Published: 4 August 2022 at 12:30
Find out about research published by members of ARU's Vision and Eye Research Institute (VERI) in July 2022.
Peden et al. (1) used the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 Study to analyse mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to transport and unintentional injuries for adolescents in 204 countries.
The authors found that in 2019, 369,061 deaths and 31.1 million DALYs among adolescents aged 10–24 years were caused by transport and unintentional injuries combined.
Compared with other causes, transport and unintentional injuries combined accounted for 25% of deaths and 14% of DALYs in 2019, showing little improvement from 1990 when these accounted for 26% of adolescent deaths and 17% of adolescent DALYs.
The persisting burden of DALYs related to transport and unintentional injuries indicates a need to prioritise innovative measures for the primary prevention of adolescent injury.
In a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Bryazka et al. (2) estimated levels of alcohol consumption that minimise health loss, incorporating region-specific background rates of diseases and injuries.
The authors provided evidence that the level of alcohol consumption that minimises health loss varies significantly across populations and remains zero or very close to zero for several population groups, particularly young adults.
At the same time, small amounts of alcohol consumption are associated with improved health outcomes in populations that predominantly face a high burden of cardiovascular diseases, particularly older adults in many world regions.
Ferrey et al. (3) interviewed patients across a range of ages who had been diagnosed with eye disease in England and assessed the psychological impact of the way their diagnosis was communicated.
They found that interactions with clinicians could have a lasting impact on the experience, and how well the patient was able to come to terms with their visual impairment.
The authors concluded that clinicians should consider how they communicate a diagnosis to patients, how and when they offer information about diagnosis and prognosis and where possible signpost patients to additional support systems and counselling services as early as possible.
1. Peden, A. E., Cullen, P., Francis, K. L., Moeller, H., Peden, M. M., Ye, P. et al. (Pardhan, S.), 2022. Adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Public Health. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00134-7
2. Bryazka, D., Reitsma, M. B., Griswold, M. G., Abate, K. H., Abbafati, C., Abbasi-Kangevari, M. et al. (Pardhan, S.), 2022. Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020. The Lancet, 400 (10347), pp. 185-235. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00847-9
3. Ferrey, A., Moore, L., Jolly, J. K., 2022. ‘It was like being hit with a brick’: a qualitative study on the effect of clinicians’ delivery of a diagnosis of eye disease for patients in primary and secondary care. BMJ Open, 12(7), e059970. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059970