Report calls for an effort to tackle harms in similar way to obesity and smoking, and stresses need to ‘offer boys something better’

The manosphere and online misogyny should be treated by the government as a public health issue, in the same way as obesity or smoking, experts have said.

Writing in the Lancet, the authors of a new report argue that a coordinated response is needed, involving governments, schools, health services and community organisations, similar to the public-health response to tobacco use and ultra-processed food.

Accra Reset’s report states countries in the region and global south should take greater control of their health development after USAID debacle

The United States’ withdrawal from key aid programs has put has put healthcare in Africa and the Global South “under growing strain” a new report warns.

The report says the Trump administration’s cuts to programs such as US Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and rising costs of living globally have brought “new urgency” for the need to reform healthcare in the region.

Exclusive: Analysis ‘lays bare’ something midwives already know from their day-to-day work

About 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are estimated to be made to maternity services in England every year, analysis has found.

The figures are likely to be an underestimate of the true scale of disclosures, according to experts, highlighting the role maternity professionals play in identifying abuse.

Experts say imported eggs served in cafes and restaurants may be behind hundreds of infections and one death

Salmonella cases in the UK are expected to rise until the common source is identified, something that is notoriously difficult to establish, experts have warned.

There have been 474 confirmed cases and one death linked to the current outbreak, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), with the latest investigations suggesting it is associated with eating imported eggs in cafes and restaurants.

Findings highlight importance of sleep health during middle age, particularly for those with lower socioeconomic status

Sleep that is extremely disrupted or that goes on too long could mean a loss of nine months from working life after the age of 50, a study has found.

It also found that women with no sleep disturbances had a longer working life from 50 to 68 than their male equivalents.

Exclusive: Research also finds stark ethnic disparities, and 40% of deaths among group classed as avoidable

People living with severe intellectual disabilities are dying 24 years younger on average than the wider population, a study has found, with 40% of such deaths being avoidable.

The study also found that within this group, people from minority ethnic backgrounds were dying 14 years younger than their white counterparts.

German study surveyed adults who engage in gaming, pornography and online shopping

Spending excessive time online is associated with higher stress levels, worse mood, and greater neglect of other activities, according to analysis.

The new study by academics at the University of Duisburg-Essen published in the journal PLOS One, surveyed 900 German adults in 2025 who reported engaging in gaming, pornography use, social network use, or online shopping at least once in the last year.

Exclusive: Analysis of NHS England data reveals stark impact of air pollution in deprived areas

Children living in the poorest areas across England are 40% more likely to be admitted to hospital for respiratory infections, an analysis of NHS England data shows, with experts raising the alarm on the impact of air pollution on young people’s health.

The analysis, based on data obtained via freedom of information requests by the charity Impact on Urban Health, revealed 1,941 out of every 100,000 children living in the most deprived fifth of England were admitted to hospital for respiratory illnesses in 2024/25.

JCVI says children should have one or two doses of menB vaccine at age 15, depending on if they had vaccine as a baby

All teenagers across the UK should be offered a meningitis vaccine on the NHS following a series of fatal outbreaks, a government committed has said.

The recommendation, made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), would mean that young people would be eligible for the menB vaccine at the age of 15, alongside catch-up programmes for those who otherwise would have missed out.

For one placement, black applicants had a less than 1 in 100 chance of being offered a place, NHS data shows

Black doctors in England are four times less likely to be offered a training place than their white counterparts, according to analysis.

As part of their medical training, doctors across the NHS are able to apply to placements within specific branches of practice such as psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, and emergency medicine.

Analysis of 12 indicators including asthma, obesity and vaccination finds child health is ‘national embarrassment’

Children in the UK will grow up to be one of the unhealthiest generations in decades, with child health outcomes having declined or stalled completely across all areas, a group of leading paediatricians has said.

Reduced vaccination rates alongside rising hospital admissions for asthma and mental health disorders are all contributing factors to the UK’s record on children’s health, which should be seen as a “national embarrassment”, their analysis has found.

Exclusive: Guardian analysis exposes evidence of racial inequalities in pain relief offered across healthcare

• ‘The epidural failed and no one believed me’

• How the ethnicity pain gap follows people from birth to death

Women from black and Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white counterparts to receive an epidural while giving birth, research has revealed.

