Wildfires have escalated into a global threat with profound impacts on health, society, and the environment. The increasing frequency and intensity of these disasters, influenced by climate change and urban expansion, necessitate a comprehensive understanding of their direct health consequences.

This study conducted a retrospective analysis of global wildfire disasters from January 2000 to December 2023, utilizing data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT). The analysis focused on the direct health outcomes—mortalities and injuries—excluding indirect effects such as smoke inhalation. Data were meticulously cleaned, categorized, and analyzed using quantitative methods, with statistical tests employed to validate the findings.

The study identified 309 significant wildfire disasters, with forest fires accounting for 80% of these events. These incidents resulted in 1890 fatalities and 14 360 injuries, with the highest tolls observed in Southern Europe, Northern America, and the Australia-New Zealand region. A notable rise in wildfire incidents was observed over the study period, underscoring the critical intersections between climate change, urban expansion, and wildfire risks. The analysis highlighted significant geographical and temporal patterns, emphasizing the regions and factors contributing to heightened wildfire vulnerability.

The findings underscore the urgent need for robust disaster preparedness and effective mitigation strategies. Integrating advanced early warning systems and Traditional Ecological Knowledge into wildfire management practices is essential. The study calls for proactive public health measures and interdisciplinary approaches to address the multifaceted challenges posed by wildfires. Continuous research and policy formulation are crucial to protect vulnerable communities and mitigate the increasing threat of wildfires globally.

We aimed to report an overview of trends in suicide mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) among adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years by sex, age group, Socio-demographic Index (SDI), region and country from 1990 to 2021 as well as the suicide mortality with age, period and birth cohort effects.

Estimates and 95% uncertainty intervals for suicide mortality and YLLs were extracted from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2021. Joinpoint analysis was used to calculate the annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) to describe the mortality and rate of YLLs trends. Age, period and cohort model was utilized to disentangle age, period and birth cohort effects on suicide mortality trends.

Globally, suicide mortality and the rate of YLLs among adolescents and young adults both declined from 1990 to 2021 (AAPC: −1.6 [−2.1 to −1.2]). In 2021, the global number of suicide death cases was 112.9 thousand [103.9–122.2 thousand] and led to 7.9 million [7.2–8.6 million] YLLs. A significant reduction in suicide mortality was observed in all sexes and age groups. By SDI quintiles, the high SDI region (AAPC: −0.3 [−0.6 to 0.0]) had the slowest decline trend, and low-middle SDI region remained the highest suicide mortality till 2021 (7.8 per 100,000 population [6.9–8.6]). Most SDI regions showed generally lower period and cohort effects during the study period, whereas high SDI region showed more unfavourable risks, especially period and cohort effects in females. Regionally, Central Latin America (AAPC: 1.7 [1.1–2.3]), Tropical Latin America (AAPC: 1.5 [0.9–2.0]), High-income Asia Pacific (AAPC: 1.2 [0.7–1.7]) and Southern sub-Saharan Africa (AAPC: 0.8 [0.4–1.2]) had the significance increase in suicide mortality. In 2021, Southern sub-Saharan Africa had the highest mortality (10.5 per 100,000 population [8.6–12.5]). Nationally, a total of 29 countries had a significant upward trend in suicide mortality and rate of YLLs over the past three decades, and certain countries in low-middle and middle regions exhibited an extremely higher burden of suicide.

Global suicide mortality and the rate of YLLs among adolescents and young adults both declined from 1990 to 2021, but obvious variability was observed across regions and countries. Earlier mental health education and targeted management are urgently required for adolescents and young adults in certain areas.

People with schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders (severe mental illnesses; ‘SMI’) experience excess mortality. Our aim was to explore longer-term trends in mortality, including the COVID-19 pandemic period, with a focus on additional vulnerabilities (psychiatric comorbidities and race/ ethnicity) in SMI.

Retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from secondary mental healthcare, covering a UK region of 1.3 million people. Mortality trends spanning fourteen years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, were assessed in adults with clinician-ascribed ICD-10 diagnoses for schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders.

