https://medicalxpress.com/preventive-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Preventive medicine A team of researchers led by the University of Aberdeen has found that private gardens played a vital role in supporting people's well-being during the U.K.'s first COVID-19 lockdown, when access to public green spaces was significantly restricted. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-private-gardens-covid-lockdown.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:00:05 EDT news695564874 Restricting calorie intake in species such as mice, rhesus monkeys, and fruit flies has been shown to extend their lifespans. In some cases, these animals not only live longer, but are also free of disease. But when pushed too far, calorie restriction can have negative impacts. Mice that undergo a 40% reduction in calorie intake, for example, are more susceptible to infections, less likely to reproduce, and experience stunted growth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-calories-aging-compromising-health.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:40:02 EDT news695638498 A new report, published in Nature Metabolism, is shedding light on the distinct and underappreciated role of fructose in driving disease, separate from its role as a simple source of calories. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-fructose-emerges-key-driver-metabolic.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 05:00:03 EDT news695568601 The worrisome rise in colorectal cancer deaths in younger adults is concentrated in people with less education, suggesting socioeconomic factors could be driving the escalation, according to a new study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-colon-cancer-deaths-younger-adults.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:20:06 EDT news695565723 Doctors recommend getting your flu shot annually, since the specific influenza strain it targets varies from year to year. But what if the shot could be more effective while protecting against more strains? Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine are one step closer to making this happen. When the immune system sees a new strain of a familiar virus, it typically focuses on the parts it "remembers" most, even if those regions have changed. "Epitope-spanning antigenic variation reprograms immunodominance and broadens immunity in sequential influenza vaccination" was recently published in Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-flu-shot-epitope-widen.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:00:03 EDT news695491082 Extending vaccination opportunities, involving community members alongside health care professionals in communicating about vaccines, and providing financial incentives are among the most effective ways to increase vaccine uptake, finds an analysis of international trial evidence published by The BMJ. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-vaccination-access-community-outreach-incentives.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:30:06 EDT news695467686 Adolescents who consume more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have significantly higher odds of being overweight or obese, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Mekuriaw Nibret Aweke of the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ultra-food-intake-sharply-higher.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:11 EDT news695466061 A substantial amount of medical information provided by five popular chatbots is inaccurate and incomplete, with half (50%) of the responses problematic: 30% were somewhat, and 20% were highly problematic. These are the results of a study published in the journal BMJ Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-popular-ai-chatbots-confidently-medical.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:30:04 EDT news695294988 Timing exercise to match body clock chronotype—the natural predisposition to morning or evening alertness—may lower cardiovascular disease risk among those who are already vulnerable, suggests research published in the open access journal Open Heart. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-body-clock-chronotype-cardiovascular-disease.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:30:03 EDT news695294521 Restricting calories has long been recognized as a powerful way to live longer, with periods of intermittent fasting proving more effective than a steady diet. However, the mechanism behind this phenomenon has been unclear. Research led by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists and published in Nature Communications suggests it's not the fast itself that extends life, but how the body metabolically pivots during refeeding after fasting. Although the findings were made in Caenorhabditis elegans, a roundworm often used as a lab model, they could eventually lead to new ways to boost health in humans. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-fasting-longer-lifespan.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:20:01 EDT news695375356 Researchers at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have found that stopping mass drug administration for Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) was associated with an increase in infections from other parasitic worms, threatening disease control efforts. The study, published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, suggests that once wider community treatment programs for LF ended, school-aged children were nearly twice as likely to be infected with the intestinal roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-community-wide-treatment-linked-resurgence.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:40:07 EDT news695301481 In a study involving over 600,000 people, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have investigated how changes in weight between the ages of 17 and 60 are linked to the risk of dying from various diseases. The results show a clear pattern: weight gain early in adulthood has the greatest impact. The work is published in the journal eClinicalMedicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-weight-gain-20s-health-impact.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:20:08 EDT news695300761