Medical Bulletin 13/August/2025

Among women who consistently followed all five optimal lifestyle factors, no cardiovascular events were observed over nearly 28 years of follow-up.

These findings highlight the critical importance of early and sustained lifestyle interventions for women, especially those with a history of Gestational diabetes mellitus.

"Our findings suggest that CVD is not an inevitable outcome for women with a history of gestational diabetes," said Dr. Yang Jiaxi, Senior Research Fellow at the Global Center for Asian Women's Health (GloW), NUS Medicine, and co-first author of the study. "Even modest lifestyle improvements after pregnancy can significantly reduce future heart risk."

Reference: Frank Qian et al, Long‐Term Adherence to Modifiable Factors and Incident Cardiovascular Disease Among Women With a History of Gestational Diabetes: A Prospective Cohort Study, Journal of the American Heart Association (2025). DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.124.038936

New Web-Based Tool Aims to Cut Lung Cancer Deaths with Tailored Strategies

In a major step toward tackling cancer-related deaths, experts have developed a customizable, web-based planning tool designed to help implement targeted strategies to reduce lung cancer mortality. The features and development process of this tool are detailed in a recent article published by CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, and available via Wiley Online Library.

Lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer and cancer-related deaths globally. Despite the availability of screening programs that can detect the disease early, screening rates across many regions have remained low. This delay in diagnosis and care significantly contributes to the high mortality associated with the disease.

To tackle rising lung cancer deaths, the American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable (ACS NLCRT) was formed in 2017, uniting over 200 organizations. Its State-Based Initiatives (SBI) Task Group was tasked with developing a centralized, web-based tool to provide tailored best practices and strategies for each region.

The SBI Planning Tool was developed using a collaborative, user-informed approach involving multiple meetings, interviews, and usability testing. The content, design, and navigation of the website were refined biweekly, incorporating feedback collected through user surveys. Recognizing the varying challenges and resources available in different regions, developers ensured that users could navigate toward tailored recommendations that best matched their needs.

Importantly, the tool was designed with a strong focus on health equity. Developers sought to avoid exacerbating disparities by ensuring underserved communities are not left behind in lung cancer prevention and treatment strategies.

Reference: Olson JMG, Knight JR, Copeland AM, et al. The American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable strategic plan: addressing planning for lung cancer interventions at the state and local level through the creation of the National Lung Cancer Roundtable Planning Tool. Cancer. 2025;e35954. doi:10.1002/cncr.35954

Good Deeds, Good Diets: Study Links Childhood Prosocial Behavior to Healthier Teen Diets

Children who grow up practicing kindness and helpfulness may be more likely to develop healthy eating habits as teenagers, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, by Elsevier. The research, based on long-term data from the United Kingdom, suggests that nurturing prosocial behavior in children could be a promising strategy for promoting better health outcomes across the lifespan.

The study analyzed data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study that followed children born in the UK for over 20 years. Researchers tracked prosocial behavior—defined as actions like caring, helping, and cooperating—based on parent reports at ages 5, 7, and 11. They then compared these early behaviors with adolescents’ self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption at ages 14 and 17.

Despite some limitations, such as unmeasured factors in the family environment, the study controlled for many variables including early eating habits and socioeconomic status.

Ultimately, the findings underscore prosocial behavior as a “health asset” with the power to shape long-term well-being. Encouraging kindness in children may not just build better communities—it could also lead to healthier lives.

Lead investigator Farah Qureshi, ScD, MHS, Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said, “Prior research has found that behaviors that help others (like volunteering) are related to better health in older adults. We wanted to understand whether these types of activities benefit youth as well, focusing on a broader range of prosocial behaviors, like acts of kindness, cooperation, and caring for others. In our current research, we found that children who consistently displayed more of these kinds of positive social behaviors at any age were more likely to maintain healthy eating habits into their teenage years, a time when dietary choices set patterns that can shape lifelong health.”

Reference: Kind Kids, Healthy Teens: Child Prosociality and Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Qureshi, Farah et al., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 0, Issue 0, 107965