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Hundreds of thousands of Britons may have a hidden blood condition putting them at greater risk of serious illness or early death, a study has found. 

Anaemia – most commonly caused by a lack of iron which leads to fewer red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body – can trigger extreme fatigue, chest pains, dizziness and headaches. 

It has long been linked to issues such as heart failure, pregnancy complications and dementia. 

Now researchers from the University of Glasgow say people with ‘borderline anaemia’ – who may not be identified under current diagnostic guidelines – similarly face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature death.

The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, analysed data from nearly half a million UK Biobank participants over a decade.

It is one of the biggest investigations of its kind into the link between haemoglobin levels, serious disease and early death.

Scientists analysed blood samples collected at UK Biobank centres to measure participants’ haemoglobin levels – the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body.

They found that extremes at either end – having too much or too little haemoglobin – were associated with the highest risk.

Currently, anaemia is diagnosed using thresholds set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that have remained unchanged for half a century.

Without iron, the body can’t make enough haemoglobin, the protein in the blood responsible for carrying oxygen around the body

Under current guidelines, anaemia is only diagnosed once the amount of haemoglobin – the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body – falls below a set level.

But researchers now believe this cut-off may be missing people at risk.

They found that people whose haemoglobin was low, but still considered within the normal range, were more likely to die early than those with higher levels.

Dr Malek Ahmad, clinician-scientist at the University of Glasgow and study lead author, said: ‘Risk already starts to increase with borderline anaemia, before haemoglobin falls below the current WHO threshold.

‘Currently, many doctors do not even recognise a person has anaemia until it’s moderately severe.

‘Showing that borderline anaemia is associated with increased risk and a high prevalence of iron deficiency should encourage investigation and treatment of a broad range of patients with mild/borderline anaemia.’

Anaemia is most commonly caused by iron deficiency, which leaves the body unable to make enough healthy red blood cells. A lack of vitamin B12 or folate can also be responsible.

Common symptoms include tiredness, pale skin, irritability and a racing heartbeat.

Iron deficiency can be caused by not getting enough iron from food but heavy periods and pregnancy are also common causes.

Long-term health problems, including kidney disease and conditions that cause inflammation in the body, can also lead to anaemia.

Some medicines can make it harder for the body to absorb iron, including common heartburn drugs such as omeprazole. Calcium and zinc supplements and certain antibiotics can also interfere with iron absorption.

However, the researchers stressed that their findings do not prove that low haemoglobin itself causes people to die earlier.

They now want to investigate whether the guidelines should be updated to take account of factors such as diet, stress and obesity, which could help doctors spot people at risk earlier.

Around two billion people worldwide are thought to have iron deficiency, including 1.2 billion who have developed iron-deficiency anaemia.

In the UK, an estimated 3 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women have the condition, while more than 57,000 people are admitted to hospital with anaemia every year.

In many cases, however, the condition can be treated relatively simply. A daily iron supplement – costing as little as 10p a pill – can be enough to restore iron levels.

Eating more iron-rich foods can also help, including dark leafy vegetables such as kale, fortified breakfast cereals and red meat.

It comes amid growing concern over a rise in the number of Britons being admitted to hospital because they are deficient in essential vitamins and minerals.

Earlier this year, NHS figures revealed a dramatic increase in patients admitted with anaemia caused by iron deficiency, as well as illnesses linked to a lack of B vitamins.

The Royal College of GPs warned that the cost-of-living crisis has made a nutritious diet ‘increasingly unaffordable’ for some people, describing the figures as ‘very concerning’.

Peering at the menu in a local restaurant, I groan as I realise that I’ve forgotten my glasses yet again.

The food choices are printed in tiny letters and I can hardly decipher a thing.

I resort to magnifying the dishes using my phone’s camera to read them. It’s just another daily frustration caused by my failing 40-something eyesight.

In my younger years I took my good eyesight for granted – but like so many others, once I entered my fifth decade the peeper problems started.

I began struggling to read laptop and phone screens. The pages of my paperback blurred, and I was continually turning on lights as rooms seemed gloomy. And when did instructions on packets get so small?

It was no surprise when, as I approached 40, an optician confirmed I was long-sighted and I received my first pair of glasses to help me see up close.

Medically known as hyperopia, long-sightedness occurs when the eye focuses light behind the retina (the light-sensitive area at the rear of the eye) rather than directly on to it – this becomes more common over the age of 40. It causes closer objects to appear fuzzy or blurred.

The speed at which my vision has waned since then has shocked me. Now 47, I need specs for all screens, dislike night-driving and often have dry eyes after a long day.

