like IBS, indigestion, and abdominal pain.

Speaking to MNT, Blake hypothesized that the gut-brain axis may hold the key to answering this particular research question.

“Research into communication between the gut and brain (the gut-brain axis), and alterations in the gut microbiome, suggested this review may be worthwhile,” she told us.

Blake even suggested that the increase in gut problems may be a common experience across different neurodivergent populations.

“There have also been well-described findings around the increase in experienced [gastrointestinal] symptoms in autism spectrum disorders compared to those without,” she pointed out, adding, however, that the research team preferred to keep their review targeted and specific for the time being, to avoid confusion.

Sensory issues, stress, diet, and medication may all play a role

Sylvia Baker, MRCpsych, consultant psychiatrist at Re:Cognition Health, who was not involved in the recent review, explained that the link between ADHD and gut problems is likely to have a very complex explanation.

“The relationship between ADHD and gastrointestinal symptoms is likely to be complex rather than having one single explanation. We know that ADHD can affect much more than attention and concentration, with difficulties around emotional regulation, impulsivity, routines, eating patterns, and sleep all potentially playing a role in physical health,” Baker said.

“One possibility,” she suggested, “is that some of the behavioral characteristics associated with ADHD can directly influence the gut.”

“People with ADHD may be more likely to skip meals, eat irregularly, eat quickly or have periods of impulsive or binge eating. Some may also have strong sensory preferences around food texture, taste or smell, which can lead to a narrower diet and, in some cases, lower fiber intake. All of these factors are able to affect bowel function and digestive symptoms.”
— Sylvia Baker, MRCpsych

“Stress and emotional dysregulation may be another important piece of the puzzle,” Baker continued. “The gut and brain are in constant two-way communication, and increased stress can influence gut motility and visceral sensitivity – essentially, how strongly we experience sensations such as bloating or abdominal discomfort.”

“This may be particularly relevant to functional gastrointestinal conditions such as IBS,” she noted.

Like Blake, Baker said that the gut-brain axis may be involved, citing studies that “identified differences in gut microbial composition in people with ADHD.”

Finally, she also raised the possibility that medication may affect gastrointestinal function in some cases.

“Stimulant medications can cause gastrointestinal side effects in some people, including reduced appetite, abdominal pain, nausea, and in some cases, constipation,” Baker explained, cautioning that “this is one reason it is important not to assume that every gastrointestinal symptom in someone with ADHD is part of the condition itself.”

What can people do to address gastrointestinal risks in ADHD?

Blake told MNT that ever since the review was published, she and her colleagues have been hearing from parents, concerned about how to obtain support for their children with ADHD who experience gastrointestinal issues.

“Their experiences reinforce why this question is important, although our research cannot explain any individual child’s symptoms,” said Blake, emphasizing that the recent review “supports greater awareness” of the link between ADHD and gut problems.

“We hope the findings encourage clinicians to ask about persistent or troublesome gut symptoms when caring for people with ADHD and consider their impact on everyday life,” she told us.

She also stressed that “those symptoms deserve assessment in their own right and should not automatically be attributed to ADHD or its medication, adding that “we […] need research to distinguish medication effects from other possible contributors and establish which approaches improve care.”

According to Baker, the first step that individuals with ADHD can take in mitigating their gastrointestinal risks “is simply to recognise the connection and not dismiss persistent digestive symptoms as unrelated.”

“If someone with ADHD is regularly experiencing constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating or changes in bowel habits, it is worth discussing this with their [family doctor] rather than simply putting it down to their ADHD,” she advised.

As for actionable strategies, Baker said:

“In practical terms, building consistency can help. Regular meals, adequate fluid intake, sufficient dietary fiber and regular physical activity are all sensible foundations for good bowel health. For someone with ADHD, however, knowing what to do and being able to do it consistently are not always the same thing. Setting reminders for meals and hydration, keeping simple nutritious foods readily available and creating predictable routines can make these changes much more achievable.”

“It is also worth looking at the wider picture. Poor sleep and high levels of stress can affect gastrointestinal function, therefore, addressing sleep and stress management may help alongside dietary and medical measures,” she added.

Moreover, Baker reminded us that medication can affect the gastrointestinal system, and she advised that “if symptoms started or became noticeably worse after beginning or changing ADHD medication, that should be discussed with the prescribing clinician.”

Lastly, she “cautioned against adopting restrictive diets or taking multiple supplements” based on anecdotal evidence and without consulting a specialist doctor beforehand.

Next step: Looking for the whys

Going forward, Baker said she would like to see studies focusing not just on the “what” but on the “why,” looking for the mechanisms that might explain the link between ADHD and gut problems.

“We need good-quality longitudinal studies that follow people over time,” she told MNT. “This would help establish whether gastrointestinal symptoms tend to appear before ADHD is diagnosed, develop alongside ADHD, or emerge following treatment or particular lifestyle changes.”

“I would particularly like to see studies that examine the gut microbiome alongside detailed clinical information about ADHD symptoms, diet, medication, sleep, stress, and gastrointestinal symptoms,” added Baker.

“At present, it is tempting to look at microbiome differences and assume they are causal, but we simply do not have enough evidence to make that leap,” she cautioned.

Ultimately, Baker called for “research that looks at whether treating gastrointestinal problems has any meaningful effect on quality of life or ADHD symptoms, and vice versa.”

“That is where this research becomes clinically useful. If we can identify specific mechanisms, we may be able to develop more personalised approaches to managing both ADHD and gastrointestinal health,” she concluded.

• A new study suggests that older adults who received cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) were nearly three times as likely to experience insomnia remission as those who received sleep education.
• CBT-I was also associated with a slower pace of biological aging, measured using three epigenetic clocks analyzing blood samples.
• However, as the study was small, further research is necessary to determine whether CBT-I actually extends life span or prevents age-related disease.

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in the United States, with approximately one-third of adults reporting insomnia symptoms and up to 20% having symptoms that meet the criteria for insomnia disorder. The prevalence of insomnia increases to up to 40% for people older than 65 years of age.

Insomnia can negatively affect daytime functioning, mood, cognition, and overall quality of life. First-line care often involves cognitive behavioral therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). This describes a structured form of therapy designed specifically for insomnia. Rather than simply providing information about sleep, it addresses thoughts and behaviors that can contribute to persistent difficulty falling or staying asleep, without the side effects linked to sleeping pills.

Now, a new study suggests that CBT-I may do more than improve sleep. In older adults with insomnia, the treatment was associated with a slower pace of biological aging.

The study from UCLA Health, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, found that treating insomnia with CBT-I was associated with both improved sleep outcomes and a slower pace of biological aging, as estimated by epigenetic clocks.

CBT-I linked to greater insomnia remission, slower aging

The randomized controlled trial involved nearly 100 adults ages 60 years or older meeting DSM-IV criteria for insomnia disorder and were recruited from Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Participants were assigned to one of two treatments: either CBT-I, or the control group, which received sleep education, providing general information about sleep and healthy sleep habits.

According to the researchers, people who received CBT-I were nearly 3 times as likely to experience remission of their insomnia compared with those who received sleep education.

The study also examined whether treating insomnia was associated with changes in biological aging.

Chronological age measures the number of years a person has been alive, whereas biological aging refers to changes occurring in cells and tissues over time. Researchers can estimate aspects of this process using epigenetic clocks.

