Long-term exposure to particulate matter 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) air pollution is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. However, the evidence is limited in low-income and middle-income countries. We estimated the association between the incidence of lung cancer and PM_2.5air pollution exposure in the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) beneficiaries in China. A total of 16 483 new lung cancer cases diagnosed from 12 966 137 UEBMI beneficiaries from 36 cities between 2013 and 2016. The relative risk for lung cancer associated with a 10 µg/m³increase in 3-year PM_2.5exposure was 1.12 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.26). The population attributable risk estimated for a reduction in PM_2.5concentration to 35 µg/m³corresponded to a decrease of 14% in cases of lung cancer. Reducing PM_2.5air pollution has a significant public health benefit.

Background: Statin therapy has been shown to reduce mortality in a wide range of cancer types and overall stages. Still, there is uncertainty about its efficacy in increasing survival among advanced cancer patients.Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis with data from all studies that compared the hazard ratio of overall survival, cancer-specific survival, and progression-free survival in patients with advanced-stage cancer who receive statin therapy. Studies were selected from the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases from their inception to December 31, 2022. Cancer types are limited to those rarely screened during the annual examination and more likely to develop into advanced stages, such as lung, pancreatic and ovarian cancers. This resulted in 27 studies eligible for meta-analysis.Results: Statin therapy was associated with a 26% decreased risk of overall survival (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.67, 0.81), 26% decreased risk of cancer-specific survival (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.61-0.88), and 24% decreased risk of progression-free survival (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.65-0.87) for advanced-stage cancer patients. The associations were not attenuated or reinforced by study design, study regions, cancer types, or other medical care. Concomitant use of other anticancer medications did not result in confounding effects.Conclusions: Statin therapy produces significant benefits on overall survival and cancer-specific survival. Although the benefits might be lower than the approved immunotherapy medications, its cost-effectiveness could lead to dramatic health consequences. Concomitant use of statin drugs as cancer treatments is highly recommended in future clinical trials.

Meningitis can cause devastating epidemics and is susceptible to climate change. It is unclear how temperature variability, an indicator of climate change, is associated with meningitis incidence. We used global meningitis incidence data along with meteorological and demographic data over 1990-2019 to identify the association between temperature variability and meningitis. We also employed future (2020-2100) climate data to predict meningitis incidence under different emission levels (SSPs: Shared Socioeconomic Pathways). We found that the mean temperature variability increased by almost 3 folds in the past 30 years. The largest changes occurred in Australasia, Tropical Latin America, and Central Sub-Saharan Africa. With a logarithmic unit increase in temperature variability, the overall global meningitis risk increases by 4.8 %. Australasia, Central Sub-Saharan Africa, and High-income North America are the most at-risk regions. Higher statistical differences were identified in males, children, and the elderly population. Compared to high-emission (SSP585) scenario, we predicted a median reduction of 85.8 % in meningitis incidence globally under the low-emission (SSP126) climate change scenario by 2100. Our study provides evidence for temperature variability being in association with meningitis incidence, which suggests that global actions are urgently needed to address climate change and to prevent meningitis occurrence.