Monitoring health inequity across Europe 

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Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) are the leading causes of disability worldwide, resulting in significant healthcare and social support costs. One of the reasons for this increasing burden seems to be the variability in the number and nature of allocated resources across Europe, as well as organisational aspects of health systems that result in disparities and health inequities across countries.  

How do patients search for health information online? 

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Rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) have an important impact on quality of life, and represent an economic burden to society. EULAR – The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology – has emphasised the role of patient empowerment through education.¹ 

For both men and women without a Bachelor’s degree (BA), a new study in JAMA Health Forum found that mortality between 2011-2023 was markedly higher than would have been expected had death rates from 2006-2010 continued. Among 564,855 excess deaths in 2023 alone, 481,211 occurred among people without a BA—a 26 percent increase in mortality among this population, compared to pre-2010 trends. In contrast, mortality only increased by eight percent among people who received a BA. 

Researchers have engineered a way to create miniature, self-assembling blood vessel networks entirely from stem cells in the lab. These vascular organoids form functional vasculature when implanted in vivo and show therapeutic potential for restoring blood flow in ischemic tissues. We believe this work opens new opportunities for treating vascular diseases and advancing vascular biology research.

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that medical cannabis laws and recreational cannabis laws enactment was associated with greater opioid use disorder (OUD) prevalence in Veterans Health Administration patients over time, with the greatest increases among middle-aged and older patients and those with chronic pain. The findings did not support state cannabis legalization as a means of reducing the burden of OUD during the ongoing opioid epidemic.

About The Study: In this cohort study, daily walking volume and walking intensity were inversely associated with the risk of chronic low back pain. The findings suggest that walking volume may have a more pronounced benefit than walking intensity.