[Comment] Thresholds for safer alcohol use might need lowering
Guidelines for levels of alcohol use that pose a low risk to drinkers' health are provided by many countries, usually based on meta-analyses of epidemiological studies.1 –3 However, to devise such guidelines is challenging because alcohol is linked to poor health in various and complex ways. Injury, suicide, and assault, for example, are associated with drinking to intoxication, whereas regular alcohol consumption increases the risks of liver cirrhosis, gastrointe stinal diseases, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and some types of cancer. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 13, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Jason Connor, Wayne Hall Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Editorial] South Africa sliding backwards
After nearly two decades of progress following the abolishment of apartheid, South Africa's societal gains are now deteriorating. These are the conclusions of a report published on March 28 by The World Bank that analysed the country's progress in reducing poverty and inequality from 1994 to 2015. While overall the country's poverty levels have fallen since 1994, at least 2 ·5 million more South Africans since then have become poor. Over half the population lives under the poverty line, many of whom are black or South Africans of mixed race. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 13, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Lancet Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
[Editorial] The General Medical Council has lost its way
On March 28, the tragic case of Jack Adcock —a 6-year-old boy with Down's syndrome who died of sepsis in Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011—and Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba took another turn. Bawa-Garba, the paediatric trainee convicted of gross negligence manslaughter by a jury in 2015, was given permission to appeal a January High Court ruling t o permanently strike her off the medical register. The General Medical Council (GMC), the UK's licensing body for doctors, had successfully appealed its own but independent Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service's decision from last July to suspend the doctor for 12 months but not rev...
Source: LANCET - April 13, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Lancet Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
[Editorial] Closing the gender pay gap: when and how?
The most recent estimates by the World Economic Forum indicate that the global economic gender gap will take 217 years to close, and that this gap widened in 2017. That pay inequality is pervasive in the UK is therefore unsurprising. The UK median gender pay gap —the difference in average hourly earnings between men and women—is 18%. To address this disparity, the UK became the first country to mandate individual employers to release their gender pay gap data. All public and private sector employers with at least 250 employees had to report by April 4, 2018. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 13, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Lancet Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
[Articles] Effectiveness of a long-lasting piperonyl butoxide-treated insecticidal net and indoor residual spray interventions, separately and together, against malaria transmitted by pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes: a cluster, randomised controlled, two-by-two factorial design trial
The PBO long-lasting insecticidal net and non-pyrethroid indoor residual spraying interventions showed improved control of malaria transmission compared with standard long-lasting insecticidal nets where pyrethroid resistance is prevalent and either intervention could be deployed to good effect. As a result, WHO has since recommended to increase coverage of PBO long-lasting insecticidal nets. Combining indoor residual spraying with pirimiphos-methyl and PBO long-lasting insecticidal nets provided no additional benefit compared with PBO long-lasting insecticidal nets alone or standard long-lasting insecticidal nets plus ind...
Source: LANCET - April 11, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Natacha Protopopoff, Jacklin F Mosha, Eliud Lukole, Jacques D Charlwood, Alexandra Wright, Charles D Mwalimu, Alphaxard Manjurano, Franklin W Mosha, William Kisinza, Immo Kleinschmidt, Mark Rowland Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Comment] Insecticide-resistant malaria vectors must be tackled
Vector control with long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying accounts for most of the 1 ·3 billion fewer malaria cases and 6·8 million fewer malaria-related deaths attributable to declining transmission between 2000 and 2015.1–3 However, because resistance to pyrethroid insecticides has spread through African malaria vector populations, concerns over maintaining these gains have be en widely voiced—but these are frequently disputed.4 The findings presented by Natacha Protopopoff and colleagues5 in The Lancet provide rigorous, long overdue, new evidence for those working in the field of malaria vect...
