Graphical abstract for the research paper.
Adults with excess weight are at greater risk of early death
New study shows that entering adulthood with a healthy body weight is associated with a substantially lower risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease, cancer and respiratory disease. 📉
Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/l5dr3zd
Really excited to see this study by @oxpop.bsky.social published.
Using pooled data from more than 1.8m people across 3 continents, the research revealed that vegetarian diets show a lower risk of 5 cancers, including breast, prostate and pancreatic.
www.wcrf.org/about-us/new...
Many thanks to @wcrf.org for funding this research and making this landmark study possible.
27.02.2026 10:31 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Navy blue background with a photo of Tim Key, Emeritus Professor of Epidemeiology at Oxford Population Health. Quote text reads: There are around 3 million vegetarians in the UK, with interest in vegetarianism growing in many parts of the world. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly one in six deaths. Dietary patterns that prioritise fruit, vegetables, and fibre-containing foods, and avoid processed meat, are recommended to reduce cancer risk. Our study helps to shed light on the benefits and risks associated with vegetarian diets.
Can a vegetarian diet lower your risk of cancer? 🍽️
The largest ever study of non-meat diets and cancer risk compared the risk of 17 different cancers across five diet groups, using data from more than 1.8 million people across three continents. 📊
Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/9iQvKfu
🚨 A defining moment for global health data.
The termination of the #USAID-supported Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program has wide-ranging consequences. We reflect on the collapse and argue what should come next in a new PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2…
📊 9,000+ studies
We are hiring two Senior Analyst/Programmers to join our Core Programming team, which handles a wide variety of full-stack full-lifecycle projects.
The team works on both Windows and linux, developing primarily in C++, Javascript and SQL.
Apply now ➡️ buff.ly/GBBwNyx
2040 film poster on the right side. One the left side, text reads: Oxford Population Health. Festival of Global Health. Join us for a screening of 2040. Followed by a panel discussion moderated by Dr Toral Gathani, including • A video introduction from the film director, Damon Gamea • Alistair Brown, Editor in Chief, Lancet Planetary Health • Paul Behrens, British Academy Global Professor at the Oxford Martin School, and • Keren Papier, Senior Nutritional Epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health
The next Festival of Global Health event will be a screening of '2040' on Weds 11 Mar at @curzon.com, followed by a panel discussion📽️🍿
2040 is an award winning film about initiatives that exist to tackle planetary health issues 🌍
Register ➡️ buff.ly/TpbMXi1
Navy blue background with a photo of Michele Peters, Associate Professor at Oxford Population Health. Quote text reads: Our study shows that people from minoritised groups often experience harm not because of a single failure, but because of a web of interacting factors across the health system that leave people perceiving the system as unsafe. Improving interpersonal care is important, but it is unlikely to be enough on its own. To make the NHS a genuinely safe space for everyone, we need to address the structural and institutional processes that drive exclusion and discrimination.
NHS safety inequalities are influenced by a complex set of factors
A new study, drawing on in-depth interviews highlights a complex set of factors that increase the risk of harm for people from minoritised groups when using NHS services ➡️ buff.ly/iRYU4vp
Statins – your questions answered.❓
Statins are a family of drugs that lower cholesterol.
Our Big Question article shares how statins work, who they help, what the risks actually are ➡️ buff.ly/wX8edHE
We're hiring! 👀
We are seeking a Senior Teaching and Research Fellow to be the Associate Course Director for our new Master in Public Health in Public health research. 🩺
Apply now ➡️ buff.ly/qaWFoBa
This week is Children's ' Mental Health Week 2026 and we are highlighting The Online Support and Intervention (OSI) tool, an innovative child anxiety treatment, co-created by OxPop researchers Professor Mara Violato and Dr Shuye Yu. 💻
Learn more ➡️
A great interview with Jess a DPhil student in our Wearables group ⬇️
Jess is researching whether wearable sensors can enhance risk assessment before, and recovery after, major cancer surgery.
Photo of Favour Peters, DPhil student in Population health. Quote reads: What keeps me in science is the chance to translate careful thinking into real-world impact, especially for populations that are often overlooked. For me, science is an act of hope, the belief that through careful thinking, persistence, and compassion, we each have the chance to contribute something that makes the world fairer than we found it.
Photo of Beth Lyne, DPhil student in Population Health. Quote reads: I chose to pursue science as I was always very interested in how things worked and because science has always seemed like one of the best tools for helping improve people's lives.
Photo of Sanskruit Biswal, research Outreach Officer. Quote reads: I loved studying science and doing research during my education in Neurobiology, and then trained in Science and Health Communication. However, being introduced to the field of science communication, I realised there is a big gap between people who do research and those that take the information to the public. Moreover, we need a two-way communication on research issues that affect the public and hence it is our duty in research organisations to engage the public in active dialogue with our work.
Photo of Ayisha Khalid, DPhil student in Population Health. Quote reads: Science transcends boundaries. In its pursuit, I’ve been able to blend perspectives and ideas to overcome social and systemic barriers.
