Background Cancer poses a serious threat to the health of Chinese people, resulting in a major challenge for public health work. Today, people can obtain relevant information from not only medical workers in hospitals, but also the internet in any place in real-time. Search behaviors can reflect a population’s awareness of cancer from a completely new perspective, which could be driven by the underlying cancer epidemiology. However, such Web-retrieved data are not yet well validated or understood. Objective This study aimed to explore whether a correlation exists between the incidence and mortality of cancers and normalized internet search volumes on the big data platform, Baidu. We also assessed whether the distribution of people who searched for specific types of cancer differed by gender. Finally, we determined whether there were regional disparities among people who searched the Web for cancer-related information. Methods Standard Boolean operators were used to choose search terms for each type of cancer. Spearman’s correlation analysis was used to explore correlations among monthly search index values for each cancer type and their monthly incidence and mortality rates. We conducted cointegration analysis between search index data and incidence rates to examine whether a stable equilibrium existed between them. We also conducted cointegration analysis between search index data and mortality data. Results The monthly Baidu index was significantly correlated with cancer incidence rates for 26 of 28 cancers in China (lung cancer: r =.80, P <.001; liver cancer: r =.28, P =.016; stomach cancer: r =.50, P <.001; esophageal cancer: r =.50, P <.001; colorectal cancer: r =.81, P <.001; pancreatic cancer: r =.86, P <.001; breast cancer: r =.56, P <.001; brain and nervous system cancer: r =.63, P <.001; leukemia: r =.75, P <.001; Non-Hodgkin lymphoma: r =.88, P <.001; Hodgkin lymphoma: r =.91, P <.001; cervical cancer: r =.64, P <.001; prostate cancer: r =.67, P <.001; bladder cancer: r =.62, P <.001; gallbladder and biliary tract cancer: r =.88, P <.001; lip and oral cavity cancer: r =.88, ...

Summary Access to green space may influence individual physical activity (PA) and subsequently weight status, as increased exposure to green space could improve health by increasing opportunities and the actual levels of PA. However, whether such associations hold empirically remains inconclusive. This study reviewed articles that analysed the association between access to green space and weight‐related behaviours/outcomes among children, published before 1 January 2019. The sample sizes ranged from 108 to 44 278. Four cohorts and 17 cross‐sectional studies conducted in nine countries were identified. Overall, evidence showed a positive association between access to green space and PA and a negative association between access to green space and television‐watching time, body mass index (BMI) and weight status among children. Distance to the nearest green space, measured by geographic information system (GIS) in 10 studies, was often used to represent access to the nearest green space. It still remains difficult to draw a clear conclusion on the association between access to green space and BMI. Longitudinal studies can directly estimate the strength of the association between exposure and disease, which is needed to determine the causal association between access to green space and weight status.

Background Life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HALE) are indicators measuring the national health level. GAP is the difference between them. This study systematically analyzed and projected LE, HALE, and GAP across global regions from 1995 to 2025. Methods We obtained the data of 195 countries/regions on their LE, HALE, and influencing factors from 1995 to 2017. We compared the overall changes of LE, HALE, and GAP. Multiple linear regression analysis examined relationships among LE, HALE, GAP, and the associated factors. Using the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, we projected trends in LE, HALE, and GAP for 2017-2025. Results During 1995-2017, LE, HALE, and their GAP in 195 countries/regions in the world showed overall increasing trends. Global average LE increased from 66.20 to 72.98 years, HALE from 57.59 to 63.25 years, and GAP from 8.62 to 9.72 years. LE and HALE in North America, Europe, and Australia were generally higher, while Africa had the lowest rates. Females' LE, HALE, and GAP were all higher than males’, but females' growth rates of LE and HALE were lower. Different factors were included to project LE, HALE, and GAP, respectively, and prediction results showed that approximately 18% of the 195 countries/regions might achieve improved LE and HALE and lower GAP. Conclusions LE, HALE will likely continue to increase in most of countries and regions worldwide in the future and GAP will further expand. While striving to improve LE and HALE, more attention needs be made to reduce GAP and improve quality of life.