The sample comprised 22 361 people with SMI with median follow-up of 10.6 years. Standardized mortality ratios were more than double the population average pre-pandemic, increasing further during the pandemic, particularly in those with SMI and psychiatric comorbidities. Mortality risk increased steadily among people with SMI and comorbid depression, dementia, substance use disorders and anxiety over 13-years, increasing further during the pandemic. COVID-19 mortality was elevated in people with SMI and comorbid depression (sub-Hazard Ratio: 1.48 [95% CI 1.03–2.13]), dementia (sHR:1.96, 1.26–3.04) and learning disabilities (sHR:2.30, 1.30–4.06), compared to people with only SMI. COVID-19 mortality risk was similar for minority ethnic groups and White British people with SMI. Elevated all-cause mortality was evident in Black Caribbean (adjusted Rate Ratio: 1.40, 1.11–1.77) and Black African people with SMI (aRR: 1.59, 1.07–2.37) during the pandemic relative to earlier years.

Mortality has increased over time in people with SMI. The pandemic exacerbated pre-existing trends. Actionable solutions are needed which address wider social determinants and address disease silos.

The risk factors for reoperation and mortality after partial and intermediate atrioventricular canal defect repair are unclear. This study assessed the mid-term outcomes and risk factors for reoperation and mortality after partial and intermediate atrioventricular canal defect surgery.

Ninety-seven patients who underwent primary repair of intermediate (n = 45) or partial (n = 52) atrioventricular canal defect between 2005 and 2019 were included in this single-centre study.

The median age was 5 years (2.7–8.9 years). The median follow-up time was 32 months (1.6–90.8 months). The estimated freedom from reoperation at 1, 5, and 10 years was 97%, 91%, and 73%, respectively.

In multivariable analyses, post-operative left atrioventricular valve regurgitation of grade II or higher (odds ratio [OR]: 5.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8–15.5, p = 0.01) and post-operative residual intracardiac shunt (OR: 11.6, 95% CI: 1.6–85.8, p = 0.02) were risk factors for reoperation.

In multivariable analyses, perioperative reoperation (OR: 93.4, 95% CI: 3.9–218.7, p = 0.01) and the need for right atrioventricular valve repair (OR: 11.2, 95% CI: 1.0 – 123.3, p = 0.04) were risk factors for mortality. Mortality was higher in patients under 2.6 years of age.

For patients undergoing repair of partial or intermediate atrioventricular canal defect, those with post-operative left atrioventricular valve regurgitation of grade II or higher and post-operative residual intracardiac shunt have an increased reoperation risk. Higher mortality can be expected after a perioperative reoperation, and in patients requiring right atrioventricular valve repair during the index procedure.

Questions often follow the suicide of someone who presented to general adult psychiatry (GAP) when expressing suicidal thoughts: ‘Why were they not admitted, or managed differently, when they said they were suicidal?’ Answering these questions requires knowledge of the prevalence of suicidal ideation in patients presenting to GAP. Therefore, we determined the general clinical characteristics, including suicidal ideation, of a large sample of patients presenting to a GAP emergency assessment service or referred as non-emergencies to a GAP service.

Suicidal ideation was very common, being present in 76.4% of emergency presentations and 33.4% of non-emergency referrals. It was very weakly associated with suicide, varied between different diagnostic categories, and previous assessment by GAP did not appear to affect it. The suicide rate during the contingent episode of care was estimated as 66 per 100 000 episodes.

This, and other evidence, shows that suicide cannot be predicted with an accuracy that is useful for clinical decision-making. This is not widely appreciated but has serious consequences for patients and healthcare resources.

Given increased survival for adults with CHD, we aim to determine outcome differences of infective endocarditis compared to patients with structurally normal hearts in the general population.

We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study identifying infective endocarditis hospitalisations in patients 18 years and older from the National Inpatient Sample database between 2001 and 2016 using International Classification of Disease diagnosis and procedure codes. Weighting was used to create national annual estimates indexed to the United States population, and multivariable logistic regression analysis determined variable associations. Outcome variables were mortality and surgery. The primary predictor variable was the presence or absence of CHD.