For this study, researchers analyzed blood samples collected before the 8-week treatment began and at follow-up visits during the next 2 years. They used three measures of biological aging: DunedinPACE, GrimAge, and PC-PhenoAge. 

The researchers found that CBT-I was associated with a significant slowing in the pace of biological aging, as measured by the DunedinPACE.

However, the findings do not suggest that CBT-I can reverse aging or make someone biologically younger. Rather, the researchers observed a difference in a biomarker-based measure of the rate of biological aging.

“I think the most important message is that there are treatment options for those who suffer from insomnia, and it is important to treat the insomnia, not just to help you sleep better but also to help protect your health,” lead author Judith Carroll, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA Health, explained to Medical News Today.

“The observed difference between the two treatment arms in the pace of aging was on average -0.02, which indicates that with each year of aging, those in the CBT-I were aging 2% slower. This is difficult to put into practical terms for an individual, but over time, this could become meaningful in terms of their health.”  
— Judith Carroll, PhD

Why might sleep affect aging?

Previous research has linked insomnia with markers of accelerated biological aging.

Poor or insufficient sleep may affect several processes involved in health, including stress regulation, metabolism, inflammation, and cardiovascular function. Over time, disruptions in these systems could potentially contribute to age-related disease.

Therefore, the researchers suggest that improving sleep could be one way of influencing some of the biological processes associated with aging. However, the biological mechanisms behind the association remain uncertain.

“We understand that sleep is an important time to allow the biological processes in the body to recover from daytime activity and stressors. Sleep is a time when the body’s parasympathetic nervous system is active, which puts the brake on the sympathetic nervous system,” Carroll highlighted to MNT.

“When there is a rise in the stress response system, we see increased cellular activity such as inflammation and metabolism, which are sources of damage and can drive tissue damage and aging at the cellular level, increasing risk for declines in function and disease. By shutting down this during sleep and giving the body and cells time to repair damage, shut off the inflammatory signal, and heal, we think this then impacts biological aging pathways.”
— Judith Carroll, PhD

“CBT-I helps improve overall regulation of the nervous system through stress management techniques, identifying stress/anxiety triggers, learning to restructure how one responds internally to these triggers, and reconditions the body to begin again to associate bedtime and getting into bed with sleeping through sleep hygiene techniques.”

“CBT-I is a well-designed approach to treat insomnia and is highly effective for many — it is the gold standard treatment currently in medical practice,” she concluded.

What does this mean for people with insomnia?

The findings are promising, but they do not establish that CBT-I directly slows aging or that treating insomnia will prevent age-related diseases.

Although encouraging, the study involved fewer than 100 participants recruited from a single site in Los Angeles. Larger studies involving participants from multiple locations and more diverse populations will be necessary to determine whether the findings can be replicated.

The study also measured biological aging using epigenetic clocks. Although these measures are useful research tools, changes in an aging biomarker do not necessarily indicate longer life or a lower risk of a particular disease.

“The DunedinPACE is a measure of how fast someone is aging at that window of time, while the other measures give us an estimate of one’s biological age as compared to their chronological age. It is often compared to looking at the speedometer — how fast you are driving — vs. looking at the odometer, how far you have driven,” Carroll clarified.

“We think that this pace of aging might be more sensitive to lifestyle changes and give us a window into what seems to be helping, while the biological age may be less sensitive in a shorter window of time (2 years) but may capture aging over longer windows, for example if someone is able to sleep better and this sleep improvement is sustained for many years, we might see more significant changes in the biological clock.”
— Judith Carroll, PhD

“We’d like to study this more lasting long-term effect of treating insomnia to see if, after 5-10 years, someone looks younger in their biological system,” Carroll said.

“Funding for this type of research is important. Unfortunately, it has become much harder to obtain research funding from NIH with recent changes, but we remain hopeful that our representatives will continue to appropriate the funds to scientific discovery so we can continue our work,” she continued.

Further research will also be needed to determine whether responses differ between males and females and whether other insomnia treatments, including medications or other behavioral interventions, have similar effects on biological aging.

CBT-I is already a behavioral treatment specifically designed to address chronic insomnia. This study suggests that successfully treating persistent insomnia may confer broader health benefits, but it is too early to say that CBT-I slows aging or prevents age-related disease

• Structured exercise after cancer treatment may be linked to reduced risk of cancer recurrence and mortality, according to a recent study.
• Aerobic exercise, either alone or combined with resistance training, showed the strongest benefits for overall survival.
• Experts recommend working with a cancer care team to create a suitable exercise plan based on individual circumstances.

Cancer recurrence varies significantly depending on the type of cancer. While there is no certain way to prevent recurrence — when cancer returns after treatment — researchers have investigated potential ways to minimize the risk where possible.

Physical activity is already recognized as a benefit for people with cancer. The American Cancer Society notes that it may offer benefits before, during, and after cancer treatment.

Now, a study published in September in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found that structured exercise — physical activity that is intentional and part of a routine — may be associated with longer survival and a lower risk of cancer recurrence after treatment.

The benefits appeared to be strongest in people who had early stage cancer and in those who performed aerobic exercise.

Structured exercise led to a 17% reduced risk of recurrence

The study authors found that participants who followed structured exercise were 17% more likely to live without cancer recurrence. There was also a 26% lower risk of dying from cancer.

For the study, researchers examined information from 21 randomized controlled trials involving 8,449 participants. The three cancers that were most frequently studied included:

• breast cancer
• colorectal cancer
• pancreatic cancer

The researchers found that those who engaged in structured exercise experienced:

• improved overall survival
• improved disease-free survival
• lower all-cause mortality
• lower cancer-specific mortality

Diana Garrett, PT, DPT, FAAOMPT, CLT, CSCS, board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and program director of physical therapy services of the Women’s Health & Wellness Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, spoke with Medical News Today about these findings.

“Physical activity is essentially a systemic intervention that involves multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular system and immune system, which leads to overall benefits to patients. Exercise leads to increased cardiac output to meet oxygen demands during activity, which can lead to a more efficient heart,” explained Garrett, who was not involved in the study.

She added, “Regular exercise has shown to increase immune activity, which may be especially important in patients with a history of cancer.”

Findings also suggest that individuals who closely followed the exercise plan, with a high adherence of 70% or more, were more likely to experience greater benefits.

Additionally, benefits appeared more pronounced in people with early stage cancer and those doing aerobic exercise.

“I think this should not be read that patients with early stage cancer benefited more, but looking more closely at the different studies this meta-analysis pulled,” said Garrett.

“The studies with patients that had more advanced-stage cancers tended to have a smaller sample size, which would alter the interpreted outcomes. Also, patients with more advanced-stage cancers may undergo different treatments that may render it more difficult to participate in exercise.”

Does the type of exercise matter?

The study found that aerobic exercise and combined aerobic exercise and strength training led to improved overall survival.

Aerobic exercise alone had a 29% lower relative risk of death, while aerobic exercise and resistance training had around a 25% lower relative risk. Resistance training alone showed no statistical significance in the analysis.

Mike Lattanzi, MD, a board-certified medical oncologist and Director of the Genitourinary Cancer Research Program at Texas Oncology, told MNT:

“Any kind of physical exercise, whether aerobic or weight training, brings about myriad cellular and tissue changes throughout the body.”

Lattanzi, who was not involved in the study, added that, “[s]pecifically, it is hypothesized that exercise might impair cancer cell metabolism and enhance the efficacy of antitumor immune cells.”

Are there any safety concerns when exercising after cancer treatment?

