Understanding the educational inequalities in suicide attempts and their mediators:a Mendelian randomisation study

Background Educational inequalities in suicide have become increasingly prominent over the past decade.Elucidating modifiable risk factors that serve as intermediaries in the impact of low educational attainment on suicide has the potential to reduce health disparities.Aims To examine the risk factors that mediate the relationship between educational attainment and suicide attempts and quantify their contributions to the mediation effect.Methods We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomisation(MR)analysis to estimate the causal effect of educational attainment on suicide attempts,utilising genome-wide association study summary statistics from the Integrative Psychiatric Research(iPSYCH;6024 cases and 44240 controls)and FinnGen(8978 cases and 368299 controls).We systematically evaluated 42 putative mediators within the causal pathway connecting reduced educational attainment to suicide attempts and employed two-step and multivariable MR to quantify the proportion of the mediated effect.Results In the combined analysis of iPSYCH and FinnGen,each standard deviation(SD)decrease in genetically predicted educational attainment(equating to 3.4 years of education)was associated with a 105%higher risk of suicide attempts(odds ratio(OR):2.05;95%confidence interval(Cl):1.81 to 2.31).0f the 42 risk factors analysed,the two-step MR identified five factors that mediated the association between educational attainment and suicide attempts.The respective proportions of mediation were 47%(95%Cl:29%to 66%)for smoking behaviour,36%(95%Cl:0%to 84%)for chronic pain,49%(95%Cl:36%to 61%)for depression,35%(95%Cl:12%to 59%)for anxiety and 26%(95%Cl:18%to 34%)for insomnia.Multivariable MR implicated these five mediators collectively,accounting for 68%(95%Cl:40%to 96%)of the total effect.Conclusions This study identified smoking,chronic pain and mental disorders as primary intervention targets for attenuating suicide risk attributable to lower educational levels in the European population.

Risk of interstitial lung disease with the use of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor compared with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor in patients with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Programmed cell death 1(PD-1)and programmed cell death ligand 1(PD-L1)inhibitors have become integral elements within the current landscape of breast cancer treatment modalities;however,they are associ-ated with interstitial lung disease(ILD),which is rare but potentially fatal.Notably,only a few studies have compared the difference in ILD incidence between PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors.Therefore,this study aimed to assess the discrepancies regarding ILD risk between the two immune checkpoint inhibitors.We also reported three cases of ILD after PD-1 inhibitor treatment.Methods:We comprehensively searched PubMed,EMBASE,and the Cochrane Library to identify clinical trials that investigated PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor treatment for patients with breast cancer.Pooled overall estimates of incidence and risk ratio(RR)were calculated with a 95%confidence interval(CI),and a mirror group analysis was per-formed using eligible studies.Results:This meta-analysis included 29 studies with 4639 patients who received PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor treatment.A higher ILD incidence was observed among 2508 patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors than among 2131 patients treated with PD-L1 inhibitors(0.05 vs.0.02).The mirror group analysis further revealed a higher ILD event risk in patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors than in those treated with PD-L1 inhibitors(RR=2.34,95%CI,1.13-4.82,P=0.02).Conclusion:Our findings suggest a greater risk of ILD with PD-1 inhibitors than with PD-L1 inhibitors.These findings are instrumental for clinicians in treatment deliberations,and the adoption of more structured diagnostic approaches and management protocols is necessary to mitigate the risk of ILD.

Tumor microenvironment in lung cancer-derived brain metastasis

Brain metastasis(BM)is the leading cause of mortality in lung cancer patients.The process of BM(from initial primary tumor development,migration and intravasation,dissemination and survival in the bloodstream,extravasation,to colonization and growth to metastases)is a complex process for which few tumor cells complete the entire process.Recent research on BM of lung cancer has recently stressed the essential role of tumor microenvironment(TME)in assisting tumor cells in the completion of each BM step.This review summarizes recent studies regarding the effects of TME on tumor cells in the entire process of BM derived from lung cancer.The identification of vulnerable targets in the TME and their prospects to provide novel therapeutic opportunities are also discussed.

Comparison between forced-air and air-free warming on perioperative hypothermia in patients undergoing elective surgery

To the Editor:Hypothermia is described as a state in which the core temperature of a patient is decreased to equal to or<36,which is a common and severe complication among patients_undergoing elective sur-gery,.il Studies reported that hypothermia is associated withan increased riskof severaladverse events including postoperative shivering,surgical site infection,increased blood loss,and a longerlength of hospitalization.21Active warming for>30 min during the surgical procedure has been found to reduce the risk of perioperative hypothermia.Thus,more and more attention has been paid to how effectively prevent perioperative hypothermia,and many intraoperative active warming strategies have therefore been applied in,clinical practice,such as forced-air warming technology,_prewarming technology before anesthesia,resistive-polymer system,circulating water mattresses,and self-warming blanket.