Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (760 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Health, Public; Community Health; Health, Community; Environment, Preventive Medicine and Public Health; Environment, Preventive Medicine and Public Health.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Medicine; Health; Environment and Public Health
- Narrower topics
- Epidemiology; Preventive Medicine; Accidents; Consumer Product Safety; Disease Eradication; Disease Outbreaks; Disease Transmission, Infectious; Drug Contamination; Emergencies; Endemic Diseases; Environmental Medicine; Environmental Microbiology; Environmental Pollution; Epidemiologic Factors
- See also
- Preventive Medicine; Social Medicine; Zoonoses
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 10,666,934 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Public Health” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 2,731,559 of them (25.6%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 3,512,731 records.
Reviews account for 1,018,377 records (9.5%) and meta-analyses for 163,391. Randomized controlled trials number 484,911 (4.5%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 2,165,471 |
| 2000-2009 | 2,257,173 |
| 2010-2019 | 3,512,731 |
| 2020 onward | 2,731,559 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 1,018,377 | 9.5% |
| Meta-analyses | 163,391 | 1.5% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 484,911 | 4.5% |
Method: PubMed query "Public Health"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in public health and nutrition
Population and nutrition studies mostly observe what people eat, breathe or are exposed to and then look for links with health, which shows association and not proof of cause. Self-reported diet is imprecise, people who eat or live differently also differ in other ways, and effects measured across a population may not apply to one person. Check the study design, how exposure was measured, what else was accounted for and the size of the effect, not only whether it was statistically significant.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Medical Cannabis Registry: A Two-Year Prospective Observational Cohort Study of Clinical Outcomes in Insomnia | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 42935025 · DOI · PMC13710906 |
| Adjusting for Medication Use in GWAS and Its Impact on Mendelian Randomisation Analyses: An Example of Systolic Blood Pressure in UK Biobank | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 42937089 · DOI · PMC13711480 |
| Multidimensional sleep health: risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, and mediation by plasma proteins | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 42924631 · DOI · PMC13693298 |
UK Medical Cannabis Registry: A Two-Year Prospective Observational Cohort Study of Clinical Outcomes in Insomnia [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundInsomnia disorder affects approximately 10% of people.
- Closing excerpt
- As an uncontrolled, observational study of a self-selected and predominantly cannabis-experienced cohort, placebo effects, regression to the mean, and selection bias cannot be excluded.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (210 words)
BackgroundInsomnia disorder affects approximately 10% of people. The persistence of insomnia, despite treatment, remains high. Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) have been proposed as a potential treatment for insomnia. This study aims to use data from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry to analyze changes in self-reported sleep quality in patients prescribed CBMPs for insomnia.MethodsA prospective cohort study of patients treated with CBMPs for insomnia was completed. The primary outcome was the Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale (SQS). This was assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months from baseline. Secondary outcomes included change in anxiety and general health-related quality of life. p-values ResultsTwo hundred and eleven participants met the inclusion criteria. Over half (n = 126; 59.72%) were users of cannabis at baseline. At the primary endpoint of 24 months, mean SQS improved from 2.46 ± 2.10 (mean ± standard deviation (SD)) at baseline to 5.14 ± 2.75 (mean difference +2.68; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.23-3.14; p ConclusionInitiation of CBMPs was associated with improvements in self-reported sleep quality across 2 years, with the largest associations observed in those with the most severe impairment. As an uncontrolled, observational study of a self-selected and predominantly cannabis-experienced cohort, placebo effects, regression to the mean, and selection bias cannot be excluded.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42935025 · DOI · PMC13710906
Adjusting for Medication Use in GWAS and Its Impact on Mendelian Randomisation Analyses: An Example of Systolic Blood Pressure in UK Biobank [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Medication use is common in large-scale population cohorts, and can modify phenotypic traits of interest.
