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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the public-health desk.
health
A medRxiv preprint analysing surveys of 26,539 recent mothers found that Bangladesh’s caesarean rate rose from 19.5% in 2012–13 to 52.0% in 2025. The researchers attributed most of the increase, in accounting terms, to more births taking place in facilities.
health
The BMJ has published a practical guide for clinicians on preparing for and responding to extreme weather events, which have increased five-fold over the past 50 years. The guide provides a structured approach for assessing patient exposure and vulnerability, maintaining continuity of care during disasters, and supporting recovery afterward.
health
A medRxiv preprint reports that chemical testing found undeclared kratom-related compounds in all 46 products sampled under a cat’s claw label. Five also contained tianeptine, an antidepressant not approved in the United States.
health
A commissioned BMJ opinion argues that conflict and climate change are worsening local food insecurity, even as global calorie production per person rises. It calls for more resilient food systems and targeted support for vulnerable households.
health
A BMJ editorial calls for enforceable heat-stress standards and workplace protections, including measures that cover informal workers. It argues that controls should address both exposure and workers’ ability to rest or stop work without losing income.
health
A BMJ editorial argues that FDA adverse-event reports can flag medical-device safety concerns, while clinical registries help measure risk. It cites a cross-sectional study that found frequent errors and delays in MAUDE summary reports.
health
In a phase 1a study of 20 healthy adults, 15 developed a fourfold rise in antibody titres against both cholera serotypes after a second PanChol dose. The preprint also reports reduced vaccine shedding after the booster, an indirect measure of intestinal immunity rather than a measure of protection from cholera illness.
health
Researchers used self-reported data from 6.1 million people in 118 countries to create reference curves for pain across ages 5 to over 100. The estimates show different age patterns by pain site and higher late-life prevalence of several pain types in lower-HDI settings.
health
An analysis of 16 quarterly HIV treatment cohorts in Uganda found that median retention among children and adolescents was lower at 24 months than at six months after starting ART. Retention also varied by region.
health
A medRxiv preprint describes an algorithm that identified 880,926 pregnancies in Greater Manchester primary-care records. Validation results varied by outcome, with a substantial gap between the register’s miscarriage and termination rates and published UK estimates.
health
A study of 30,533 US adults found that among three routine blood-test inflammatory indices, only the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio independently predicted cardiovascular mortality, with SII and PLR adding little predictive value.
health
A preprint describes a causal digital-twin framework that estimates individual survival benefit from chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone in head and neck cancer, stratified by HPV status.
health
A prospective cohort study of 12,235 adults in England linked more days above WHO daily NO₂ guideline values with faster subsequent decline in memory and verbal fluency. The observational findings come from a medRxiv preprint.
health
A systematic review discussed by two paediatric respiratory physicians links vaping among children and young people with respiratory symptoms, mental-health concerns and later cigarette smoking. The authors call for governments to legislate and enforce protections.
health
A Nature Medicine correspondence proposes tracking how quickly Ebola alerts lead to investigation, isolation and care, alongside conventional surveillance coverage. It cites DRC outbreak figures showing high reported case and death totals despite extensive alert investigation and contact follow-up.
health
A BMJ opinion article compares programmes that connect families facing financial hardship with support services through healthcare. Its authors argue that referrals can help families access existing benefits and reduce financial stress, but cannot make up for inadequate income.
science
A global analysis of 58,319 outbreak events across 32 diseases found shared landscape associations for several vector-borne infections, but less consistent patterns for directly transmitted zoonoses. The study also found that outbreak reporting was strongly associated with access to healthcare.
health
An ETH Zurich preprint used physiological and environmental signals from 20 participants to distinguish ambient temperature, humidity and physical exertion with 94.7% Random Forest accuracy. The exploratory study is an early step toward person-centred heat monitoring and requires testing in real-world settings.
health
A genome-wide association study of 140,559 adults from the Mexico City Prospective Study identified 78 independent signals for systolic blood pressure and hundreds more for other blood pressure traits, including variants rare in other populations.
health
A surveillance-based modeling study estimates that a 2020 mass oral cholera vaccination campaign in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, averted 56% of infections and deaths over the following three years. The preprint estimates that 2,350 facility-attended cases and 44 facility and community deaths were prevented.
health
The Thirlwall Public Inquiry found that doctors’ concerns about Lucy Letby were dismissed at the Countess of Chester Hospital and that earlier police involvement might have saved some babies. It recommended tighter neonatal monitoring, insulin-access controls and a barring system for NHS managers dismissed for serious misconduct.
health
A survey reported by The BMJ suggests that more than half of England’s integrated care systems lack enough capacity to diagnose childhood asthma in line with current guidelines. The guidelines recommend fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing as the first-line diagnostic test for children with a history of asthma.
health
A preprint study of 1,268 South African adolescent girls found that DXA-measured body composition, particularly central fat distribution, is associated with elevated blood pressure. The findings highlight the importance of body composition balance and modifiable factors like sedentary behaviour.
health
A medRxiv preprint analysing 12,944 participants from nationally representative cohorts in China, England and the United States found that higher estimated cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with a lower risk of developing two or more cardiometabolic conditions. The observational study suggests that a non-exercise fitness estimate may help characterise risk, but it does not establish that increasing fitness prevents these conditions.