PLoS medicine
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There is very limited data on the time trend of diabetes incidence in Asia. Using population-level data, we report the secular trend of the incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2015. ⋯ There was an increase in incidence of type 2 diabetes in people aged <40 years and stabilisation in people aged ≥40 years. Incidence of type 1 diabetes continued to climb in people aged <20 years but remained constant in other age groups.
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In this Perspective, Aziz Sheikh discusses the importance of research to understand the impact of air pollution on human health, commenting on a study by Yaohua Tian and colleagues that examined associations between ambient air quality and risk of hospitalization for pneumonia in adults in China.
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An emerging body of literature has indicated that moderate alcohol intake may be protective against Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia. However, little information is available regarding whether moderate alcohol intake is related to reductions in amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition, or is protective via amyloid-independent mechanisms in the living human brain. Here we examined the associations of moderate alcohol intake with in vivo AD pathologies, including cerebral Aβ deposition, neurodegeneration of AD-signature regions, and cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in the living human brain. ⋯ In this study, we observed in middle- and old-aged individuals with neither dementia nor alcohol-related disorders that moderate lifetime alcohol intake was associated with lower cerebral Aβ deposition compared to a lifetime history of not drinking. Moderate lifetime alcohol intake may have a beneficial influence on AD by reducing pathological amyloid deposition rather than amyloid-independent neurodegeneration or cerebrovascular injury.
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The disease burden attributable to mental health problems and to excess or harmful alcohol use is considerable. Despite a strong relationship between these 2 important factors in population health, there are few studies quantifying the mortality risk associated with their co-occurrence in the general population. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality according to self-reported mental health problems and alcohol intake in the general population. ⋯ In the general population, the mortality rates associated with more mental health problems and a high alcohol intake were increased when the risk factors occurred together.
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Christian Lienhardt and co-authors discuss the conclusions of the PLOS Medicine Collection on advances in clinical trial design for development of new tuberculosis treatments.