- Closing excerpt
- Finally, we demonstrate that medication adjustment can reveal potentially novel genetic loci, offering additional insight into the biology of a trait.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (261 words)
Medication use is common in large-scale population cohorts, and can modify phenotypic traits of interest. This can potentially bias effect estimates in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and impact downstream analyses such as Mendelian randomisation (MR). The best approach to account for medication use in GWAS is unclear. In this study, we compared seven different methods of adjusting for antihypertensive use in a systolic blood pressure (SBP) GWAS of 407,960 White British individuals in the UK Biobank. We found that direct adjustments to measured SBP (adding constants, class-specific constants, censored normal regression) in general yielded a greater number of genome-wide significant variant associations and unmasked stronger GWAS effect estimates than unadjusted measures of SBP. Adjustment for class-specific constants showed the greatest difference relative to unadjusted GWAS. Restriction methods which limit the sample to either untreated individuals or age ranges with low levels of antihypertensive use had less power, due to reduced sample sizes. Effect estimates of treated individuals were deflated relative to untreated individuals, demonstrating the importance of medication adjustment. In MR analyses, we found no substantial differences in inverse-variance weighted (IVW) estimates when using differing exposure GWAS methods in estimation of the effect of SBP on coronary artery disease. Larger variations in IVW estimates were observed for the causal effect of body mass index on SBP across adjustment approaches. This suggests that bias may arise in MR analyses when the exposure included in the estimation affects the probability of treatment. Finally, we demonstrate that medication adjustment can reveal potentially novel genetic loci, offering additional insight into the biology of a trait.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42937089 · DOI · PMC13711480
Multidimensional sleep health: risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, and mediation by plasma proteins [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundSleep health is a recognised determinant of cardiovascular health, but most previous research has examined individual sleep traits in relation to cardiovascular disease and mortality.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings support multidimensional sleep assessment as a population-level prevention strategy and provide candidate molecular pathways for future mechanistic and interventional studies.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (289 words)
BackgroundSleep health is a recognised determinant of cardiovascular health, but most previous research has examined individual sleep traits in relation to cardiovascular disease and mortality. The molecular pathways linking multidimensional sleep health to these outcomes remain insufficiently explored. We aimed to examine these associations and identify circulating proteins showing potential mediation signals in these relationships.MethodsWe analysed data on 257,509 individuals from the UK Biobank, including 26,984 with available plasma proteomic data. Using baseline questionnaire data collected by UK Biobank, we calculated a seven-component sleep health score (SHS) and derived data-driven sleep patterns using K-prototypes clustering. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models to examine the associations of the SHS and, separately, the sleep patterns with incident coronary heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation and heart failure, as well as cardiovascular and overall mortality. Lastly, we identified SHS-related proteins using linear regression, with representative proteins selected using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and mediation analyses performed.ResultsHigher SHS was associated with lower risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, cardiovascular mortality, and overall mortality, with the strongest associations observed for heart failure and coronary heart disease. Mixed sleep disturbance and non-restorative sleep patterns were associated with higher risks across multiple outcomes. Proteomic analyses identified 188 SHS-related proteins, mainly enriched in inflammatory, immune, and chemotactic pathways. Exploratory mediation analyses identified 34 proteins with potential mediation signals, among which HGF, IGF2R, and FABP4 showed recurrent cross-outcome signals.ConclusionsPoor multidimensional sleep health was associated with higher cardiovascular disease and mortality risks, with exploratory proteomic analyses suggesting potential involvement of circulating proteins related to inflammation, immunity, chemotaxis, and metabolic dysregulation. These findings support multidimensional sleep assessment as a population-level prevention strategy and provide candidate molecular pathways for future mechanistic and interventional studies.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42924631 · DOI · PMC13693298