Source: LANCET - April 11, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Gerry F Killeen, Hilary Ranson Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Department of Error] Department of Error
Das P, Horton R. Pollution, health, and the planet: time for decisive action. Lancet 2018; 391: 407 –08—In the acknowledgments section of this Comment (published online first on Oct 19, 2017), the Governments of Germany, Norway, and Sweden should have been thanked for their “funding of the report, input, or both”. This correction has been made to the online version as of April 10, 2018. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 10, 2018 Category: General Medicine Tags: Department of Error Source Type: research
[Articles] Prevalence and risk factors of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China (the China Pulmonary Health [CPH] study): a national cross-sectional study
Spirometry-defined COPD is highly prevalent in the Chinese adult population. Cigarette smoking, ambient air pollution, underweight, childhood chronic cough, parental history of respiratory diseases, and low education are major risk factors for COPD. Prevention and early detection of COPD using spirometry should be a public health priority in China to reduce COPD-related morbidity and mortality. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 9, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Chen Wang, Jianying Xu, Lan Yang, Yongjian Xu, Xiangyan Zhang, Chunxue Bai, Jian Kang, Pixin Ran, Huahao Shen, Fuqiang Wen, Kewu Huang, Wanzhen Yao, Tieying Sun, Guangliang Shan, Ting Yang, Yingxiang Lin, Sinan Wu, Jianguo Zhu, Ruiying Wang, Zhihong Shi, Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Comment] The emerging Chinese COPD epidemic
Few people today question the global burden of chronic respiratory diseases, of which chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most prominent cause of disability-adjusted life-years.1 Tobacco smoking, poverty, and exposure to biomass fuel are the most important risk factors for COPD globally, and which are unevenly spread.2 (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 9, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: J ørgen Vestbo, Alexander G Mathioudakis Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Comment] Public Health Science Conference: a call for abstracts
We are delighted to invite abstract submissions for Public Health Science: A National Conference Dedicated to New Research in UK Public Health, to be held in Belfast, UK, on Nov 23, 2018. This is our seventh annual conference to showcase the creativity of the public health research community in the UK and Ireland. The conference provides a forum for academics, practitioners, and policy makers to discuss important public health issues, and learn about the latest public health science and its role in advancing and supporting public health practice, policy, and health services. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 9, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: May C I van Schalkwyk, Robert W Aldridge, Public Health Science Conference Group Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Department of Error] Department of Error
Khanna D, Denton CP, Angelika Jahreis A, et al. Safety and efficacy of subcutaneous tocilizumab in adults with systemic sclerosis (faSScinate): a phase 2, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet 2016; 387: 2630 –40—In table 3 of this Article (published online first on May 5, 2016), the p value (placebo vs tocilizumab) for a decrease of 4·7 units or more at 48 weeks should have been 0·25. The interpretation of these data remains unchanged. This correction has been made online as of April 5, 2018. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 6, 2018 Category: General Medicine Tags: Department of Error Source Type: research
[Correspondence] C1 esterase inhibitor concentrates and attenuated androgens – Authors' reply
We thank Yannick D Muller and colleagues for their interest in our Article1 describing results from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with the use of recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor for prophylaxis of hereditary angio-oedema. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 6, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Marc A Riedl, Anurag Relan, Joseph R Harper, Marco Cicardi Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] C1 esterase inhibitor concentrates and attenuated androgens
Marc A Riedl and colleagues (July 25, 2017, p 1595)1 conducted a phase 2, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in 32 patients to test the prophylactic efficacy of recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor for hereditary angio-oedema. Once or twice weekly administration of recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor (50 IU/kg) reached the primary endpoint (reduced number of attacks) in an intention-to-treat analysis. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 6, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Yannick D Muller, Thomas Harr, Eric Dayer, J örg D Seebach Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] On the misuses of medical history
A surprising amount of bad history passes peer review in the sciences and medicine. What do we mean by bad history? One example would be the misuse of historical images. Many images of so-called plague used in scientific publications depict patients suffering from leprosy.1 Another example is when commonly repeated claims about historical people or events are lifted from earlier scientific or medical writings, without checking whether professional historical scholarship has revised earlier interpretations. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 6, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Helen King, Monica H Green Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Polio transition: overlooked challenges
The reduction in the number of poliomyelitis cases by more than 99% is an extraordinary success of the global community. In their Comment, Michel Zaffran and colleagues (Jan 6, p 11)1 assume that eradication will be achieved soon and focus on strategies to ensure that poliovirus will not be reintroduced into a polio-free world.2 (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - April 6, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Oliver Razum, Maike Voss Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