Laura Stott tried out red-light therapy glasses for the Daily Mail and reports on how it went

‘Eyepower Red glasses were one of a few devices I pulled apart – and a rarity, they were good,’ Professor Glen Jeffery told Good Health

But none of this is unusual. Because around midlife the eye is also often subject to a natural process called presbyopia, where the lens inside it becomes less flexible. As a result focusing and close-up tasks, such as reading small print, become trickier.

Until recently there’s been little other than wearing glasses to offer much respite from everyday problems caused by this.

But one emerging field showing potential for aiding eye conditions is photobiomodulation, where certain wavelengths of light – specifically, red (low-level wavelengths, up to 750nm) and infrared (wavelengths above 750nm, which is more powerful than red) – are used to stimulate cells in the retina, with the aim of improving their function and slowing vision loss.

A 2021 study in 20 adults with normal vision aged between 34 and 70, at University College London (UCL), found noticeable improvements in vision after they looked at a 670nm wavelength of red light for just three minutes every morning over two weeks.

The key seems to be the effect on mitochondria, the tiny energy powerhouses inside our cells.

Previous work by the same team at UCL showed brief exposure to red light seemed to restore visual function in ageing eyes by impacting the mitochondria, reported the Journal of Gerontology in 2020.

The study in 2021 also showed that just a single three-minute morning exposure to red light was enough to improve mitochondrial performance to boost the sensitivity of cells responsible for detecting light (known as rod cells) and colour (cone cells).

Interestingly, afternoon exposure to the same amount of red light did not lead to any improvement – research in fruit flies, in 2019, pointed to the mitochondria shifting work patterns, and not responding in the same way to light later in the day.

Mfazo Hove, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the private Blue Fin Vision clinic in London, says: ‘Red light for the eye is a real field of science, not a fad – but currently it is three fields and the evidence is very uneven across them’

Glen Jeffery, a professor of neuroscience who led the two UCL studies, said at the time that the findings demonstrated ‘exposure to red light in the morning can significantly improve declining vision, which is a major health issue affecting millions globally’. Such research has spawned an industry of at-home red-light devices – costing anything from £25 to £2,000-plus – said to help improve eyesight.

Having considered the various options available, Professor Jeffery mostly advises vigilance.

‘It’s the Wild West out there,’ he says. ‘We have looked at a few devices, some grossly expensive, and the quality was often highly questionable. Nearly all of them produced too much power.’

Yet there is one at-home device that Professor Jeffery says appears to be better calibrated for the eye and reasonable value.

‘Eyepower Red glasses were one of a few devices I pulled apart – and a rarity, they were good,’ Professor Jeffery, who has no economic interest in the product, told Good Health.

The futuristic-looking glasses, which retail at £85, project 670nm ‘deep red light [which] has been shown to be beneficial in promoting long-term eye health and improves the efficiency of mitochondria,’ the maker claims.

It adds: ‘Research into the benefits of deep red 670nm light for the eyes is still relatively new, but has produced some promising results.’

The maker also claims its Eyepower Red glasses can be worn after cataract surgery, with the agreement of your ophthalmic consultant, and if you have macular degeneration or glaucoma, to help maintain eye health.

However, there is no clinical evidence they will benefit these conditions. Indeed, research into photobiomodulation for other eye conditions is in its infancy.

There’s been some promise for patients with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – a leading cause of blindness, where the light-sensitive cells of the retina progressively die, eroding central vision and making it difficult to see details and colours.

A two-year study with 100 patients across the US showed that red, yellow and near infra-red light therapy delivered by the Valeda Light Delivery System – a tabletop device – significantly reduced the rate of progression of dry AMD. The device is licensed for use in private clinics, though not funded on the NHS.

Other research from China in 2022 suggests red light therapy helped slow progression of short-sightedness in primary-age children, but evidence for long-term efficacy remains limited.

Offered the opportunity to trial the Eyepower Red glasses (which are designed to replicate the UCL study specifications, which have been deemed safe by Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology), I wondered if they might aid my ailing eyes.

The frames are simple to use. Once charged from a standard USB-C port, you press a button to start the three-minute timer.

Based on the UCL research, the glasses are designed to be worn for three minutes in the morning, once or twice a week.

You can have your eyes open or shut, as findings have shown the light will penetrate regardless. I kept my eyes open.

The experience is painless, but after removing the glasses I was momentarily dazzled – it was like emerging into sunshine from a dark room. Some users experience different colours, such as orange, blue and green as the retina responds – I witnessed gentle amber.

There were no instant changes, but after four weeks of twice-weekly use I find glancing at my phone without glasses feels easier, and my sight feels sharper when driving at night.

Forget carrots, could red light exposure really have improved my ability to see in the dark?