The American Cancer Society explains that exercise is generally safe for most people before, during, and after cancer treatment.

However, there are some factors that individuals may need to consider.

Garrett explained that “[t]he main safety considerations when recommending exercise should be determined based on an individual basis. It should take into consideration the patient’s prior activity level, the treatment they received, any prolonged toxicities or side effects from treatment, their current cardiovascular and overall health, and any physical impairments they may have.”

She added, “For example, certain chemotherapy medications can have a detrimental effect on the cardiovascular system, and therefore intensity of exercise may need to [be modified] to ensure tolerance for activity. Or exercise may need to be performed in a controlled environment to mitigate any stress on the immune system.”

Other factors, such as the age of the individual, may also need to be considered.

Lattanzi explained that, “[f]or a young, physically fit patient with cancer, it’s difficult to see any serious risk to the patient resulting from structured exercise. For more frail or elderly patients, musculoskeletal injuries incurred over the course of physical activity can lead to diminished mobility, which would likely have a negative impact on patient outcomes.”

He concluded, “Obviously, any recommended exercise intervention should be tailored to each patient’s fitness.”

How to start exercising after cancer treatment

While the study found that structured exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, could be beneficial for people receiving cancer treatment, it does not mean that everybody should follow the same routine.

It is best for anybody undergoing or having finished cancer treatment to discuss their physical activity with their doctor or cancer team.

“I think the best way to create a safe exercise program is to work with a team to coordinate your activity,” said Garrett.

“As a physical therapist, I like to consult with a patient’s oncologist, primary care physician, and/or cardiologist if available to set a target heart rate and understand if modifications are needed to ensure immune health,” she explained.

“It is important to do a baseline testing to see where a patient’s cardiovascular fitness is and what their baseline strength is in order to build a program upon that.”

• About 52.55 million people around the world are living with atrial fibrillation (AFib).
• People with AFib are at an increased risk for several health issues, including stroke and heart failure. 
• It’s not uncommon for AFib to go undetected until it becomes a problem due to a lack of noticeable or unique symptoms. 
• A new study says certain changes to the eye’s retina may help detect AFib as early as 4 years before diagnosis. 

Researchers estimate that about 52.55 million people around the world are living with atrial fibrillation (AFib) — a cardiovascular condition where the beating of the upper and lower champers of the heart are out of sync, causing a “fluttering” or racing heartbeat. 

People with AFib are at an increased risk for several health issues, including stroke, heart failure, heart attack, and dementia. 

In many cases, AFib doesn’t have any noticeable symptoms or has symptoms shared with other common issues. For this reason, it’s not uncommon for AFib to go undetected until it becomes a problem. 

A recent study found that about 62% of people with AFib didn’t realize they had it before being diagnosed. 

Now, a new study published in the journal PLOS Digital Health presents evidence suggesting certain changes to the eye’s retina, or layer of cells in the back of the eye, may help detect AFib as early as 4 years before diagnosis. 

Turning to the retina to assess heart health

For this study, researchers analyzed optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans of the retina and color retinal photography for more than 90,000 people. The images were found through two large cohort studies — AlzEye and the U.K. Biobank.

“The retina is the only place in the body where blood vessels and nerve fiber tissue can be analyzed noninvasively with commonly available eye tests like OCT scans or fundus photographs,” Josef Huemer, MD, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and honorary senior research fellow at the Institute of Ophthalmology University College London, and lead author of this study, told Medical News Today. 

Huemer explained:

“In previous work on retinal strokes we found a very strong signal for ocular events in patients with AFib, and further work has shown that diseases like Parkinson’s disease, or even schizophrenia would cause subtle retinal changes — in the case of Parkinson’s disease several years prior to the disease manifestation.”

FC JSS 18-Sep-26. Please link to the previous work mentioned above (I am having a hard time finding it on a quick search).

People with AFib have thinning of retinal cell layers

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that people with AFib consistently had a thinner macular ganglion cells and inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL).

This layer combines two different layers in the retina, the ganglion cell layer that relays visual information from the retina and the brain, and the inner plexiform layer, which sends to the brain info on certain visual signals like motion and changes between light and dark.

“Thinning of the mGCIPL is a sign of retrograde, or past, degeneration, and is therefore not disease specific,” Huemer explained.

“It is most likely caused by mini strokes in the brain, a common finding in patients with AFib. However, this finding was identified in both cohorts, one of hospital-based patients and one in a healthy volunteer study, which gives us confidence in the findings,” he detailed. 

“Furthermore, we found thinning of the inner nuclear layer, which is not caused by retrograde degeneration, and our hypothesis is that this thinning is caused by cardiovascular disease, as this area is very vulnerable to micro strokes of the eye,” he added. 

Retinal thinning present about 4 years before AFib diagnosis

Heumer and his team also found that among study participants who did not originally have AFib when their retinal photos were taken, those who eventually developed AFib had thinner mGCIPL layers on average 4 years before presenting to hospital with the heart condition. 

“This is indeed very interesting, it highlights several things,” Huemer told us. “Number one, the difficulty of establishing the diagnosis of AFib. Number two, this thinning can fairly easily be quantified by OCT scans that are widely available in primary care ophthalmology — for example at high street optometrists in the U.K.” 

“The next step is to explore if this finding could also be used to improve risk calculation and to assess if we can identify patients earlier and refer them for long-term electrocardiogram monitoring,” he continued.

“We are currently working on more OCT-related image analysis in the context of cardiovascular disease in large scale datasets. We have also expanded our dataset to enable further oculomic research,” said Huemer.

“In the coming years we anticipate progressing our research algorithms in oculomics through the regulatory pathway for approval as a medical device, for use in local optometry settings for earlier detection of systemic disease,” he added.

How are retina changes linked to AFib risk?

When asked how a heart condition like AFib might be assessed through changes in retina eye cells, Huemer said the retina allows for unique, non-invasive assessment of blood vessels and nerve fiber layers. 

“Furthermore, seeing is highly energy dependent, therefore the retinal vasculature is more susceptible to show cardiovascular damage in similar fashion to diabetic retinopathy. The connection of cardiovascular problems and subtle changes at the level of the retina is well established and was first mentioned in the late 1800s. With today´s imaging and AI supported segmentation algorithms, as well as advanced statistics, we can provide more robust evidence about these associations.”

– Josef Huemer, MD

MNT also spoke with Benjamin Bert, MD, a board-certified ophthalmologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, who was not involved in this study.

“Since atrial fibrillation can cause strokes, the hypothesis from the researchers is that there could be ‘silent ischemia’ — small episodes of poor blood perfusion causing damage to the tissues leading to thinning of these particular layers of the retina,” Bert detailed.

“They also hypothesize that it could be related to mild damage to the brain that then leads to cellular atrophy in the retina,” he added.

Potential to broaden early AFib risk

Finally, MNT also had the opportunity to speak with Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA.

Chen, who likewise was not involved in this study, commented that a technique that could identify people at increased risk of developing AFib through routine eye imaging could potentially broaden our ability to recognize risk earlier and identify patients who may benefit from closer cardiovascular monitoring.

“The underlying mechanism linking AFib with changes in the cells or blood vessels of the eye is not yet well understood,” he explained. “We do not typically think of heart rhythm disorders as being directly associated with changes in eye cells, so this potential connection is particularly interesting and warrants further investigation.”