Background Internet search data on health-related terms can reflect people’s concerns about their health status in near real time, and hence serve as a supplementary metric of disease characteristics. However, studies using internet search data to monitor and predict chronic diseases at a geographically finer state-level scale are sparse. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the associations of internet search volumes for lung cancer with published cancer incidence and mortality data in the United States. Methods We used Google relative search volumes, which represent the search frequency of specific search terms in Google. We performed cross-sectional analyses of the original and disease metrics at both national and state levels. A smoothed time series of relative search volumes was created to eliminate the effects of irregular changes on the search frequencies and obtain the long-term trends of search volumes for lung cancer at both the national and state levels. We also performed analyses of decomposed Google relative search volume data and disease metrics at the national and state levels. Results The monthly trends of lung cancer-related internet hits were consistent with the trends of reported lung cancer rates at the national level. Ohio had the highest frequency for lung cancer-related search terms. At the state level, the relative search volume was significantly correlated with lung cancer incidence rates in 42 states, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.58 in Virginia to 0.94 in Oregon. Relative search volume was also significantly correlated with mortality in 47 states, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.58 in Oklahoma to 0.94 in North Carolina. Both the incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer were correlated with decomposed relative search volumes in all states excluding Vermont. Conclusions Internet search behaviors could reflect public awareness of lung cancer. Research on internet search behaviors could be a novel and timely approach to monitor and estimate the prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates of a broader range of cancers and even more health issues.

Highlights Compared to unvaccinated people, influenza-vaccinated people had the risk reduction of 26% for cardiovascular diseases (63 studies), 18% for respiratory diseases (29 studies), and 43% for all-cause mortality (43 studies). Influenza vaccination was associated with reduced risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), heart failure, ischemic heart disease (IHD), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and cardiovascular mortality. There was a statistically significant reduction in pneumonia and respiratory mortality in those who received the influenza vaccination, with relative risks of 0.79 (95% CI = 0.65-0.95) and 0.79 (95% CI = 0.67-0.92), respectively. The protective effects of vaccination were evident in the general adult population and particularly robust in older adults and in those with pre-existing specific diseases.

Summary The lack of access to full‐service restaurants (FSRs) is generally thought to be a risk factor for childhood obesity, as it could discourage healthful eating‐out behaviours while increasing the exposure to unhealthful food venues as “compensatory” options. However, the association between FSR access and childhood obesity has not been comprehensively reviewed previously. A literature search was conducted on PubMed and Web of Science for articles published before 1 January 2019 that examined the association between FSR access and weight‐related behaviours and outcomes among children and adolescents. Eighteen studies conducted in three countries were identified, published from 2006 to 2018 with a median sample size of 2352 (ranging from 323 to 529 367). Findings were mixed among these 18 studies that reported on the association between access to FSRs and weight‐related outcomes. Our meta‐analyses showed that there were no significant associations of FSR access with the level of body mass index (BMI) and the BMI z‐score among children. Also, there was no apparent evidence on the association between FSR access and the risk of overweight/obesity. Our results need to be interpreted with caution, considering the menu quality of FSRs and heterogeneity of eligible studies in this meta‐analysis. Well‐designed epidemiologic studies are warranted to further elaborate on the potential association between FSR access and children's weight status.

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Background Mobile phone use has brought convenience, but the long or improper use of mobile phones can cause harm to the human body. Objective We aimed to assess the impact of improper mobile phone use on the risks of accidents and chronic disorders. Methods We systematically searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases for studies published prior to April 5, 2019; relevant reviews were also searched to identify additional studies. A random-effects model was used to calculate the overall pooled estimates. Results Mobile phone users had a higher risk of accidents (relative risk [RR] 1.37, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.55). Long-term use of mobile phones increased accident risk relative to nonuse or short-term use (RR 2.10, 95% CI 1.63 to 2.70). Compared with nonuse, mobile phone use resulted in a higher risk for neoplasms (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.14), eye diseases (RR 2.03, 95% CI 1.27 to 3.23), mental health disorders (RR 1.16, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.32), and headaches (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.32); the pooled risk of other chronic disorders was 1.20 (95% CI 0.90 to 1.59). Subgroup analyses also confirmed the increased risk of accidents and chronic disorders. Conclusions Improper use of mobile phones can harm the human body. While enjoying the convenience brought by mobile phones, people have to use mobile phones properly and reasonably.