Potentially, says Professor Jeffery: ‘We know that your ability to adapt to the dark will improve, as will your colour perception, although you may not notice this.’

He emphasises weekly wears are necessary, explaining: ‘It’s not the case that you can use them for a month and the effect will last for years.’

But not everyone is convinced that the glasses will work.

Mfazo Hove, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the private Blue Fin Vision clinic in London, says: ‘Red light for the eye is a real field of science, not a fad – but currently it is three fields and the evidence is very uneven across them. These fields are short-sightedness in children, AMD, and consumer at-home devices – the latter are built on early mitochondrial science and have the weakest evidence.’

Mr Hove acknowledges that the UCL research showed a measurable change: ‘The study had a genuinely interesting result about mitochondrial biology – I want it to work, but based on 20 people, with no eye disease, on the evidence I would not regard red light as an established treatment.’

He adds: ‘The best thing anyone over 40 can do for their eyes today is unglamorous: get your eyes checked regularly [including an OCT (optical coherence tomography) scan, available at most High Street opticians]; control your blood pressure and blood sugar to prevent damage to retinal blood vessels; stop smoking; and wear sunglasses to block UV rays.’

The maker of the Eyepower Red glasses acknowledges that so far there haven’t been sufficient clinical trials to firmly establish any curative properties.

But I’ll continue wearing the frames weekly and will be watching for any further developments. Albeit with my glasses on.

As the UK reaches the end of the hottest summer on record, new research from the Ordnance Survey (OS) has revealed which cities are most vulnerable to extreme heat.

And it is bad news for the people of Portsmouth, with the city coming out at the top of the list.

Experts say that the city, which is home to 208,000 people, is particularly at risk due to its warm summer weather, hard concrete surfaces, and lack of green space.

This creates an effect known as an ‘urban heat island’, which can make poorly cooled cities like Portsmouth up to 10°C (18°F) hotter than the surrounding countryside.

By 2040, human–caused climate change is expected to drive London‘s City of Westminster into second place for the most heat–vulnerable city.

Plymouth, meanwhile, will jump up the risk table from fifth place today to become the third most vulnerable city by 2040 and onwards to the turn of the century.

Nick Bolton, CEO of the OS, says: ‘These findings matter because cities are where millions of people live, work and spend their everyday lives.

‘Extreme and sustained heat can affect people’s health and wellbeing, how comfortable our homes and workplaces are, and put additional pressure on transport, energy and emergency services.’

As the UK reaches the end of the hottest summer on record, new research from the Ordnance Survey (OS) has revealed which cities are most vulnerable to extreme heat

Portsmouth tops the ranking of the UK’s most heat–vulnerable cities every year from now until the turn of the century 

In the countryside, temperatures tend to fall quickly after sunset as heat escapes back out into the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, trees, plants and bodies of water offer natural cooling effects via shade and evaporation.

Cities, on the other hand, are filled with concrete, asphalt, and buildings that hold onto more of the heat they have absorbed during the day.

Tall buildings and narrow streets block the winds that would otherwise carry away hot air, while a lack of green spaces reduces natural cooling effects.

This means that urban areas can be significantly hotter than nearby rural regions, and are hit much harder by extreme heat.

However, this heat island effect doesn’t affect every city the same way, and even small differences in urban planning can have a massive impact on heat risk.

The OS combined its own maps with satellite temperature measurements, provided by the company 4 Earth Intelligence, and Met Office climate modelling, to see how this effect will affect different cities over time.

They used this to create a Heat Risk Index, ranking each of the 71 cities granted by royal charter across England, Scotland and Wales.

The dense urban cores of the City of Westminster and City of London rank as the country’s most heat retentive areas, although not the most vulnerable to extreme heat

Today 83 per cent of Britain’s cities are considered ‘highly vulnerable’ to urban heat, with the remaining 12 cities ranked as ‘moderately vulnerable’.   

By 2040, rising summer temperatures will push every city into the high vulnerability category and, by 2100, 63 per cent of cities will cross into ‘severe’ vulnerability, the highest ranking on the scale.  

Mr Bolton says: ‘What the Index shows is that the severity of urban heat islands is not uniform, and the cities most at risk of overheating during a heatwave are places where the built environment has grown at the expense of the natural one.

‘They show where exposure is greatest as temperatures continue to rise, which of a city’s existing green and blue spaces need protecting, and where different interventions could have the highest impact in protecting communities.’

The City of London and the City of Westminster ranked as the most heat–retentive areas of the UK, with the least effective natural cooling of any cities.

Tall buildings, limited green spaces and a high concentration of roads combine to trap more heat and prevent these dense urban areas from cooling, with deadly consequences.