“Future studies will need to determine exactly what biological changes in the eye are associated with AFib and whether these changes can reliably predict who will go on to develop the condition,” Chen continued.

“Researchers will also need to determine how well eye imaging performs across different populations and whether it could ultimately become a practical screening tool. At this stage, these findings are promising but should be viewed as an early step toward understanding a potential connection between the heart and the eye,” he concluded.

• Time-restricted eating is a type of intermittent fasting in which people consume all calories during a set time window.
• A new study compared different eating-window durations to see whether window length impacted weight loss and cardiometabolic health.
• People assigned to an 8-hour eating window lost more weight than those in the 12-hour window or control group.
• However, the team did not find that eating-window duration was consistently associated with changes in blood pressure, blood sugar, or cholesterol levels.

There are many diet plans and lifestyle changes people may consider when trying to improve their health. One dietary approach that is becoming more popular is intermittent fasting, which is going without food for a period of time.

One type of fasting is time-restricted eating (TRE). With TRE, people consume their calories during a time window and do not take in any calories outside of that.

Researchers in a new study compared different time-restricted eating window durations and examined their associations with weight loss and markers of cardiometabolic health.

The study is published in the journal Nutrition & Diabetes.

How eating-window duration may affect weight loss

With TRE, the time window people consume food varies by person. Some people use windows of 8, 10, or 12 hours to eat, and then fast for the rest of the day.

TRE typically does not require calorie counting or restricting specific foods, which may make it an easier weight-loss approach for some people. It may not be appropriate for everyone, though, so people should consult with their healthcare providers first.

Prior research shows that TRE can help some people lose weight, but the researchers wanted to determine whether eating-window duration influenced weight loss. They pooled data from five prior TRE studies to take a closer look.

The participants ate over a period of at least 14 hours per day before the trials began.

Of the 124 participants included in the analysis, 95 were assigned to TRE, and 29 served as controls. Eleven participants were assigned to an 8-hour eating window, 59 to a 10-hour window, and 25 to a 12-hour window.

The participants in the control groups either continued their usual eating habits or received brief nutritional counseling and written healthy-eating guidance.

The trials lasted 3 to 6 months, and the participants used a mobile app to track their food and drink intake. They submitted timestamped pictures of their meals and snacks on the app and also added a text description of what they had.

The researchers measured weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol. They calculated LDL cholesterol in four of the five trials.

8-hour eating window linked to greater weight loss

Overall, participants in the TRE groups shortened their daily eating windows by about 4 hours and lost an average of 4.8 pounds during the study period.

Participants in the 8-hour group lost approximately 3.7 pounds more on average than those in the 12-hour group. They also lost significantly more weight than participants in the control group.

In the unadjusted analysis, however, researchers did not find a statistically significant difference between the 8- and 10-hour groups. The control group experienced some average weight loss, but the change was not statistically significant.

When the researchers examined the eating windows participants actually achieved, they found that shorter windows were associated with greater weight loss. However, this association weakened after they adjusted for age, sex, and BMI.

When looking at cardiometabolic outcomes, the researchers could not establish a consistent association between eating-window duration and improvements in most measures, including fasting glucose, HDL or LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Participants in the 10-hour group had a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure than those in the 12-hour group, but this was the only significant cardiometabolic difference they found.

The analysis had several limitations, though, including lack of data on participants’ calorie intake, the small number of participants, and the relatively short follow-up period.

Additionally, the five trials the researchers analyzed were not all randomized controlled trials, and participants were not randomized directly into the different eating-window groups.

Larger, longer studies needed on TRE

Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, spoke with Medical News Today about the study.

Chen, who was not involved in this research, said that the small sample size, differences among the trials, and short follow-up periods may explain the limited cardiometabolic findings.

“We are still in the early stages of understanding the potential health effects of time-restricted eating,” Chen said.

He added that larger, longer studies are needed to determine who may benefit and whether TRE improves health beyond weight loss.

Chen advised people with type 1 diabetes, hypoglycemia, a history of eating disorders, as well as those who are pregnant or trying to conceive, to consult a healthcare professional before trying TRE.

Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center, likewise not involved in the study, also shared his thoughts about its findings with MNT.

He noted that the 8-hour group lost more weight than the 12-hour group but said that the modest difference and small sample size mean the results are “not entirely conclusive.”

“Time-restricted eating can be beneficial, but there is considerable individual variability regarding its effectiveness and the optimal fasting duration,” Ali pointed out.

He added that a larger group experiencing more substantial weight loss may be needed to detect consistent cardiometabolic improvements.

Ali warned that conditions such as diabetes may make TRE “less feasible or even contraindicated.” He advised people to discuss their individual health factors with a healthcare professional first.

• A new large-scale study investigates the associations between sleep duration and disease risk.
• Participants wore wrist accelerometers for 1 week to assess not only their sleep duration, but also how long they spent in different phases of the sleep cycle.
• Among other findings, the researchers showed that more dream sleep was associated with a reduced risk of more than 80 health conditions.
• Overall, people who slept for 6–8 hours had the lowest risk of health issues.

A new study, published in PLOS Medicine, analyzed real-world data from almost 100,000 participants in the UK Biobank databank. 

They found that greater rapid-eye movement (REM, or dream) sleep was associated with a lower risk of 83 diseases, while more deep sleep was associated with a lower risk of seven health conditions.

Although previous studies have linked short sleep duration with disease and an increased risk of mortality, they often relied upon self-reported sleep duration. In other words, participants simply told them how long they had slept for.

This is not ideal. People can misremember, and we are not always aware of when we actually drop off or wake up during the night. 

Also, self-reported sleep duration provides no information about time spent in sleep stages, such as deep sleep and REM sleep.

In the current study, scientists used wrist-worn accelerometers to gather much more detailed information about participants’ sleep stages, plus how long they slept for and how irregular their sleep patterns were. 

Why do we need sleep anyway?

We all sleep. It’s one of those fundamentals that is so common, not just in humans but throughout the animal kingdom, that we often give it very little thought. 

However, the fact that animals lie unconscious for hours every day in a world full of predators suggests that it must be doing something vital to have been preserved throughout evolutionary history.

What is sleep for? Now that is a question that scientists are still grappling with. We know we need it, we know it is important, but the precise functions of sleep are still being sketched out. 

Most scientists, however, believe it likely conducts a wide range of roles, including solidifying memories, clearing up metabolic detritus from the brain, allowing the gut microbiome to rest, repair, and clean up, and supporting immune health.

Whatever its roles, what scientists do know is that good quality sleep is vital for long-term health. 

The latest study on sleep takes a detailed look at the relationships between sleep and disease outcomes over almost 10 years of follow-up.

Looking for links: Sleep and disease

In total, the study analyzed data from 95,559 adults in the United Kingdom with an average age of 56.2 years. 

After wearing the accelerometer for 1 week to assess their sleep quality and quantity, they were followed for a median period of 8.9 years until the onset of a health condition or death.

The scientists found that increased REM sleep at baseline was associated with a reduced risk of more than 80 health conditions, including:

• heart failure
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• atrial fibrillation
• ischemic heart disease
• Parkinsonism
• multiple sclerosis
• dementias.

Meanwhile, increased amounts of deep sleep were associated with a reduced risk of seven diseases, including:

• type 2 diabetes
• major depressive disorder 
• sleep apnea
• Parkinson’s disease.

Importantly, the authors note that the links to some of these health conditions might be due to “reverse causation.” 