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Consensus meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias [4]
- Research article Concordance between target trial emulation and randomised controlled trials: systematic review and meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Efficacy and Safety of Tegoprazan-Amoxicillin Dual Therapy for Helicobacter pylori Eradication: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Trial Sequential Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials [6]
- Research article Assessing Financial Toxicity in Cancer: A Global Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Using an Asset Framework [7]
- Research article Genome wide association study meta-analysis of neuropathologic lesions of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in a multi-site autopsy cohort [8]
- Research article Prenatal Smoking Exposures and Epigenome-Wide Methylation in Newborn Blood [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
Environmental exposure to rare earth elements and respiratory health: an emerging public health concern
Jie Zhou, Pengcheng Liang, Weijian Zhu et al. · Frontiers in Public Health 2026 · CC BY 4.0
Public Health Challenges and Responses to the Growing Ageing Populations
Hafiz T. A. Khan, Kwaku Mari Addo, Helen Findlay · Public Health Challenges 2024 · CC BY 4.0
The Effect of Dietary Interventions on Hypertriglyceridemia: From Public Health to Molecular Nutrition Evidence
Karla Paulina Luna-Castillo, Xochitl Citlalli Olivares-Ochoa, Rocío Guadalupe Hernández-Ruiz et al. · Nutrients 2022 · CC BY 4.0
Genetic Determinants of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and Their Relevance to Public Health
Elina Hyppönen, Karani S. Vimaleswaran, Ang Zhou · Nutrients 2022 · CC BY 4.0
Effective public health measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19: a systematic review
Imen Ayouni, Jihen Maatoug, Wafa Dhouib et al. · BMC Public Health 2021 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Koye A, Erridge S, Clarke E, McLachlan K, Coomber R, Rucker JJ, et al.. UK Medical Cannabis Registry: A Two-Year Prospective Observational Cohort Study of Clinical Outcomes in Insomnia. . 2026. PMID 42935025 · DOI · PMC13710906
- Yap AJY, Hanson AL, Griffith GJ, Sanderson E. Adjusting for Medication Use in GWAS and Its Impact on Mendelian Randomisation Analyses: An Example of Systolic Blood Pressure in UK Biobank. . 2026. PMID 42937089 · DOI · PMC13711480
- Wei Z, Xiao Q, Wang S, Liu L, Meng D, Mao Z, et al.. Multidimensional sleep health: risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, and mediation by plasma proteins. . 2026. PMID 42924631 · DOI · PMC13693298
- EADB, EADI, Bonn, ADGC, CHARGE, FinnGen, et al.. Consensus meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Nat Genet. 2026. PMID 42237039 · DOI · PMC13263136
- Wang C, Tang D, von Dadelszen P, Ju C, Liu L, Wang Y, et al.. Concordance between target trial emulation and randomised controlled trials: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2026. PMID 42156120 · DOI · PMC13184834
- Zhou BG, Xu YM, Xu WJ, Liu J, Deng B. Efficacy and Safety of Tegoprazan-Amoxicillin Dual Therapy for Helicobacter pylori Eradication: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Trial Sequential Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2026. PMID 42313090 · DOI · PMC13432378
- Kacker S, Najjar W, Stemme R, Samaha NL, Yenokyan G, Armache M, et al.. Assessing Financial Toxicity in Cancer: A Global Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Using an Asset Framework. Cancer Med. 2026. PMID 42387329 · DOI · PMC13323185
- Cholerton B, Godrich D, Pasteris J, Rivero J, Martin ER, Kunkle BW, et al.. Genome wide association study meta-analysis of neuropathologic lesions of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in a multi-site autopsy cohort. PLoS Genet. 2026. PMID 42371968 · DOI · PMC13340787
- Hoang TT, Cosin-Tomas M, Lee Y, Monasso G, Xu Z, Li SS, et al.. Prenatal Smoking Exposures and Epigenome-Wide Methylation in Newborn Blood. Environ Health Perspect. 2026. PMID 42428256 · DOI · PMC13347645
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
See how EvidenceLib is built. Spotted an error? Email support@evidencehelix.com.
Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.