We identified 1,096,858 estimated infective endocarditis hospitalisations, of which 17,729 (1.6%) were adults with CHD. A 125% increase in infective endocarditis hospitalisations occurred for adult CHD patients during the studied time period (p < 0.001). Adults with CHD were significantly less likely to experience mortality (5.4% vs. 9.5%, OR 0.54, CI 0.47–0.63, p < 0.001) and more likely to undergo in-hospital surgery (31.6% vs. 6.7%, OR 6.49, CI 6.03–6.98, p < 0.001) compared to the general population. CHD severity was not associated with increased mortality (p = 0.53). Microbiologic aetiology of infective endocarditis varied between groups (p < 0.001) with Streptococcus identified more commonly in adults with CHD compared to patients with structurally normal hearts (36.2% vs. 14.4%).

Adults with CHD hospitalised for infective endocarditis are less likely to experience mortality and more likely to undergo surgery than the general population.

Myocardial infarction is rare in children but frequently occurs unexpectedly with atypical presentation. It can cause a progressive lethal course unless prompt treatment is initiated.

Paediatric cases of myocardial infarction diagnosed by the presence of ischaemic myocardial insults and symptomatic ventricular dysfunction were reviewed retrospectively.

Eighteen patients (5 days to 14 years of age; median 3 months) with myocardial infarction were studied. The aetiology was variable, including congenital coronary anomalies: anomalous left coronary artery from pulmonary artery (five patients), pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum with right ventricle-dependent coronary circulation (four), anomalous aortic origin of left coronary artery (three), and Williams syndrome with supravalvar aortic stenosis (one). Two acquired coronary anomalies occurred in one patient with undiagnosed Kawasaki disease with complete thrombotic obstruction of the left coronary artery and another with post-transplant cardiac allograft microangiopathy. Three patients developed thromboembolic coronary artery incidents in normal coronary anatomy. Fourteen patients were less than 1 year of age (78%). Electrocardiographic abnormalities were noted in all patients. Four patients required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for severe ventricular dysfunction, none of whom survived. Five patients underwent heart transplant. Five patients died during the same hospitalisation, and one patient died after discharge (overall mortality 33%). Transplant-free survival was 39%.

Most myocardial infarction occurred in infants who presented with abrupt onset of non-specific clinical manifestations with progressively deteriorating haemodynamic status resulting in poor transplant-free survival rate. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to prevent catastrophic outcomes.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability and premature mortality. This study compared the overall survival (OS) between patients with MDD and non-MDD controls stratified by gender, age, and comorbidities.

This nationwide population-based cohort study utilized longitudinal patient data (01/01/2010 – 12/31/2020) from the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund database, which contains healthcare service data for the Hungarian population. Patients with MDD were selected and matched 1:1 to those without MDD using exact matching. The rates of conversion from MDD to bipolar disorder (BD) or schizophrenia were also investigated.

Overall, 471,773 patients were included in each of the matched MDD and non-MDD groups. Patients with MDD had significantly worse OS than non-MDD controls (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.50; 95% CI: 1.48−1.51; males HR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.66–1.72; females HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.38–1.42). The estimated life expectancy of patients with MDD was 7.8 and 6.0 years less than that of controls aged 20 and 45 years, respectively. Adjusted analyses based on the presence of baseline comorbidities also showed that patients with MDD had worse survival than non-MDD controls (adjusted HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.28–1.31). After 11 years of follow-up, the cumulative conversions from MDD to BD and schizophrenia were 6.8 and 3.4%, respectively. Converted patients had significantly worse OS than non-converted patients.

Compared with the non-MDD controls, a higher mortality rate in patients with MDD, especially in those with comorbidities and/or who have converted to BD or schizophrenia, suggests that early detection and personalized treatment of MDD may reduce the mortality in patients diagnosed with MDD.

Patients with schizophrenia die decades earlier than the general population. Among the factors involved in this mortality gap, evidence suggests a telomere length shortening in this clinical population, which is associated with premature ageing. Recent studies support the use of strength-based training exercise programmes to maintain, or even elongate, telomere length in healthy elderly populations. However, studies aiming at modifying telomere length in severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, are still very scarce.

