Preventive Medicine

Smartwatch hypertension alerts may augment population blood pressure case-finding

This cross-sectional JAMA study evaluated a smartwatch hypertension notification feature among US adults without diagnosed hypertension. The analysis suggested that adding the notification feature identified more individuals with elevated blood pressure than traditional screening alone. Findings indicate consumer wearables could expand opportunistic hypertension screening beyond clinic visits in undiagnosed populations. Clinical integration, confirmatory measurements, and strategies to minimize overdiagnosis will be essential before broad implementation. 1

Youth tobacco screening and counseling remain suboptimal and inequitable in US care

Among 24,644 US middle and high school students in 2022, 43.7% reported screening and 45.6% counseling for any tobacco use. Older adolescents and current sole or dual/poly-tobacco users had higher odds of both screening and counseling than younger or non-current users. Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Asian youths had significantly lower odds of screening and counseling than non-Hispanic White peers. Males had higher odds of counseling than females, highlighting gender disparities in preventive communication. Authors suggest enhanced clinician training and EHR prompts to increase and equalize youth tobacco prevention and cessation services. 2

Modeled ultra-processed food taxes could markedly reduce overweight and NCD burden in Brazil

A multistate life table model projected health impacts of national ultra-processed food taxes in Brazilian adults from 2024 to 2044. Without taxation, overweight prevalence was estimated to rise from 57% to 75%, versus 67%, 63%, and 50% with 10%, 20%, and 50% price increases. Price rises of 10%, 20%, and 50% were projected to prevent 525,000, 861,000, and 1.8 million incident noncommunicable disease cases across 11 conditions. These taxes were also estimated to avert 70,000, 115,000, and 236,000 noncommunicable disease deaths over 20 years. Results support ultra-processed food taxation as a potentially powerful lever for obesity and NCD prevention, pending real-world feasibility. 3

Long-term, consistent physical activity confers added chronic disease protection

In three US health professional cohorts (231,488 participants, 32 years of follow-up), investigators examined physical activity patterns and major chronic disease incidence. Maintaining guideline-level physical activity consistently over time yielded greater risk reductions than sporadic periods of high activity interspersed with inactivity. Being physically active throughout middle adulthood was associated with a 10%–28% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, major cardiovascular disease, and cancer after age 60. Findings support counseling patients to prioritize lifelong, sustained activity patterns rather than intermittent intensive exercise bursts. 4