MEDICAL BULLETIN 15/SEP/2023

Overview

Here are the top medical news of the day:

Increased Particulate Air Pollution Linked to Higher Breast Cancer Incidence NIH Study

National Institutes of Health researchers have found that living in an area with high levels of particulate air pollution was linked with an increased incidence of breast cancer. The researchers saw that the largest increases in breast cancer incidence was among women who on average had higher particulate matter levels (PM2.5) near their home prior to enrolling in the study, compared to those who lived in areas with lower levels of PM2.5.

The study was conducted using information from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, which enrolled more than 500,000 men and women between 1995-96. The women in the cohort were on average about 62 years of age and most identified as being non-Hispanic white. They were followed for approximately 20 years, during which 15,870 breast cancer cases were identified.

Ref: White AJ, Fisher JA, Sweeney MR, Freedman ND, Kaufman JD, Silverman DT, Jones RR. 2023. Ambient fine particulate matter and breast cancer incidence in a large prospective US cohort. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djad170(link is external)

Intracerebral Hemorrhage Among Blood Donors and Their Transfusion Recipients indicated in new study

In an exploratory analysis of patients who received red blood cell transfusions, patients who underwent transfusion with red blood cells from donors who later developed multiple spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs), were at significantly increased risk of spontaneous ICH themselves.

Intracerebral hemorrhage is a medical condition characterized by bleeding within the brain's tissue. This bleeding occurs when a blood vessel ruptures and leaks blood into the surrounding brain tissue. ICH is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition that can lead to neurological deficits, coma, or even death.

Ref: Zhao J, Rostgaard K, Lauwers E, et al. Intracerebral Hemorrhage Among Blood Donors and Their Transfusion Recipients. JAMA. 2023;330(10):941–950. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.14445

Stress and insomnia major drivers of atrial fibrillation in postmenopausal women : JAHA study

Recent findings published in JAHA, add to the growing body of evidence showing a close association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and the spectrum of psychosocial risk factors as grouped in the Stress Cluster and the Strain Cluster. The findings highlight the important role of mental health–related risk factors in AF pathophysiology and strategies for risk modification. The Stress Cluster included SLE, depressive symptoms, and insomnia. The Strain Cluster included optimism, social support, social strain, cynical hostility, and emotional expressiveness.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia with high prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and economic burden.Some studies suggest sex‐specific differences in AF pathophysiology between men and women, and an association of AF with worse outcomes among women.

Ref: Susan X. Zhao, MD, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, California, and colleagues. It was published online August 30, 2023, in the Journal of the American Heart Association.