Depression is a good example of this: Disrupted sleep is a common symptom of depression. So, rather than irregular sleep causing depression, it might be the other way around.

In contrast to deep sleep, greater time spent in light sleep — a sign of poorer quality sleep — was associated with a higher risk of conditions, such as major depressive disorder, but a lower risk of others, like heart failure and cellulitis.

The scientists also assessed a measure called wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO). This measures the total amount of time an individual is awake after having initially fallen asleep. In other words, it is a marker for sleep irregularity.

A higher WASO score was associated with an increased risk of six conditions, including:

• psychoactive substance dependence
• alcohol abuse
• osteoarthritis.

Additionally, the scientists investigated irregular sleep patterns and found that they were associated with an increased risk of:

• abdominal pain
• anxiety
• major depressive disorder.

A longer overall sleep duration was associated with a lower risk of no less than 50 conditions, such as:

• protein-calorie malnutrition
• acidosis
• type 2 diabetes.

Overall, the researchers conclude that 6–8 hours of sleep is the optimal amount, which is slightly different from the more commonly quoted 7–9 hours.

Sleep tips from sleep experts

For those who struggle to get the sleep they need, these results may feel concerning. So, Medical News Today reached out to some experts in the field and asked for practical advice.

Firstly, Scott Nass, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician and lead physician at SwiftCareMD, suggested keeping a consistent wake-up time. 

“Getting up roughly at the same time every day allows your brain to organise the pattern of when you are awake and when you require your body to fall prey to the desire to drop off,” Nass, who was not involved in the recent study, told us.

He explained that this routine should be continued during the weekend.

“Lying in for a few hours after a difficult night can feel rewarding,” he continued. “But really, it is only shifting your sleeping pattern out, putting obstacles in your brain during evening time.”

He also said that “morning daylight taken soon after rising and with the sun in your vision will only help solidify this routine in your mind.”

Secondly, he suggested people “stop struggling with sleep in bed.” He told us that “repeatedly going to bed awake and anxious about sleeping can make the brain associate the bed with frustration and alertness.” 

Instead, he recommended “stepping away from the bed for 15-20 minutes, going to a quiet, dim room, and doing something calming away from distractions.” Then, try sleeping again only once tiredness returns. 

Chelsie Rohrscheib, PhD, head sleep expert and neuroscientist at Wesper, likewise not involved in the study, spoke of the importance of maintaining a quiet, dark, and cool (65–70 degrees Fahrenheit) bedroom.

This is because “your core body temperature needs to drop to initiate and maintain sleep.”  Reducing bedroom light, she suggested, can be attained “by using blackout blinds or an eye mask.” 

Rohrscheib also related the importance of “a pre-bedtime routine focusing on relaxing, low-light activities for at least 30 to 60 minutes before sleep to help your brain and body relax and prepare for sleep.”

“This may include activities like light reading, listening to relaxing music, a warm bath, meditation, or deep breathing exercises. You should also avoid stimulating activities, such as watching media or using your mobile phone.”

– Chelsie Rohrscheib, PhD

Additionally, she advised people to avoid: 

• electronic screens at least 60 minutes before bed
• caffeine after 3 pm
• consuming heavy meals less than 2 hours before bedtime. 

Finally, Rohrscheib emphasized the importance of “getting at least 30 minutes of heart rate-raising exercise per day to use up excess cortisol stores, since cortisol is extremely wake-promoting and can reduce sleep quality.”

• People who struggle with going to bed and maintaining uninterrupted sleep may opt for taking melatonin supplements.
• Magnesium, often preferred for energy support, has also been gaining traction as a sleep supplement.
• Medical News Today spoke to two experts to find out what the evidence says about how the two supplements compare for sleep support, and who may benefit more from each.

When people struggle to go to bed and to stay asleep throughout the night, they may opt to take a melatonin supplement, to boost levels of a hormone that essentially tells the nervous system when to “power down” for bed.

Recently, however, magnesium supplements have also emerged as a sleep aid, which may seem surprising, given that they have traditionally been used to help boost energy levels.

What does the evidence say, and is one supplement better than the other for sleep? Medical News Today spoke to two experts to delve into the science behind the use of these supplements for a better night’s rest.

We heard from Şebnem Ünlüişler, genetic engineer at the London Regenerative Institute, and from Opel Baker, MBChB, general practitioner at the Mayfield Clinic, both in the United Kingdom.

How do melatonin and magnesium work?

“Melatonin and magnesium work in very different ways,” said Ünlüişler. “Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm and signals that biological night has begun, so it tends to be most useful when the main issue is sleep timing, such as jet lag, shift work or a delayed sleep schedule.”

“Magnesium, on the other hand, is an essential mineral involved in normal nerve and muscle function, and it may support relaxation and sleep particularly in people with low magnesium intake or deficiency,” she explained.

Baker added that, unlike melatonin, magnesium “is not a sleep hormone and its effects on sleep are generally less direct.”

Who benefits more from magnesium, and who from melatonin?

Despite the mixed evidence about magnesium’s effect on sleep, both Ünlüişler and Baker were clear that one specific group of people may stand to benefit from taking this supplement: Those with a magnesium deficiency.

“Magnesium may be more relevant for someone whose diet is lacking in magnesium, or where factors such as muscle tension or general physical relaxation are contributing to poor sleep,” said Baker.

“However, taking extra magnesium does not necessarily improve sleep if you already get enough through your diet,” he cautioned.

By contrast, “melatonin is likely to be more useful for people whose sleep problem is related to their body clock rather than simply being unable to switch off,” the physician added. “This can include people experiencing jet lag, shift workers or those whose sleep pattern has become delayed.

“It is also important to distinguish between struggling to fall asleep and waking repeatedly during the night,” Baker noted. “The underlying causes can be very different, so neither supplement should be viewed as a universal solution.”

Ünlüişler agreed, stressing that:

“[N]either supplement is universally ‘better’ [as a sleep aid] because the right choice depends on why someone is not sleeping well. It is also important not to use supplements as a way of overlooking persistent sleep problems, which can be related to stress, sleep apnea, restless legs, medications, hormonal changes or other underlying factors.”

What are the caveats with both supplements?

Both experts further noted that, whichever supplement someone may choose to use as a sleep aid, they should be mindful of the potential side effects.

“With melatonin, both timing and dose matter, and taking more does not necessarily produce better sleep,” cautioned Ünlüişler, adding that “it can also cause next-day drowsiness, headache or dizziness, and may interact with certain medications.”

“Magnesium can cause gastrointestinal side effects and should be used cautiously in people with impaired kidney function,” she pointed out.

Baker also warned that “taking too much” of this supplement “can cause diarrhea, nausea and abdominal cramping.” He likewise stressed that people with kidney problems, in particular, should discuss the risks with a doctor beforehand “because the kidneys are responsible for removing excess magnesium.”

“The biggest caveat is that ‘natural’ does not automatically mean harmless or appropriate for everyone,” he noted.

“Ultimately, good sleep is much more complicated than finding the right supplement,” said Baker.

“A consistent sleep and wake time, getting daylight in the morning, regular exercise, limiting caffeine later in the day and creating a relaxing wind-down routine can all have a meaningful impact. Supplements may have a role for some people, but they should complement good sleep habits rather than replace them.”

– Opel Baker, MBChB

• Four of the top medical groups in the United States — the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) — have issued consolidated guidelines on vaccinations for common respiratory infections.
• The guidelines refer to flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines for children and adults ahead of respiratory viral infection season.
• A pediatrician explains what this new resource does for the American public.

