Medical Bulletin 7/March/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Parasitic infections common in kids in low-resource US communities

Most Americans view parasitic infections as a problem of the past or one that only impacts low-income countries. However, new research from Washington University in St. Louis finds evidence that the problem is likely widespread in low-resource communities throughout southern United States.

In a small, preliminary study published in American Journal of Human Biology, 38% of children sampled from a rural Mississippi Delta community were found to have either parasitic worms or protist infections - a single-cell parasitic organisms that can negatively impact intestinal health.

Reference:

Parasitic infections common in kids in low-resource US communities, study finds; JOURNAL American Journal of Human Biology, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23889.

Pregnant people with schizophrenia have threefold risk of interpersonal violence

Pregnant and postpartum people with schizophrenia have a more than threefold increase in the risk of an emergency department visit for interpersonal violence, compared with those without schizophrenia, according to a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

About 1 in 5 (20.7%) women with schizophrenia experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime, about 9 times the risk for those without serious mental illness. However, little is known about their risk during the perinatal period.

Reference:

Pregnant people with schizophrenia have threefold risk of interpersonal violence; Canadian Medical Association Journal, DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.220689.

Greater gender equality increases life expectancy of both women and men

According to the latest report by the World Economic Forum, global events such as the rising cost of living, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency and large-scale conflict and displacement are stalling progress towards gender parity. This may, in turn, jeopardise socioeconomic development and improvement in living and working conditions, curbing the gains in life expectancy that have occurred over the past decades.

The first global study to investigate how gender equality may be associated with life expectancy has found that both women and men live longer as it improves.

Reference:

Pinho-Gomes A-C, Peters SAE, Woodward M (2023) Gender equality related to gender differences in life expectancy across the globe gender equality and life expectancy. PLOS Glob Public Health 3(3): e0001214. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001214.