Today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science 🔬
We are celebrating the work of the many amazing women in science here at Oxford Population Health by sharing what inspired some of our team members to pursue a career in science. 🎉
Concerns about statin side effects have led some people at risk of heart attacks and strokes to avoid treatment. This large-scale evidence provides reassurance that, for most people, the benefits of statin therapy outweigh the risks. (4/4)
Read more ➡️https://buff.ly/dj2aoe9
The review found a small increase (~0.1%) in liver blood test abnormalities with statins, but no increase in serious liver disease such as hepatitis or liver failure. (3/4)
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Each year, reports of cognitive or memory impairment occurred in ~0.2% of participants taking statins and ~0.2% taking placebo—suggesting no clear evidence of a causal link. (2/4)
06.02.2026 10:02 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
In an analysis of >150,000 participants, researchers found no statistically significant excess risk for most reported statin side effects, including memory loss, depression, sleep disturbance, or sexual dysfunction. 🧵(1/4)
@thebhf.bsky.social @ukri.org
Statins do not cause most side effects listed in package leaflets.
New research finds no significant excess risk from statin therapy for most side effects, including memory loss, depression, and sleep disturbance.
Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/dj2aoe9
@thebhf.bsky.social @ukri.org
Figure 1 from paper, depicting an overview of the study design and analytical approach. A)gradient boosting classification model was built in the 70% randomly selected UKB population, differentiating current smokers and never smokers. Boruta feature selection algorithm was then used to select only relevant features for downstream analysis. B) The model trained in UKB training dataset was further validated externally in CKB male population. C) proteomic Smoking INdex (pSIN) was calculated for the whole UKB cohort. Smoking behavioural, genomic, and exposome determinants of pSIN were studied, followed by associating pSIN with incident health outcomes.
This #WorldCancerDay, we're highlighting a new way to calculate risk of smoking-related health problems like cancer by looking at proteins in the blood. 🩸
Instead of self-reporting smoking, researchers developed an index based on 51 proteins in the blood to assign an impact score ➡️ buff.ly/5x3IDI7
The Shadow Scholars has been longlisted for a @bafta.org 📽️🎉
The film follows Prof. Patricia Kingori in the world of academic ghostwriting in Kenya, where highly-educated, underemployed scholars write papers for global students.
Watch the trailer ➡️ buff.ly/ZA4LYBW
Oxford Population Health. EASi-KIDNEY 3000 participants recruited.
🎉EASi-KIDNEY has recruited 3000 randomised participants!
📉EASi-KIDNEY will investigate whether a novel treatment can help slow the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) ➡️https://buff.ly/qXd6j1S
A new report from the MBRRACE-UK collaboration has been published.
The latest set of data shows that the mortality rate for women who died during or soon after pregnancy in the UK between 2022 and 2024 was 20% higher than the maternal death rate between 2009 and 2011.
Learn more ⬇️
Earlier this year, we held the first in-person #RECOVERYtrial UK collaborators meeting where we spoke to some of the hospital staff who recruited and cared for patients.
Thank you to everyone involved! ➡️
RECOVERY logo
Hospitalisations for flu are very high for this time of year.
The #RECOVERYtrial was vital in identifying treatments for COVID-19.
Now, RECOVERY is investigating the effectiveness of three existing drugs against other forms of pneumonia, including influenza ➡️ buff.ly/4LElSiJ
Navy blue background with a profile photo of Bowen Liu, DPhil student at Oxford Population Health. Quote text reads These findings highlight the importance of preventing diabetes, through weight management and other strategies, in reducing the risk of developing several common cancers.
👀In case you missed it... did you know having diabetes increases risk of six types of cancer?
📊Analysing data from 2.2 million adults, the association between diabetes and these six types of cancer can't be explained by other common risk factors for cancer and diabetes ➡️ buff.ly/yx89lfM
Navy blue background with a photo of David Eyre, Professor of Infectious Diseases. Big Data Institute/University of Oxford logo. Quote text reads: This work shows that AI can be a powerful ally in protecting patient confidentiality. But human judgement and strong governance must remain at the centre of any system that handles patient data.
Can AI help protect patient privacy in healthcare data? 🩺
Researchers compared the abilities of large language models and specialised software tools to human performance in anonymising patient records 🖥️
Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/LrSyk0U
People listening to a presentation
People sat around tables
Piece of paper with post-its stuck on it
People sat around tables having discussions
This weekend we hosted our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Annual Meeting
30 of our public contributors joined us in person and online for a day filled with insightful discussions 🗨️
Learn more about our PPIE work ➡️https://buff.ly/dss0mjc
Navy blue background with a photo of Cornelia van Duijn. Professor of Epidemiology at Oxford Population Health. Quote text reads: Our study highlights the key role of the brain in our health and life expectancy. As a genetic neuro-epidemiologist, the finding that thrills me most is that managing your brain ageing may counteract any disadvantage based on your genetic make-up. This is a break through and worth the effort.
🧠"Ageing clocks" show a healthier brain may reduce risk of dementia and early death
🕗“Ageing clocks” are statistical models that estimate how fast a person’s organs are ageing compared to the expected ageing ➡️ buff.ly/2jW3gsS
@broadinstitute.org @pku1898.bsky.social
Navy blue background with a photo of Christoph Wanner, Visiting Professor at Oxford Population Health’s Renal Studies Group. Quote reads: This report concludes that CKD is highly detectable, largely manageable, and now supported by several proven therapies that are simple to implement across diverse health-care systems. If adopted widely, these measures could substantially reduce the global burden of kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.
📣Recent breakthroughs in treatment and detection of chronic kidney disease can reduce risks for many people with the disease 📉
Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/tXrDKs2
🎉RECOVERY has recruited 1000 flu participants!
RECOVERY aims to compare several different treatments that may be useful for patients with pneumonia, including influenza ➡️ buff.ly/eSwTCBe
