Chronic Diseases
Twenty-year Bangladesh study links cleaner water to sharp drop in chronic disease deaths
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A 20-year study in Bangladesh has found that reducing arsenic levels in drinking water was associated with as much as a 50 percent reduction in deaths from heart disease, cancer and other major chronic illnesses. Researchers followed nearly 11,000 adults and reported that participants who switched to safer wells eventually had mortality risks similar to people who were never heavily exposed to arsenic. The findings, published in JAMA, underscore the global health benefits of tackling arsenic contamination in drinking water.
A three-paper series in The Lancet by 43 international experts warns that ultra-processed foods are rapidly transforming diets around the world and are consistently linked to poorer health outcomes. The authors call for urgent, coordinated policy measures to curb corporate influence, reduce production and marketing of these products, and make healthier foods more accessible, arguing that waiting for more trials risks further entrenching ultra-processed foods in global food systems.