Medical Bulletin 20/May/2025 - Video

The research analyzed data from 1,792 participants in the Malmö Preventive Project. Participants were aged 45–73 at the start of the study and included a balanced distribution of individuals with normal blood glucose, impaired fasting glucose, and diabetes. Over a median follow-up period of 12.6 years, 132 participants developed heart failure.

The study found that a higher Waist-to-height ratio was associated with a significantly greater risk of heart failure. For each standard deviation increase in Waist-to-height ratio, the hazard ratio for incident heart failure was 1.34, even after adjusting for potential confounders. When categorized into quartiles, individuals in the highest Waist-to-height ratio group had nearly three times the risk of heart failure compared to those in the lower three quartiles.

Unlike BMI, which does not account for fat distribution and is influenced by sex and ethnicity, Waist-to-height ratio specifically reflects central adiposity — fat accumulation around vital organs — which is particularly harmful. Notably, while high BMI has sometimes been linked to unexpectedly better heart failure outcomes, this so-called “obesity paradox” was not observed with Waist-to-height ratio.

Study co-author, Dr. John Molvin from Lund University and Malmö University Hospital, Sweden, noted: “The meuropean society of cardiology,dr john molvin,lund university,malmö university hospital, sweden,obesity,body mass indexedian Waist-to-height ratio in our analysis was considerably higher than 0.5, the cut-off for increased cardiometabolic risk. Having a waist measurement that is less than half your height is ideal.” He concluded: “We found that Waist-to-height ratio was a significant predictor of incident heart failure and our results suggest that Waist-to-height ratio may be a better metric than BMI to identify patients with heart failure who could benefit from therapies for obesity. Our next step is to investigate whether Waist-to-height ratio predicts incident HF and also other cardiometabolic disorders in a larger cohort.”

Reference: https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-Events/Heart-Failure/About-the-congress

One in Ten Asthma Cases Linked to Harmful Urban Environments: Study

A large study has revealed that the combination of air pollution, dense urban development, and limited access to green spaces significantly increases the risk of asthma in both children and adults. Published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, the study concludes that improving urban environmental conditions could potentially prevent approximately one in ten asthma cases.

The research, led by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden as part of a major EU collaboration, analyzed data from nearly 350,000 individuals across 14 population cohorts in seven European countries. By linking participants’ residential addresses to environmental data, the researchers assessed multiple urban exposures, including levels of air pollution, outdoor temperature, population density, and the availability of green and blue spaces using satellite imagery.

What sets this study apart is its comprehensive approach to environmental risk. Over the course of the study, approximately 7,500 individuals developed asthma. The researchers found that 11.6% of these cases could be attributed to the combined effect of harmful environmental conditions, underscoring the significant role of urban design in public health outcomes.

The findings highlight the importance of integrating health considerations into city planning.

"Previous studies have typically calculated the risk of one environmental factor at a time. We have combined several environmental factors and described how they together affect the risk of developing asthma. This provides a better picture of environmental risks, as life in a city usually involves exposure to several environmental risk factors at the same time," says first author Zhebin Yu, researcher and assistant professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet.

Reference: hebin Yu, Sara Kress, Natalia Blay, Petr Gregor, Hanna-Maria Kukk, Miriam Leskien, Renata Majewska, Max J. Oosterwegel, Daniel Szabó, Margreet ten Have, Jana Klánová, Ondřej Mikeš, Anna Bergström, Alonso Bussalleu, Rafael de Cid, Andrea Dalecka, Payam Dadvand, Saskia van Dorsselaer, Krista Fischer, Kees de Hoogh, Gerard H. Koppelman, Jaanika Kronberg, Andres Metspalu, Lili Milani, Tõnu Esko, Mait Metspalu, Jeroen Lakerveld, Petter Ljungman, Simon Kebede Merid, Pawel Macek, Marta Manczuk, Anne-Sophie Merritt, Agnieszka Pac, Priit Palta, Göran Pershagen, Annette Peters, Hynek Pikhart, Apolline Saucy, Tamara Schikowski, Youchen Shen, Marie Standl, Cathryn Tonne, Roel Vermeulen, Jelle Vlaanderen, Judith M. Vonk, Kathrin Wolf, Carl Henrik Ek, Olena Gruzieva, Ulrike Gehring, Erik Melén. External exposome and incident asthma across the life course in 14 European cohorts: a prospective analysis within the EXPANSE project. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 2025; 101314 DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101314

Can Mindfulness Retrain the Brain to Reduce Anxiety?

Mindfulness can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms, and different mindfulness practices may be more effective for specific types of anxiety, according to a new study published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. The research concludes that aligning mindfulness techniques with individual anxiety patterns could lead to more targeted and effective treatment strategies.

The framework of the study moves away from the traditional one-size-fits-all model, instead proposing a tailored approach to using mindfulness for anxiety, which spans from mild worry to more severe clinical conditions.

At the core of this new model is the role of cognitive control — the mental ability to regulate thoughts and actions toward achieving goals. Resh Gupta, study’s lead author and a postdoctoral research associate with the Mindfulness Science and Practice cluster at Washington University in St. Louis, explains that mindfulness enhances cognitive control, while anxiety undermines it by flooding the brain’s working memory with worry. Neuroimaging studies support this idea, showing that mindfulness meditation strengthens brain areas associated with cognitive control.

Different types of mindfulness meditations may serve different needs. For those experiencing constant worrying, focused attention meditation, which centres attention on a specific anchor like the breath, can redirect thoughts from worry to the present moment. For individuals suffering from hypervigilance and physical symptoms of anxiety, open monitoring meditation, which involves non-judgmentally observing a wide range of experiences, may be more helpful.

With growing evidence and community engagement, the team hopes to empower individuals to find the mindfulness practice that best suits their needs and enhances their quality of life.

Reference: Gupta, R. S., Heller, W., & Braver, T. S. (2025). Reconceptualizing the relationship between anxiety, mindfulness, and cognitive control. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 106146.