To investigate the effect of a strength-based physical exercise programme on the telomere length of individuals with schizophrenia.

We propose a pragmatic, randomised controlled trial including 40 patients aged ≥18 years, with a stable diagnosis of schizophrenia, attending the Complejo de Rehabilitación Psicosocial (CRPS, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centre) in Salamanca, Spain. These patients will be randomly assigned (1:1) to either receive the usual treatment and rehabilitation programmes offered by CRPS (treatment-as-usual group) or these plus twice weekly sessions of an evidence-based, strength-based training exercise programme for 12 weeks (intervention group). The primary outcome will be effect on telomere length. Secondary outcomes will include impact on cognitive function, frailty and quality of life.

We expect to show the importance of implementing strength-based physical exercise programmes for patients with schizophrenia. We could find that such programmes induce biological and genetic changes that may lengthen life expectancy and decrease physical fragility.

We anticipate that our trial findings could contribute to parity of esteem for mental health, reducing premature ageing in patients with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia.

Accumulating studies have assessed mortality risk associated with mood-stabilizers, the mainstay treatment for bipolar disorder (BD). However, existing data were mostly restricted to suicide risk, focused on lithium and valproate and rarely adequately adjusted for potential confounders. This study aimed to assess comparative mortality risk with all, natural and unnatural causes between lithium, valproate and three frequently prescribed second-generation antipsychotics (SGA), with adjustment for important confounders.

This population-based cohort study identified 8137 patients with first-diagnosed BD, who had exposed to lithium (n = 1028), valproate (n = 3580), olanzapine (n = 797), quetiapine (n = 1975) or risperidone (n = 757) between 2002 and 2018. Data were retrieved from territory-wide medical-record database of public healthcare services in Hong Kong. Propensity-score (PS)-weighting method was applied to optimize control for potential confounders including pre-existing chronic physical diseases, substance/alcohol use disorders and other psychotropic medications. PS-weighted Cox proportional-hazards regression was conducted to assess risk of all-, natural- and unnatural-cause mortality related to each mood-stabilizer, compared to lithium. Three sets of sensitivity analyses were conducted by restricting to patients with (i) length of cumulative exposure to specified mood-stabilizer ≥90 days and its medication possession ratio (MPR) ≥90%, (ii) MPR of specified mood-stabilizer ≥80% and MPR of other studied mood-stabilizers <20% and (iii) monotherapy.

Incidence rates of all-cause mortality per 1000 person-years were 5.9 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.5–7.6), 8.4 (7.4–9.5), 11.1 (8.3–14.9), 7.4 (6.0–9.2) and 12.0 (9.3–15.6) for lithium-, valproate-, olanzapine-, quetiapine- and risperidone-treated groups, respectively. BD patients treated with olanzapine (PS-weighted hazard ratio = 2.07 [95% CI: 1.33–3.22]) and risperidone (1.66 [1.08–2.55]) had significantly higher all-cause mortality rate than lithium-treated group. Olanzapine was associated with increased risk of natural-cause mortality (3.04 [1.54–6.00]) and risperidone was related to elevated risk of unnatural-cause mortality (3.33 [1.62–6.86]), relative to lithium. The association between olanzapine and increased natural-cause mortality rate was consistently affirmed in sensitivity analyses. Relationship between risperidone and elevated unnatural-cause mortality became non-significant in sensitivity analyses restricted to low MPR in other mood-stabilizers and monotherapy. Valproate- and lithium-treated groups did not show significant differences in all-, natural- or unnatural-cause mortality risk.

Our data showed that olanzapine and risperidone were associated with higher mortality risk than lithium, and further supported the clinical guidelines recommending lithium as the first-line mood-stabilizer for BD. Future research is required to further clarify comparative mortality risk associated with individual SGA agents to facilitate risk-benefit evaluation of alternative mood-stabilizers to minimize avoidable premature mortality in BD.

