Women who work nightshifts are more likely to suffer from moderate or severe asthma compared to women who work in the daytime, according to a study of more than 270,000 people.

However, the study, published in ERJ Open Research, found no such link between asthma and working nightshifts in men. The risk of asthma in men did not alter according to whether they worked days or nights.

Women who only work nightshifts were around 50 per cent more likely to suffer from moderate or severe asthma compared to women who only work in the daytime.

"Asthma disproportionately affects women. Women generally have more severe asthma, and a higher rate of hospitalisation and death from asthma compared to men,” said Dr. Robert Maidstone from the University of Manchester, UK.

An increase in the elderly population as well as a rise in smoking are behind the surge in the global rheumatoid arthritis burden since 1980, according to an AI-powered study.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects joints, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness.

The novel analysis published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases details significant socioeconomic disparities and worsening inequalities in disease burden.

The findings revealed that demographic ageing, population growth, and uneven healthcare infrastructure exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis burdens differently across regions.

Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), the study integrated the largest spatiotemporal rheumatoid arthritis dataset spanning 953 global to local locations from 1980 to 2021 with a novel deep learning framework.

Australian researchers have launched a pioneering clinical trial that aims to combat aggressive cancers previously deemed untreatable.

The trial led by a team from the Australian National University (ANU) focussed on malignancies driven by the elusive MYC protein -- a protein implicated in 70 per cent of human cancers --, news agency reported.

The success of the trial could redefine treatment paradigms for aggressive malignancies globally, offering a template for tackling other molecularly complex diseases, said the team.

The study will test an experimental drug, PMR-116, designed to disrupt cancer growth mechanisms in patients with prostate, breast, ovarian, and blood cancers, or MYC-driven tumours.

Alcohol-related liver disease deaths are increasing rapidly among women and young adults, according to new research.

Researchers from the Universities Havard, Stanford, and Southern California (USC) attributed the rise to higher drinking during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to increasing health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

"The pandemic itself came under control, but the disparities that came with it continued and lingered," said Dr. Nasim Maleki, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, based on death certificates from across the US showed that between 2018 and 2022, deaths from alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) rose nearly 9 per cent a year. Between 2006 and 2018, ALD deaths stood at 3.5 per cent per year.

While men still had the highest number of deaths -- 17 per 100,000 people -- women's death rates grew faster.

Health authorities in France have confirmed the first locally transmitted case of mosquito-borne chikungunya this year.

The Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur (PACA) reported the case in the town of La Crau, located in the southern department of Var, news agency reported.

“We refer to a case as indigenous {domestic] when a person has contracted the disease on national territory and has not travelled to a contaminated area in the 15 days prior to the onset of symptoms,” the ARS said.

A chikungunya case not linked to travel suggests mosquitoes that carry the virus are in the country.

Health authorities in the area are conducting a door-to-door survey to see if other individuals are showing symptoms of the virus.

While children are largely thought to be less susceptible to Covid-19's serious effects on the lungs, a global study has indicated that in children suffering from severe infection with SARS-COV-2 virus, the health risks may go beyond the acute viral infection and can harm the heart.

Scientists from Harvard University (US) and Murdoch University (Australia) analysed blood samples from 147 children across different Covid.

Their study identified significant metabolic disruptions that affect how the body processes fats (triglycerides and cholesterol) critical to healthy heart structure.

"This research challenges the widespread assumption that children are largely unaffected by Covid-19 based on the relatively mild respiratory effects,” said lead researcher Professor Jeremy Nicholson, Director of The Australian National Phenome Centre.

A gene transfer approach to treating the bleeding disorder haemophilia B remains safe and effective long-term, according to a study by UK-based scientists.

Haemophilia B is a rare genetic disorder caused by insufficient levels of a circulating protein called factor IX, which promotes blood clotting.

Scientists from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and University College London used a one-time gene therapy intervention to address the disorder.

Their finding, based on 13 years of follow-up data, published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows an almost 10-fold reduction in annualised bleeding rate. It supports the long-term viability of gene therapy for the disease's treatment.

Blood transfusion is the cornerstone of effective healthcare and emergency responses, said Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia on Friday, ahead of the World Blood Donor Day.

World Blood Donor Day is marked annually on June 14. This year the theme is “Give blood, give hope: together we save lives.”

The day honours the silent heroes among us -- voluntary, unpaid blood donors -- whose simple yet powerful act of donating their blood saves countless lives each day.

Vaccinated patients hospitalised with Covid-19 who developed acute kidney injury had better outcomes than unvaccinated patients with the same condition, according to new research on Friday.

The study led by researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) showed that patients with prior vaccination were less likely to stay on dialysis after discharge, and more likely to survive than unvaccinated patients.

Acute kidney injury, or AKI, is common among people infected with Covid, with rates running as high as 46 per cent. It can lead to a mild decrease in kidney function or, if severe enough, to dialysis. The long-term renal and survival outcomes of these patients, however, have not been well understood.

Amid concern over rising cases of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, a 52-year-old woman died of the virus during treatment at a private hospital in Indore.

The woman, a resident of Ratlam, around 150 km from Indore, was admitted to Manorma Raje T B (MRTB) hospital in Indore with complaints of respiratory distress on June 8.

Meanwhile, a COVID test was also conducted. Two days later, on Wednesday, medical reports revealed that she was COVID-positive.

Subsequently, she was shifted to the isolation ward.

She died on June 11, a senior doctor at MRTB hospital said on Thursday.

The hospital administration also confirmed that the patient was suffering from multiple diseases, including tuberculosis and hypertension, due to which her health condition continued to deteriorate.