https://medicalxpress.com/preventive-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Preventive medicine Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are the clinical gold standards for screening blood sugar levels, yet they provide only static snapshots that fail to reflect the highly dynamic and heterogeneous nature of metabolic impairment. However, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is reshaping our understanding of these levels. While the medical community already has begun capitalizing on CGM for diabetes management, a new study has the potential to change current clinical practices for cardiovascular disease risk stratification in individuals without diabetes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-glucose-reveal-hidden-heart-patterns.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:00:37 EDT news708863041 Greater amounts of REM and deep sleep were associated with lower risks of dozens of diseases, and less than 5 hours of total sleep was associated with high disease risks, according to a new study published Sept. 17 in the journal PLOS Medicine by Shengzhi Sun of Capital Medical University, China, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-rem-deep-total-disease.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:00:13 EDT news708797641 Every year, around 1.9 million people worldwide are diagnosed with bowel cancer. To prevent the disease, many countries have introduced screening programs that enable more polyps to be detected and removed before cancer develops. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-trial-frequent-colonoscopies-safely-high.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:20:13 EDT news708856921 U.S. health officials knowingly relied on a compromised algorithm to detect signals of harm from mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and silenced efforts to fix it, finds an investigation published by The BMJ today. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-sidelined-flawed-covid-vaccine-safety.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:30:01 EDT news708798361 A team from the Department of Computational Biology at the University of Lausanne has developed an artificial intelligence model capable of estimating a person's retinal age from a simple photograph of the back of the eye. This measure provides information about health and the future risk of developing age-related diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ai-retinal-age-revealing-sex.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:40:08 EDT news708788461 A study by DZNE finds that healthy eating is associated with slower biological aging—and that there is more than one way to eat healthily. The researchers examined 10 dietary patterns considered healthy, including the Mediterranean, Nordic, and a plant-based diet, as well as the DASH diet, which is designed to help lower blood pressure. All were linked with slower biological aging, with age-related changes in the DNA serving as markers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-healthy-linked-slower-biological-aging.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:40:01 EDT news708766681 Exposure to air pollutants, especially small particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), may heighten the risk of death by suicide and suicidal thoughts, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-air-pollutant-exposure-linked-heightened.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 18:30:02 EDT news708604801 In the 46 years since Dolly Parton wrote the workers' anthem "9 to 5," American jobs, and access to employment-based health insurance, have changed a lot. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-volatile-hours-access-employer-health.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 15:40:06 EDT news708702599 Ultrafine particulate air pollution floats through the air like a miasma, leaving heart disease, dementia and asthma in its wake. But ultrafine pollution doesn't affect everyone equally. Researchers from the University of Connecticut and Tufts University report on July 28 in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology that a larger waist—indicating more fat around the organs—makes people more vulnerable. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-bmi-waist-size-air-pollution.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:00:04 EDT news708623821