Skip to content

Categories: medical research

  • High-fibre diet linked to reduced risk of heart disease in night shift workers

    People who work at night have a higher risk of coronary artery disease, a type of heart disease. A new study suggests that a higher fibre intake in the diet may help reduce this risk. The study included over 220,000 adults in the UK and is published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

    Portrait of Christian Benedict
  • Screening improves early detection of colorectal cancer

    More cases of colorectal cancer are detected at an early stage with screening. This is according to new research based on data from over 278,000 60-year-olds, who were randomly selected to undergo one of two interventions or no screening at all (usual care). The study, which is a collaboration between Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet, has been published in Nature Medicine.

    Portrait of Marcus Westerberg
  • Traumatic brain injury can lead to higher probability of work disability

    People affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI) have an increased risk of work disability that can recur even years after the injury, regardless of its severity. This has been shown in a new national registry study from Uppsala University in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet (KI) and is based on close to 100,000 people with a traumatic brain injury.

    Elham Rostami in blue scrubs in an operating theatre.
  • 11 genetic variants affect gut microbiome

    In two new studies on 28,000 individuals, researchers are able to show that genetic variants in 11 regions of the human genome have a clear influence on which bacteria are in the gut and what they do there. Only two genetic regions were previously known. Some of the new genetic variants can be linked to an increased risk of gluten intolerance, haemorrhoids and cardiovascular diseases.

  • Diagnosis of cardiomyopathy is on the rise

    The number of patients diagnosed with cardiomyopathy has increased substantially over the past two decades. This is the finding of a new study from Uppsala University that mapped all cases of cardiomyopathy in Sweden. Despite identifying this increase, it is still unclear whether this is due to more people developing cardiomyopathy or to healthcare becoming better at diagnosing it.

  • Increased morbidity − but equally good quality of life for prematurely born adults

    Individuals with a birth weight of less than one kilogram have an increased risk of cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and attention deficit disorders. Nonetheless, they rate their quality of life as high as individuals with normal birth weight. This finding emerges from a new study of 201 adults who were born prematurely and followed from birth to the age of 26–29 in Sweden.

  • Small increases in physical activity may reduce mortality

    A brisk extra five-minute walk per day could potentially prevent many deaths. This is shown by new research based on data from more than 135,000 middle-aged and older adults. The study, conducted by researchers at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in collaboration with Uppsala University and others, has been published in The Lancet.

  • Right blood pressure drug can reduce healthcare costs

    Patients who start their blood pressure treatment with ARB drugs continue with the same medicine to a greater extent than patients who start out with other drugs. Choosing the right drug from the outset can therefore improve both health and quality of life – as well as bringing down healthcare costs. This is shown in a new study based on data from 340,000 patients.

  • Exposure to PFAS and PCBs linked to higher odds of MS

    People who have been exposed to both PFAS and PCBs are more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). These new research findings are based on analyses of blood samples from more than 1,800 individuals in Sweden, one of the most comprehensive studies to date on the influence of chemical environmental exposure on the development of MS.

  • Healthy Nordic diet good for both type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

    A healthy Nordic diet, high in dietary fibre from whole grains, fruits and vegetables but with a small percentage of saturated fat, can assist in the treatment of both type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This has been shown in a new clinical study in which the researchers compared three different types of diet.

    An image of a dish consisting of pan-fried salmon, kale, and oat groats, among other ingredients.
  • Childhood trauma leads to more difficult births

    Women who have been exposed to multiple traumatic experiences during childhood have more difficult births than others. They are much more likely to need emergency caesarean sections, suffer major haemorrhages or pre-eclampsia, and need more antibiotics. These findings come from a new study involving 1,253 women, who were monitored from before giving birth to one year afterwards.

  • New technology may enable precision treatment of pediatric brain tumours

    The malignant pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma is driven by proteins deep within the cancer cells, for which there are often no effective drugs available. Researchers at Uppsala University have identified a new genetic technique that enables targeting of tumour cells with elevated levels of such proteins. The technique could be used to eliminate cells responsible for tumour relapse.

  • Breast cancer risk varies between different hormonal contraceptives

    Some common hormonal contraceptives are linked to a slightly higher risk of breast cancer than others. This is shown by a new Swedish study from Uppsala University, in which researchers followed more than two million women and teenage girls in Sweden to identify how different hormonal contraceptives affect the risk of breast cancer.

  • Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of complicated deliveries

    Pregnant women with vitamin D deficiency may develop osteomalacia – a form of bone softening. A new Swedish study shows that this condition increases the risk of needing vacuum-assisted delivery or emergency caesarean section fivefold. Muscle weakness due to vitamin D and calcium deficiency may be a possible explanation, in addition to the pelvic changes historically associated with osteomalacia.

  • Very few regret a legal gender change in Sweden

    Fewer than one per cent of people who have changed their legal gender choose to revert to the gender they were assigned at birth. This has been shown in a new study from Uppsala University in which the researchers looked at how stable a gender change is over time in Sweden.

    Kristen is standing in front of the Psychiatry Building in Uppsala. She looks into the camera.
  • AI can find cancer pathologists miss

    Men assessed as healthy after a pathologist analyses their tissue sample may still have an early form of prostate cancer. Using AI, researchers at Uppsala University have been able to find subtle tissue changes that allow the cancer to be detected long before it becomes visible to the human eye.

  • Parental incomes drop if their child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes

    Parents of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes suffer an income drop in the years following the diagnosis. The impact is more pronounced in mothers, especially mothers of children diagnosed in preschool years. These novel findings from a study led by researchers at Uppsala University, Sweden, have now been published in Diabetologia.

  • Support for continued use of nasogastric tube after oesophageal cancer surgery

    In the largest Nordic study to date concerning oesophageal cancer surgery, the researchers found clear evidence that decompression with a nasogastric tube is associated with less serious complications. Their results challenge a trend of declining use of the nasogastric tube after major surgical procedures.

  • Drug combination shows promising anti-tumour effects on blood cancer cells

    Researchers at Uppsala University have identified a promising therapeutic approach for the challenging blood cancer multiple myeloma. In a new preclinical study, they demonstrate that a dual treatment with drugs that inhibit epigenetic regulation reduces tumour growth and induces cancer cell death.

Show more