On September 2, 2026, four top United States medical groups — the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) — issued consolidated guidelines on vaccinations for common respiratory infections.

They launched SpreadTheFacts, a resource for doctors and patients, listing recommendations for seasonal COVID-19, influenza (flu), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection vaccines for all age groups.

Speaking to Medical News Today, Graham Tse, MD, pediatrician and chief medical officer of MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach, CA, noted that this resource was very timely:

“I think SpreadTheFacts is particularly timely because we are heading into respiratory virus season, when influenza, COVID-19, and RSV can place a significant burden on children, families, and the healthcare system.”

Tse emphasized the need for “clear, trustworthy information about which vaccines and immunizations are recommended and why,” adding that “having a centralized resource that brings together the latest evidence and recommendations from leading medical organizations can help patients and physicians have more informed conversations about prevention.”

What do the consolidated vaccine guidelines state?

Here is what the consolidated vaccine guidelines issued jointly by the AAFP, AAP, ACOG, and IDSA state, in a nutshell.

How were the vaccine recommendations compiled?

The consolidated guidance was based on data from the Vaccine Integrity Project, a large-scale review of the evidence regarding respiratory virus vaccines available in the United States.

This evidence came from studies published between August 2025 and June 2026, sourced via PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane CENTRAL.

“The recommendations on SpreadTheFacts are grounded in the latest scientific evidence and were developed with input from leading medical organizations,” said Tse.

At the same time, he recommended that “patients […] also discuss their individual circumstances with their physician or pediatrician, since recommendations can vary based on age, medical history, and other risk factors.”

“Vaccine recommendations can change as new evidence emerges, viruses evolve, and we learn more about which populations are at greatest risk. What remains consistent is the importance of using evidence-based recommendations to protect people against serious respiratory illnesses.”

– Graham Tse, MD

What should people hesitant about vaccinations know?

“I would encourage people who are hesitant [about vaccinations] to start with a conversation with their doctor or their child’s pediatrician,” Tse advised. “Ask questions, discuss the potential benefits and risks, and make sure you are getting information from reliable medical sources rather than social media or misinformation.”

“Vaccines have been extensively studied and remain one of our most effective tools for preventing serious infectious diseases. The goal is not necessarily to prevent every infection, but to reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death,” he explained.

“The latest evidence continues to show meaningful protection from influenza, COVID-19, and RSV immunizations, with no new major safety concerns identified in the recent evidence reviews,” the pediatrician emphasized.

Tse also added that parents should feel encouraged to ask any questions they may have to their doctors.

“As a pediatrician, I also want parents to know that it is completely reasonable to have questions,” he said. “My recommendation is to bring those questions to your child’s pediatrician and make the decision based on the best available scientific evidence.”

• Previous research shows that women are generally at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease after reaching menopause. 
• Past studies have found that taking hormone therapy for menopause may help lower a woman’s heart disease risk. 
• A new study found that women who start hormone replacement therapy during perimenopause or early postmenopause may decrease their cardiovascular disease risk by 22%.

Previous research shows that women are generally at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease after reaching menopause. 

This increased heart disease risk is due to several different factors, including lower levels of the hormone estrogen, stiffening of blood vessels, and changes in cholesterol and general metabolism.

Past studies have found that taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), may help lower a woman’s heart disease risk during and after menopause. 

Now, a new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine adds to what we know about the link between hormone therapy and heart disease risk. 

Researchers report that women who start hormone therapy during perimenopause or early postmenopause may decrease their cardiovascular disease risk by 22%, compared to those not taking hormone therapy. 

Analyzing 20 years of menopause-related health data

For this study, researchers analyzed 20 years of health data for more than 2,700 women who were part of the SWAN (Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation) project. 

Female participants selected for this study self-reported menopause-related vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, and had no prior heart disease diagnosis. They also self-reported whether or not they were on hormone therapy. 

“Vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, are common during the menopause transition and have been associated with future cardiovascular risk,” Samar R. El Khoudary, PhD, MPH, BPharm, FAHA, professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology, and director of Women’s Public Health Research Initiatives at the School of Public Health at Virginia Commonwealth University, and co-senior author of this study, told Medical News Today.

“At the same time, much of the previous research on MHT and cardiovascular disease has focused on women who were already postmenopausal, leaving less evidence about women during perimenopause and early postmenopause, when hormonal changes and symptoms are particularly prominent,” El Khoudary added. 

“We saw an opportunity to use the long-term SWAN data to examine this question specifically among women with vasomotor symptoms and to explore whether the timing of hormone therapy initiation matters,” she told us.

Hormone therapy may lower heart disease risk by 22%

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that women who started hormone therapy during perimenopause or early postmenopause experienced a cardiovascular disease risk reduction of 22%, compared to those not taking hormone therapy. 

Scientists also discovered the protective effect of hormone therapy was strongest in women who started it within 10 years of menopause onset for a 27% lower heart disease risk. 

Researchers also noted the hormone therapy protective benefit was highest among Black women, lowering their cardiovascular disease risk by 49%.

“These findings suggest that the estimated association between menopause hormone therapy and cardiovascular disease may differ depending on when treatment is initiated and across different racial and ethnic groups. The stronger estimated effect among women who initiated therapy within 10 years of menopause onset is consistent with the possibility that there may be a window during the menopause transition and early postmenopause when the cardiovascular effects of hormone therapy are different.” 

– Samar R. El Khoudary, PhD, MPH, BPharm, FAHA

“Because this was an observational study, residual confounding or other differences between groups could also contribute to the findings,” El Khoudary continued. “These results therefore need to be interpreted with caution and to be confirmed in future clinical trials.”

Evidence the timing of starting hormone therapy may matter

MNT had the opportunity to speak with Jennifer Wong, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and medical director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study.

Wong, who was not involved in the research, commented that these findings are encouraging and add to the growing evidence that the timing of hormone therapy may matter. 

“The study suggests that starting hormone therapy earlier in the menopausal transition may have cardiovascular benefits for certain women, although more research is needed to determine which patients are most likely to benefit,” Wong explained.

“The hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause can coincide with changes in several cardiovascular risk factors,” she added.

“Frequent or severe vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, have been associated with a higher risk of future cardiovascular events and may also occur alongside an unfavorable metabolic profile, including higher blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, and elevated fasting glucose [blood sugar],” she continued.

“Menopause itself is not a disease, but this stage of life can be an important time to pay closer attention to cardiovascular health and risk factors,” Wong pointed out.

She said that women should not feel that they simply have to endure significant hot flashes or night sweats:

“These symptoms can substantially affect quality of life and may also be a marker of increased cardiovascular risk. Women experiencing frequent or severe vasomotor symptoms should talk with their healthcare professional about treatment options and their individual cardiovascular risk. Hormone therapy may be appropriate for some women but is not recommended for everyone, so the decision should be individualized.”

Good confirmation of previous research findings

MNT also spoke with Prudence Hall, MD, an OB/GYN in private practice in Santa Monica, CA, who likewise was not involved in this study. 

Hall commented she was happy to see further studies on HRT and especially this study including perimenopausal women, which frequently starts in our mid 30s to early 40s.  

“The reported decrease it has on cardiovascular disease has been in our literature for some time and this is a good confirmation and addition,” she added. 