The findings, based on data collected from more than 2.7 million births in the UK, prompted experts to raise the alarm about an “ethnicity pain gap” that means people of colour are more likely to be deprived of adequate pain relief within medical settings.

Women from minority backgrounds are less likely to receive adequate pain relief during childbirth

• Women from minority backgrounds in UK less likely to get epidurals, study finds

• How the ethnicity pain gap follows people from birth to death

Julie Hammond, a 35-year-old mother of three from Kent, believes that the “excruciating” pain she experienced during the birth of her second child was not well managed by the medical professionals caring for her.

“It’s difficult to put into words just how traumatic it was,” Hammond says. “I could just feel myself panicking throughout the whole procedure, while also trying to tell myself to calm down.”

Patients from minority ethnic backgrounds often have to demonstrate higher levels of pain, only to receive less effective treatment

• ‘The epidural failed and no one believed me’

• Women from minority backgrounds in UK less likely to receive epidurals, study finds

A growing body of global research has shown that patients from minority ethnic backgrounds are less likely to have their pain recognised, believed and adequately treated – with disparities experienced from childhood all the way through to end-of-life care.

Evidence suggests these disparities persist across multiple healthcare settings, including emergency care, maternity services, and cancer treatment. Study after study from different countries has found that patients from minority ethnic backgrounds are frequently required to demonstrate higher levels of pain before receiving treatment, and are often given less effective treatment even when their pain is acknowledged.

Commissioner calls for overhaul of state support after reporting 10% rise in young patient referrals last year

More than 1 million children were referred to mental health services across England last year, with referrals up 10% from the year previous, according to a report by the children’s commissioner, Rachel de Souza. She said the country faced a “crisis” in young people’s mental health.

The number of patients who had an active referral to children and young people’s mental health services across England surpassed 1 million for the first time in 2024-25. This was almost double the number recorded in 2018-19, and an almost 10% rise on the previous year.

British Heart Foundation expects about 45 people a day to die over next decade if current trends continue

About 170,000 people are expected to die from heart-related conditions linked to obesity – one of the leading causes of preventable illnesses – by 2035, according to a leading charity.

The analysis, conducted by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), found that about 45 people a day are expected to die from cardiovascular disease linked to excess weight and obesity in England over the next decade, as long as current trends in obesity rates continue. In the UK, about two in three adults are overweight or living with obesity, and worldwide, more than half of adults and a third of children and young people will be overweight or obese by 2050.

Exclusive: Royal College of Nursing says 1.5m vulnerable people not getting the right care, as specialism is ‘consistently undermined’

The specialist learning-disability nurse workforce is in “absolute crisis” with the number of specialist nurses falling by a third across the UK since 2009, leaving many vulnerable adults with inadequate care, according to a report by the largest nursing union.

The Royal College of Nursing review revealed that the number of learning-disability nurses employed by the NHS has fallen from 7,083 in 2009 to 4,768 in 2026. As a result of these falling numbers, 1.5 million people with learning disabilities were not being provided with their legal right to equitable access to health and care services.

System not fit for purpose due to poor infrastructure and planning, with minority groups particularly at risk, MPs say

The UK’s stem cell transplant system is potentially putting the lives of blood cancer patients at risk as a result of inadequate infrastructure and a lack of long-term planning, a parliamentary report has found.

A hematopoietic stem cell transplant, often referred to as a bone marrow transplant, is a medical procedure in which stem cells from a healthy donor are transplanted into a patient.

Cancer Research UK figures show number diagnosed with most serious form of skin cancer has risen above 20,000 for first time

The number of cases from the most serious form of skin cancer have reached a record high across the UK, according to analysis by a leading cancer charity.

Melanoma cases in the UK have risen above 20,000 for the first time ever, with 20,980 people being diagnosed with the form of cancer in 2022, according to analysis of the latest figures by Cancer Research UK.

UK scientists find tocilizumab, used for rheumatoid arthritis, may help antidepressant-resistant patients

Immunotherapy could be used to treat depression among patients who have not responded to conventional antidepressants, according to the results of an early clinical trial.

Researchers at the University of Bristol investigated whether tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used for immune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, could improve symptoms of difficult-to-treat depression.