Social determinants of health such as food insecurity, low household income and a lack of health insurance has been linked to youth-onset of prediabetes—higher-than-normal blood sugar—in adolescents, independent of race and ethnicity according to a new study published today in JAMA Open Network. The research, by investigators at the University…

Researchers from Mass General Brigham, reporting in npj Digital Medicine, detail their development of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) that can identify social determinants of health (SDoH) from a doctor’s notes. The new model, developed using a large language model (LLM), the finely tuned tool identified 93.8% of patients with…

William A. Haseltine, PhD Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become one of the most promising new tools in healthcare. Not only has it been used to improve individual health outcomes by streamlining diagnosis and treatment, but recent studies have begun to explore its ability to improve…

When people think of health inequity, it is often in terms of racial disparities—Black men being two times more likely to die from prostate cancer, for instance. The causes of these inequities comprise a range of factors, from the biological to the social, environmental, and economic. In short, good health…

A new study published yesterday in JACC: Heart Failure by researchers in China shows that social isolation and loneliness are associated with higher rates of heart failure. However, whether a person feels lonely regardless if they are alone or not is more important in determining risk. The new study helps…

Tom Lawry, National Director for AI, Health & Life Sciences at Microsoft spent some time talking to editor in chief Damian Doherty about his new book Hacking Healthcare—How AI and the Intelligence Revolution will Reboot an Ailing System. Tom’s book shines light on how the pandemic, despite its destructive force,…

When Apple first launched a feature on its smartwatch to identify irregular heart rhythms a couple of years ago, it was a game changer for wearable health technology. The app, which provides information akin to a single lead electrocardiogram (ECG), may not have quite the same diagnostic value as the…

We live in an age of wide-reaching population health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, that have a huge physical, mental, and financial cost for patients and providers. However, new forms of artificial intelligence (AI) could be the answer to solving these population health problems in an efficient…

Researchers based at the University of Cambridge, using data from the UK Biobank, have identified 15 genomic loci for loneliness and 37 other loci for regular participation in social activities ranging from hitting the gym to attending religious services, according to a study published this week. The trio of researchers…

Nevada-based health system Renown Health has joined with the environmental sciences organization Desert Research Institute (DRI) and personal genetics company 23andMe to launch a community-based population health study pilot that will combine health, population, genetic, and environmental data to help model public health risks. The study, which is open to…

When Sadia Haqnawaz went in for her 20-week scan, she heard words that no pregnant woman wants to hear. “It was quite quiet for a long time and the sonographer said that he’s having trouble looking at the scan because there’s no fluid, there’s no amniotic fluid. And as soon…

New research published today by investigators from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health has identified 17 significant genetic variants in five genomic regions that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The…

ol.custom-marker { counter-reset: list;}ol.custom-marker > li { list-style: none; counter-increment: list;}ol.custom-marker.parens-after.decimal > li::marker { content: counter(list) “)\a0”;} By Michael N. Liebman Biology embraces the existence of a central dogma, i.e., DNA → RNA → protein, and drug development has embraced its own, i.e., disease → target → drug, but both…

Walgreens and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) announced a collaboration on a population-based clinical trial that seeks to quantify the prevalence of valvular heart disease (VHD) in older Americans. Under the terms of the deal, Walgreens will leverage its broad national presence to help recruit potential trial participants employing its…

The National Institutes of Health is establishing a Multi-Omics for Health and Disease Consortium, with approximately $11 million awarded in the consortium’s first year of funding. The program aims to advance the generation and analysis of “multi-omics” data for human health research and seeks to award approximately $50.3 million over…