When asked how hormone therapy might help lower heart disease risk, Hall said one of the reasons is that a type of estrogen called estradiol helps lower blood sugar and stress. 

“It is also anti-inflammatory and lowers the LDL cholesterol, as well as the bad APOB and Lp(a) LDL subparticles, which increase plaque, which is responsible for heart disease,” she explained.

“These root core causes of chronic diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke all decrease, as well as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, many cancers, and all cause mortality. Unhealthy aging is greatly decreased, which is why I remain so very positive about treating menopause with bioidentical hormones and encouraging lifestyle interventions.”

– Prudence Hall, MD

“Keep in mind that once a woman enters menopause, if left untreated, she remains in menopause for the rest of her life,” Hall added. “Therefore, the  way we handle our menopause will determine the outcome of the next 40-50 years to create a life of radiant vitality or a life of continual decline.”

• Recent research found that eating 4 to 6 servings (60 to 100 grams) of whole grains daily may help reduce body weight, waist circumference, total cholesterol, and interleukin-6 (IL-6).
• As the study focused on trials with a median duration of 8 weeks, further research is necessary to better understand the role of whole grains, as well as whether adding whole grains but not replacing refined grains can be beneficial.
• Examples of whole grain options include brown rice, quinoa, whole grain pasta, whole grain pita bread, and cereals made with buckwheat or spelt.

Most adults in the United States do not consume the recommended amount of whole grains per day.

This is despite the fact that the American Heart Association (AHA) encourages eating at least 3 fiber-rich servings of whole grains per day.

Now, research published in the European Heart Journal suggests that 4 to 6 servings of whole grains per day could help lower certain risk factors for heart disease.

In a press release, research author Helda Tutunchi, PhD, associate professor of nutritional sciences at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. with Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, explained:

“This is the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials on wholegrain intake and cardiovascular risk factors. Unlike previous reviews, we looked specifically at how much wholegrain people need to eat to get the greatest benefits.”

The research authors also examined potential improvements in areas such as total cholesterol, body weight, and waist circumference.

4 to 6 daily servings of whole grains may bring heart health benefits

The researchers found that high-certainty evidence that whole grain consumption was associated with reductions in:

• body weight
• waist circumference
• total cholesterol
• interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammation marker.

For the meta-analysis, researchers examined previous trials, including over 6,500 participants.

Among these trials, they also found moderate-certainty evidence that whole grain consumption was associated with improvements in:

• LDL cholesterol
• triglycerides
• systolic blood pressure
• fasting plasma glucose.

In particular, the researchers found that consuming around 60 to 100 grams (g) (dry weight) of whole grains per day was related to cardiometabolic improvements. This is the same as around 4 to 6 servings of whole grains daily.

Joseph You, MD, cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology in NYC and contributor to LabFinder, spoke with Medical News Today about these findings.

“[This meta-analysis] shows that there is a correlation between whole grain consumption, possibly dose-dependent, in reducing body weight, waist circumference, total cholesterol and IL-6, which is a marker of inflammation,” explained You, who was not involved in the research.

“Having whole grains incorporated into a diet may reflect an overall healthier and balanced lifestyle. As previous studies have mentioned, it can be due to colonic benefits [and] transit time, as well as potentially microscopic interactions,” he added.

Tutunchi said in the press release that the “findings provide a practical indication of the amount of wholegrain that may be needed to achieve meaningful improvements in cardiovascular risk factors.”

“We found that most benefits occur at intakes of approximately 60 to 100 grams per day, toward the upper end of current dietary recommendations,” she continued.

She added that these findings “do not necessarily call for major changes to existing guidelines, but they support public health strategies that help people increase their whole-grain intake and move toward the higher end of current targets.”

Should you replace refined grains with whole grains?

Some of the trials that the researchers studied involved, among other things, replacing refined grains with whole grains. The researchers note that the benefits were “differential effects,” meaning they occurred as a result of replacing one type of grain with the other.

According to You, “there can be clear health care benefits with integrating whole grains into diets, especially when compared to foods that are processed and contain high levels of saturated fat and processed sugars.”

“However, it is difficult to compare head to head whole grains and refined grains to definitively say that one diet will have better health outcomes,” he added.

You also offered some suggestions on incorporating whole grains into a the diet or increase the existing intake.

“I think this is where having a nutritionist is an excellent resource,” he told us. “Each patient is unique and each diet should be tailored to both their eating habits, lifestyle, importantly allergies, i.e. gluten or celiac disease.”

You added that “4 to 6 servings can be achievable, but the most important part is balancing a diet and not focusing primarily on one food group.”

In the press release, Tutunchi suggested that “[i]ncreasing wholegrain intake is a relatively simple, accessible and affordable dietary strategy that can complement other lifestyle and medical interventions.”

The Whole Grains Council recommends the following sources for increasing whole grains with a variety of foods:

• brown rice
• quinoa
• whole grain flour
• whole grain pasta
• whole grain pita bread
• cereals made with buckwheat or spelt
• cakes and muffins made from whole cornmeal.

Are there any limitations?

The researchers address the median trial duration of 8 weeks as a possible limitation.

In the press release, Tutunchi explained that, due to the median trial duration, “we cannot determine whether these benefits are maintained over the long term.”

“In addition, relatively few studies evaluated very high wholegrain intakes, above 140 grams per day, so the effects at those intake levels remain uncertain,” she noted.

Speaking with MNT, You said that “a longer duration and follow up would add more weight to the correlations, especially if they want to take into consideration long term cardiovascular outcomes.”

He added: “Furthermore, weight loss and waist circumference measurements are a dynamic change. [They] can go down depending on multiple factors, and clearly diet is a major part of it.”

• Myopia (nearsightedness) currently affects around 2.8 billion people worldwide. Cases are expected to rise to 4.8 billion by 2050, an increase known as “myopia boom.”
• A recent study found that indigo light could completely suppress lens-induced myopia in tree shrews.
• Researchers suggest that supplementing indoor lighting with indigo light in schools may help prevent myopia, though human studies are needed to prove safety and efficacy.

There are currently around 2.8 billion people worldwide with myopia, also known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness. By 2050, the number of cases will rise to around 4.8 billion. Some people refer to this as the “myopia boom.”

This is according to information from a study published in Cell Reports Medicine. The aim of the study was to test whether shortwave light could suppress the development of lens-induced myopia in tree shrews.

The researchers note that evidence suggests environmental factors may play a role in the “myopia boom,” and that there is a relative absence of indigo light in built environments, where people spend around 86% of their time.

In particular, the researchers focused on a model classroom environment, as myopia often first appears in childhood. According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), it typically develops in school-aged children, though it can also begin in adulthood.

According to the study findings, indigo light could help suppress myopia, though more, particularly human-based, research is necessary.

Indigo light helped suppress lens-induced myopia in tree shrews

The study researchers used tree shrews as a model for human myopia as they are diurnal mammals — animals that are awake during daylight and asleep during nighttime — and closely related to primates.

They placed spectacles on the tree shrews when they were 24 days old, an age when they are most susceptible to myopia. One lens acted as a control, and the other lens induced myopia in one eye.

The tree shrews were then exposed to different wavelengths of supplemental light.

The researchers ultimately determined that indigo light in the range of 419 to 446 nanometers (nm), which supplemented a warm white LED, completely suppressed minus-lens-induced myopia.

Study author Rafael Grytz, PhD, Dennis Endowed Professor of Glaucoma Research in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, spoke with Medical News Today about these findings.

