Advertisement
Here are the top medical news for the day:
Study Finds Bedtime Screen Use Raises Insomnia Risk by 59%
Scientists have found another reason to put the phone down: a survey of 45,202 young adults in Norway has discovered that using a screen in bed drives up your risk of insomnia up by 59% and cuts your sleep time by 24 minutes. However, social media was not found to be more disruptive than other screen activities.
Sleep is critical to our mental and physical health, but many of us don’t get enough. At the same time, an increasing number of people are accustomed to using screens in bed, which may be associated with poor sleep. Screen use is thought to impact sleep in four ways: notifications disturb sleep, screen time replaces sleeping time, screen activities keep you wakeful so you take longer to fall asleep, or light exposure delays circadian rhythms.
To investigate, the scientists reached 45,202 participants in full-time higher education, aged between 18-28 years old.
Participants were also asked to report their bedtime and rising time, as well as how long it took them to fall asleep, how often they had trouble falling or staying asleep, how often they felt sleepy during the day, and how long their sleep problems persisted. Insomnia was defined as trouble sleeping and daytime sleepiness issues at least three times a week over at least three months.
The scientists then sorted responses into three categories: one where participants said they only used social media, one where participants did not mention social media, and one where participants selected several activities, including social media.
The scientists found that increasing screen time after bedtime by one hour increased the odds of insomnia symptoms by 59% and lowered sleep duration by 24 minutes. However, using social media wasn’t more detrimental than other screen activities. There was no significant interaction between the time spent using a screen and the choice of activity, suggesting that the activity itself didn’t affect the amount of time people stayed awake. This indicates that screens reduce sleep time because they displace rest, not because they increase wakefulness: different activities would be expected to affect wakefulness differently.
The scientists cautioned, however, that their study focuses on a single culture. There could be notable differences in the relationship between screen use and sleep globally. Additionally, to compare social media use with other screen activities, some activities which could have different effects on sleep — such as listening to music or gaming — were included in a single category.
Ref: How and when screens are used: Comparing different screen activities and sleep in Norwegian university students” 31 March 2025, Frontiers in Psychiatry.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1548273
Emory Study Reveals Decline in Preventable Cardiac Deaths During Marathons
While more people than ever are running marathons, the risk of dying from a heart attack during a run has fallen dramatically in recent years. That’s a key conclusion from a new follow-up to a study published– the first investigation into unexpected cardiac arrests during long distance running events.
The new findings, published in JAMA, indicate that while the rate of marathon runners who suffer cardiac arrests remained unchanged, their chance for survival is twice what it was in the past. Now, far fewer marathon runners who suffer cardiac arrest are dying of it.
The researchers used extensive public internet searches to identify and reach out to runners who survived cardiac arrests, or next-of-kin, to construct detailed profiles of as many cases as possible.
Analyzing this extensive database, the authors found that while the rate of cardiac arrests was about the same during the two periods – .60 per 100,000 participants now versus .54 per 100,000 participants in the earlier period – the rate of deaths from these cases, however, fell by half: from .39 per 100,000 to .19 per 100,000. That’s about a 50% decline in the death rate since 2000-2009. As before, cardiac arrests remained far more common among men than among women and more common in marathons than half marathons.
These findings offer additional evidence of how important it is to make CPR training available to race participants and to strategically place defibrillators along the racecourse. It’s also important to better identify the most vulnerable in a population before they run a race.
Ref: Cardiac Arrest During Long-Distance Running Races." JAMA. March 30, 2025. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.3026
Antidepressant Use Tied to Higher Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death, Study Reveals
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) refers to an unexpected death of a person, believed to be caused by a heart-related issue. It occurs within one hour of the onset of symptoms in witnessed cases or within 24 hours of the person being last seen alive in unwitnessed cases. The causes in people under the age of 39 are often a thickening of the heart muscle or an electrical problem with the heart. In older people, SCD is more likely to be caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply the heart.
Previous research has shown that patients with psychiatric disorders have an increased all-cause mortality as well as double the risk of sudden cardiac death across all age groups. However, the impact of antidepressant exposure on SCD risk has so far been unclear.
In new research presented at EHRA 2025, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology, researchers show that, compared with the general population with no history of antidepressant (AD) use, individuals with a history of AD use have an increased risk of SCD, which varies based on age and time of exposure.
The authors examined all deaths. Deaths were categorised as non-SCD or SCD based on the available information. Exposure to AD was defined by redemption of a prescription for AD medication at least twice in one year over a period of 12 years before the year of follow-up (2010). Furthermore, exposure time was divided into two groups: 1 to 5 years and 6 or more years.
A total of 643,999 inhabitants were exposed to AD medication prior to the year of follow-up. There were 1,981 sudden cardiac deaths in the AD cohort and 4,021 in the unexposed general population. The incidence rate ratio of SCD was significantly higher in the exposed groups compared to the general population across all age groups except for the age group 18-29 years, for whom the association was not statistically significant. In individuals aged 30-39 years, compared with the unexposed general population, those with 1 to 5 years of antidepressant exposure were around three times more likely to suffer sudden cardiac death. This risk increased to five times higher for those with six or more years of AD exposure.
The researchers highlighted that the exposure time to antidepressants was associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, and linked to how long the person had been exposed to antidepressants. Those exposed for 6 years or more were at even more increased risk than those exposed for 1 to 5 years, when compared with people unexposed to antidepressants in the general population.
Ref: Use of antidepressant medication linked to substantial increase in risk of sudden cardiac death. European Society of Cardiology. 30 Mar 2025
Our comments section is governed by our Comments Policy . By posting comments at Medical Dialogues you automatically agree with our Comments Policy , Terms And Conditions and Privacy Policy .
Disclaimer: This website is primarily for healthcare professionals. The content here does not replace medical advice and should not be used as medical, diagnostic, endorsement, treatment, or prescription advice. Medical science evolves rapidly, and we strive to keep our information current. If you find any discrepancies, please contact us at corrections@medicaldialogues.in. Read our Correction Policy here. Nothing here should be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We do not endorse any healthcare advice that contradicts a physician's guidance. Use of this site is subject to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Advertisement Policy. For more details, read our Full Disclaimer here.
NOTE: Join us in combating medical misinformation. If you encounter a questionable health, medical, or medical education claim, email us at factcheck@medicaldialogues.in for evaluation.