This study serves as an exemplar to demonstrate the scalability of a research approach using survival analysis applied to general practice electronic health record data from multiple sites. Collection of these data, the subsequent analysis, and the preparation of practice-specific reports were performed using a bespoke distributed data collection and analysis software tool.

Statins are a very commonly prescribed medication, yet there is a paucity of evidence for their benefits in older patients. We examine the relationship between statin prescriptions for general practice patients over 75 and all-cause mortality.

We carried out a retrospective cohort study using survival analysis applied to data extracted from the electronic health records of five Australian general practices.

The data from 8025 patients were analysed. The median duration of follow-up was 6.48 years. Overall, 52 015 patient-years of data were examined, and the outcome of death from any cause was measured in 1657 patients (21%), with the remainder being censored. Adjusted all-cause mortality was similar for participants not prescribed statins versus those who were (HR 1.05, 95% CI 0.92–1.20, P = 0.46), except for patients with diabetes for whom all-cause mortality was increased (HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.00–1.68, P = 0.05). In contrast, adjusted all-cause mortality was significantly lower for patients deprescribed statins compared to those who were prescribed statins (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.93, P < 0.001), including among females (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.61–0.91, P < 0.001) and participants treated for secondary prevention (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.60–0.86, P < 0.001). This study demonstrated the scalability of a research approach using survival analysis applied to general practice electronic health record data from multiple sites. We found no evidence of increased mortality due to statin-deprescribing decisions in primary care.

While unemployment is known to increase the risk of suicide, its cumulative effect remains underexplored. This study investigates how unemployment affects suicide mortality and whether the effect varies based on the number of unemployment spells using two years of nationwide data.

Using the data from the National Statistical Office and Employment Insurance Database for 2018 and 2019, we identified an average of 2365 cases of suicide over two years among 7.76 million workers aged 25–64 years who had been employed within one year before their suicide. The number of unemployment spells was counted using the employment history of the past five years. We calculated crude suicide mortality rates per 100 000 population, age- and sex- standardized mortality rates (SMRs), and proportionate mortality rates (PMRs) for suicide.

Over the two years, the crude suicide rate was 30.0 per 100 000 among the general population and 30.5 among workers. Workers with no unemployment spells in the past five years had a significantly lower SMR (0.44; 0.42–0.46), while those with four or more unemployment spells had a significantly higher SMR (3.13; 2.92–3.35) than the general population. These findings were consistent across all sex and age groups. Additionally, workers with four or more unemployment spells had a significantly higher PMR than the general population.

The impact of unemployment on suicide mortality intensifies as the number of unemployment spells increases. These results underscore the necessity for additional social and psychological support along with economic assistance for individuals facing recurrent unemployment.

Despite the recognised importance of mental disorders and social disconnectedness for mortality, few studies have examined their co-occurrence.

To examine the interaction between mental disorders and three distinct aspects of social disconnectedness on mortality, while taking into account sex, age and characteristics of the mental disorder.

This cohort study included participants from the Danish National Health Survey in 2013 and 2017 who were followed until 2021. Survey data on social disconnectedness (loneliness, social isolation and low social support) were linked with register data on hospital-diagnosed mental disorders and mortality. Poisson regression was applied to estimate independent and joint associations with mortality, interaction contrasts and attributable proportions.

A total of 162 497 individuals were followed for 886 614 person-years, and 9047 individuals (5.6%) died during follow-up. Among men, interaction between mental disorders and loneliness, social isolation and low social support, respectively, accounted for 47% (95% CI: 21–74%), 24% (95% CI: −15 to 63%) and 61% (95% CI: 35–86%) of the excess mortality after adjustment for demographics, country of birth, somatic morbidity, educational level, income and wealth. In contrast, among women, no excess mortality could be attributed to interaction. No clear trends were identified according to age or characteristics of the mental disorder.

Mortality among men, but not women, with a co-occurring mental disorder and social disconnectedness was substantially elevated compared with what was expected. Awareness of elevated mortality rates among socially disconnected men with mental disorders could be of importance to qualify and guide prevention efforts in psychiatric services.