“A large body of genetic and epidemiological evidence suggests that the epidemic rise of myopia also called the “myopia boom” has an environmental cause. Our findings align with this evidence and suggest that one contributing factor is the relative absence of indigo light in built environments where children spend more and more of their time compared to previous generations.”

Can the study’s findings help with preventing myopia in childhood?

As the study was conducted in tree shrews, it is not possible to say from the findings whether supplemental light can help prevent myopia in childhood.

The researchers did create a computer model of a classroom and simulated visual wavelengths and μ-opic illumination — a measurement of light — at the eyes of a seated child.

The results of the test determined that, while warm white LEDs can provide good brightness, combining them with indigo light could better support eye health in indoor locations and potentially prevent or reduce the risk of myopia.

However, as this was a simulation, additional tests in real-world settings would need to be conducted.

Grytz also explained that “[t]he benefit vs. risk of using spectacles with short-wavelength-attenuating (“blue-blocking”) lenses in children should be reevaluated considering our findings. Because these spectacles reduce indigo light transmission to the eyes, daytime use in children could plausibly increase the risk of myopia.”

Are there concerns about increasing children’s exposure to short-wavelength light?

Over the years, researchers have examined the potential health implications of increased or long-term exposure to short-wavelength light.

Speaking to MNT about possible concerns about increasing children’s exposure to short-wavelength light, Grytz said, “It is well known that intense short-wavelength light can harm our eyes, but the benefit vs. risk of exposing the human eye to low-level short-wavelength light needs to be reevaluated.”

He added, “Our findings suggest that indigo light is important for the healthy development of our eyes.”

Brenda Montecalvo, O.D., FOVDR, FAAO, FCSO, AOA Pediatric Eye Health and Vision Access Committee member, and President of the College of Syntonic Optometry, addressed outdoor light exposure in an interview with MNT.

“This study does support outdoor exposure, which has shown to slow down progression. So getting outside without UV protection on the eyes may be a benefit. Currently it is unclear what duration is the safest,” said Montecalvo, who was not involved in the study.

What are the next steps?

Grytz told MNT that “[s]tudies that directly compare the influence of standard lighting and indigo-supplemented lighting on responses in the human eye are an obvious next step.”

He added, “We anticipate that two new myopia control strategies will emerge from our findings: [n]ew indoor lighting systems that supplement standard light with indigo light in built environments such as schools and daycares for myopia prevention [and new] medical devices that emit low-level indigo light at controlled conditions for the treatment of myopia progression.”

He concluded: “Human studies will need to prove the safety and efficacy of these new strategies.”

Karen S. DeLoss, O.D., Chair, AOA Contact Lens & Cornea Section, who was not involved in the study, also spoke with MNT:

“Much of the research [into myopia] conducted in animal models remains in early stages and has not yet been evaluated in human clinical trials. Translating these findings into evidence-based recommendations will require substantial additional research on dosing, safety, and long-term outcomes in humans,” DeLoss said.

“In the interim, the AOA encourages parents to schedule yearly comprehensive eye exams for their children with a doctor of optometry, both to protect vision today and to ensure early access to proven, evidence-based myopia management options as they become available.”

• Metformin is a widely prescribed medication used to treat type 2 diabetes.
• The drug has attracted growing interest in anti-aging with promising results from animal studies; however, human evidence is limited.
• The Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) trial aims to investigate whether repurposing metformin can help slow biological aging and delay multiple age-related chronic diseases.
• However, experts say that it’s too early to recommend the medication for longevity benefits as evidence remains mixed.

Could metformin, the decades-old, generic medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, also be used to slow down biological aging?

The Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) trial, led by the nonprofit American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), aims to answer this crucial question.

The nationwide, multi-center trial will span 14 leading research institutions across the U.S. and follow 3,000 participants, ages 65 to 79, who do not have diabetes.

Conducted as a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, half of the participants will receive a standard daily dose of metformin at 1,500 mg/day, while the remaining will receive a matching placebo.

The trial, if it manages to secure funding, will take 6 years in total, with “aging” or multi-disease delay as its main goal. It is important to note that using metformin for longevity is off-label and ​not FDA-approved​ for anti-aging.

The review paper on the trial and metformin’s longevity potential on a wider scale appears in the journal Aging.

Medical News Today spoke to two experts — David Cutler, MD, board-certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, and Diogo Barardo, PhD, longevity scientist and director of R&D at NOVOS — to discuss metformin’s potential in our pursuit of understanding human longevity.

How metformin may influence aging​

As a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, metformin is a safe, low-cost drug. It works by improving insulin sensitivity, reducing glucose production in the liver, and activating the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) cellular pathway, which helps regulate energy balance, sugar, and fat metabolism.

A 2024 study, published in the journal Cell by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that metformin decelerated aging in male monkeys’ brains by approximately 6 years over a 40-month treatment period.

Potential mechanisms by which metformin could promote longevity include:

• metformin may activate AMPK by improving mitochondrial health and enhancing autophagy, the process by which the body gets rid of dead or dysfunctional cells
• metformin may modulate gut bacteria, increasing the abundance of beneficial strains such as Akkermansia muciniphila, and reducing inflammation
• metformin may influence epigenetic aging markers, or in other words, alter which genes are turned up, turned down, or turned off completely.

“Metformin acts on a biochemical and cellular level to alter mitochondrial function, inflammation, insulin action, and epigenetic factors to alter basic cell physiology. These mechanisms could, in theory, have profound anti-aging effects,” Cutler said.

When asked how metformin can potentially slow aging, Barardo explained as follows: “Metformin appears to influence several interconnected systems involved in aging, especially nutrient sensing, cellular maintenance, and inflammatory signaling.”

“One proposed route involves AMPK, a cellular energy sensor, and mTOR, which helps regulate growth and protein production. In experimental settings, metformin can activate AMPK and reduce mTOR signaling, potentially favoring maintenance processes such as autophagy—the recycling of cellular components,” he told MNT.

“Human trials also show changes in gut bacteria and some of their metabolites. These are plausible contributors to its wider effects, but neither finding establishes a longevity benefit,” he pointed out.

More evidence in humans needed

However, despite this potential, Cutler said the current evidence on metformin’s potential longevity benefits was mainly observational or from animal models such as worms and mice.

“There is a plausible and increasingly interesting case that metformin may slow some aspects of biological aging, but the evidence is not yet strong enough to say that metformin extends human life span,” he said.

“Changing a pathway involved in aging is not the same as proving that a treatment slows aging in a person,” Barardo chimed in.

Why we can’t call metformin an ‘anti-aging’ drug yet

Cutler said stronger evidence is needed before this medication is seen as a viable longevity-enhancing drug for the general public. However, he singled out a specific group of people for whom studies have shown metformin can be beneficial.

“[In] diabetics who take metformin, there is good evidence of improved age-related measures like heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and death. But whether this is due to the diabetes-controlling properties of metformin or its presumed anti-aging properties is not clear,” he said.

Cutler said more comprehensive studies are needed to confirm these findings for wider populations.

“The studies would need to be prospective, identifying participants first rather than looking back after the findings are known. Participants should be randomized, rather than simply comparing those who take the drug to those who don’t,” he continued.

“Ideally, studies should be placebo-controlled; half on metformin and half on a known useless pill. And the studies should be blinded, in that neither the participants for the scientists know if they are taking the metformin drug or an inert placebo (double-blinded),” he said.