The prevalence of chronic conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, asthma, prediabetes, and depression or anxiety, has risen to unprecedented levels -- 30 per cent -- over the past twenty years in the US, according to a study.

The study showed that nearly one-in-three young people or about 25 million young people ages 5 to 25 are estimated to now be living with these conditions that began in childhood. It is significantly affecting and limiting their lives.

“The prevalence of childhood conditions is currently higher than previous estimates suggest,” said lead author Lauren Wisk, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles, US.

“Youth who are subject to socioeconomic vulnerability such as having less education, lower income, are on public insurance, or unemployed are all more likely to live with a chronic condition than youth with socioeconomic advantages,” Wisk added.

Children who experience physical and sexual abuse are twice as likely to suffer from physical and mental health conditions, including angina, arthritis, asthma, COPD, heart attack, depression, and disability in adulthood, according to a study.

The study, published in the journal Child Maltreatment, found that children with sexual abuse were 55 per cent to 90 per cent more likely to experience these health outcomes compared to their peers who had not experienced any abuse.

Facing only physical abuse also had significantly elevated odds of these health outcomes from 20 per cent to 50 per cent.

The presence of a protective adult in the home was associated with better outcomes in the wake of physical and sexual abuse, providing promising insights for intervention efforts, said the researchers from the University of Toronto, in Canada.

The progress made by Ayushman Bharat -- the government's flagship initiative -- in advancing gender equity in healthcare is commendable, said public health experts on International Women’s Day 2025 on Saturday.

International Women’s Day is observed every year on March 8. The theme this year is 'For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment'.

"Ayushman Bharat is commendably advancing gender equity in healthcare, with women making up 49 per cent of Ayushman cardholders and 48 per cent of hospital admissions," Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director Population Foundation of India,

Severe bleeding -- haemorrhage --, high blood pressure disorders like preeclampsia is responsible for over one lakh pregnancy-related deaths worldwide, according to a new study, released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday.

In 2020, there were an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths in total – equivalent to one death every two minutes.

The study, published in the journal The Lancet Global Health, showed that haemorrhage -- mostly occurring during or following childbirth -- is responsible for nearly a third (27 per cent or 80,000) of maternal mortality, with preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders contributing to an additional 16 per cent or 50,000 deaths.

Preeclampsia is a serious condition characterised by high blood pressure that can lead to haemorrhage, strokes, organ failures, and seizures if left untreated or treated too late.

The death toll from Africa's ongoing mpox outbreak has reached 260 since 2025, with total cases surpassing 24,200, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

During an online media briefing on Thursday evening, Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff and head of the Executive Office at Africa CDC, said that the African continent has reported 24,272 mpox cases since the start of the year. Of these, 6,034 were confirmed and about 260 related deaths were recorded.

Data from the African Union's specialised healthcare agency show that in the past week alone, 11 African countries reported 2,610 new cases, including 664 confirmed ones and 45 new related deaths.

Ngongo said that among the 22 African countries affected by the ongoing mpox outbreak, 15 countries are currently experiencing active transmission of the virus, while seven countries are in a controlled phase.

Teenagers who do not get the right amount of sleep may be at an increased risk for high blood pressure or hypertension -- a common risk factor for cardiovascular diseases --, warned research on Friday.

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University in the US defined insomnia as reporting difficulty falling and/or staying asleep and defined objective short sleep duration as less than 7.7 hours, based on the median total time asleep in a lab-based sleep study.

The study on more than 400 teenagers in the US showed that teenagers who reported insomnia and slept less than 7.7 hours were five times more likely to have clinical hypertension than "good sleepers" (those who did not report insomnia and obtained sufficient sleep defined as 7.7 hours or more).

The South Korean government on Friday said it will conditionally scrap a contested plan to increase medical school admissions next year to resolve the ongoing health care crisis.

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho announced the conditional decision to set the medical school enrollment quota for 2026 at 3,058, which is equivalent to the figure before the government put forward a plan to increase admissions by 2,000 a year ago, news agency reported.

Ju-ho said the implementation of the revised quota will be contingent on the condition that all medical students return to classrooms by the end of this month. Medical students nationwide have been boycotting classes and taking a leave of absence in protest of the government's expansion of the medical school quota.

Earlier last month, the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Graduate School of Medicine, a consultative body of medical school deans nationwide, proposed that they will persuade medical students to return to classrooms if next year's medical school enrollment quota is revised back to 3,058.

The number of South Koreans who said they felt anxiety and feelings of depression increased last year, while perceptions of happiness differed by income group, a survey result showed on Thursday.

The respondents who said they felt anxiety recorded 4.1 out of 10 points last year, compared with 3.4 points in 2023, and feelings of depression also ticked up from 2.8 points to 3.5 points in the same period, according to the data by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, news agency reported.

The survey was conducted on 8,251 adults from August to September last year to investigate the level of social integration and public perception. Public perception of happiness recorded an average of 6.8 points, a 0.1-point increase from the previous year.

South Korea will push for measures to bolster medical safety and reduce medical accidents, including heavier compensation responsibility of the state, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The plan, unveiled at a parliamentary policy forum, also includes the introduction of a "no punishment against will" policy for deaths that occur during acts of essential medical care and the expansion of insurance coverage for medical accidents, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, news agency reported.

Under the plan, the ministry is considering allowing medical workers involved in death cases related to essential medical care to avoid criminal charges when the family of the deceased gives consent as part of efforts to lower the burden on medical staff.

Israeli researchers have discovered a surprising immune defense role of the proteasome, a cellular structure known for degrading and recycling proteins.

The study, published in Nature, could inspire new strategies against antibiotic-resistant infections, news agency reported.

The study, led by the team from Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS), found that when breaking down old proteins, the proteasome constantly and regularly releases antimicrobial peptides, news agency reported.

These antimicrobial peptides are considered vital components of the body's first line of defense as they attack and kill bacteria.

Experiments showed that human cells with active proteasomes effectively controlled bacterial growth, while blocking proteasome activity allowed infections to spread, WIS said.

In infected mice, proteasome-produced peptides reduced bacteria numbers, decreased tissue damage, and even improved survival rates, performing as effectively as strong antibiotics in clinical use.