Recent research found that approximately 399 of the 785 heat–related deaths in Greater London during the summer of 2018 were attributable specifically to the urban heat island effect rather than background temperatures alone.

Meanwhile, a study commissioned by the Mayor of London estimated that the 2022 London heatwaves cost the city £1.5billion, including productivity losses, health impacts, education disruption, energy demand, transport and emergency services.

Cities like Milton Keynes, St Asaph and Durham have much better natural cooling capacity and are, therefore, less vulnerable to urban heating 

Looking to the future, Leicester is the city expected to see the biggest rise in the UK’s heat vulnerability rankings.

Today, the city of 388,300 sits at number 10 on the Heat Vulnerability Index, but is expected to leap to fourth place by the end of the century.

Jonathan Hendry, CEO of 4 Earth Intelligence, says: ‘Cities are on the front lines of climate change, and while the challenge is global, its impacts are often hyper–local.

‘Exposure can vary street by street within a single city, and the areas consistently subjected to higher temperatures than their surroundings are the ones that overheat first during a heatwave.’

Across the UK, heatwaves are already having a deadly impact, with urban areas feeling the worst of the effects.

New figures, provided by the Office for National Statistics, show that more than 40,000 people have died in England due to extreme heat between 1988 and 2025.

Those deaths were especially concentrated in London, where 7,675 extra people died on the hottest days over the last four decades.

However, these figures do not include this year’s May and June heatwaves, in which the UK Health Security Agency estimates that 2,877 died

It’s an agonising and disfiguring skin condition that plagues one in every 100 Britons – yet very few have ever heard of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).

A chronic inflammatory disease, it causes painful, boil-like lumps to form deep under the skin in areas such as the armpits and groin.

Occurring when hair follicles are blocked, flare-ups can resemble ingrown hairs. But left untreated, HS can cause weeping sores curable only by surgically removing the affected area of skin.

For decades, treatment has been limited to antibiotics, antibacterial washes and pain relief. But for many with severe cases of HS, this cannot fully clear up outbreaks or prevent future ones.

Now experts say research suggests a new range of drugs could target the underlying cause of the condition – inflammation.

Called JAK inhibitors, these medications are already used to treat inflammatory conditions from rheumatoid arthritis to eczema. But a growing body of evidence has found they could also be a new therapy for HS, by blocking the inflammatory signals that drive the disease at the cellular level.

While the drugs can’t reverse the severe skin damage of advanced HS, they could be ‘a gamechanger’ for early or milder cases, says Dr Abirami Pararajasingam, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesman.

She says the US is ‘proactive’ about giving patients these drugs as they have fewer restrictions about intervening.

Laurelle-Maria Sterling, 32, has lived with HS since her teens – a drug called adalimumab greatly reduced the level of inflammation for her

A chronic inflammatory disease, HS causes painful, boil-like lumps to form deep under the skin in areas such as the armpits and groin (picture posed by model without HS)

But she adds: ‘In the UK, there are issues with pricing that mean patients can’t access them. Not only is HS painful and, for many, embarrassing, chronic inflammation is also a risk factor for other long-term health issues – from heart disease to stroke. We need to be intervening earlier.’

Once thought to be rare, more than 700,000 Britons are now estimated to have HS. One of the most famous sufferers was political theorist Karl Marx.

Caused by an overactive immune system which triggers an abnormal inflammatory response when hair follicles become blocked and infected, it can vary widely in severity. 

For some, flare-ups resemble small blackheads, boils or under-the-skin lumps that go on their own. For others, lesions become open wounds that take years to heal and cause extensive scarring. Women are more likely to be affected than men, with most experiencing symptoms in their early to late teens.

As the condition often appears to mimic other common ailments and lacks a single definitive lab test, HS can take up to ten years to diagnose in the UK.

As a result, says Dr Beibei Du-Harpur, clinical lecturer in dermatology at King’s College London, many patients live for years without understanding what is going on.

‘If HS is diagnosed and treated early, much of the worst damage can be avoided,’ she says. ‘[But] people are just sitting at home coping as that damage is occurring because they don’t understand what’s happening. This lack of awareness is also a huge issue among clinicians.’

Experts still aren’t sure exactly what causes the condition, but it’s estimated that one in three cases is genetic. Other factors are being overweight and smoking.

Nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco smoke bind to receptors in skin cells, encouraging abnormal skin thickening which blocks hair follicles. Being overweight can see pro-inflammatory chemicals released by excess fat tissue, creating a low-grade inflammation that can trigger or worsen HS.

One of the most famous sufferers of HS was Karl Marx, who lived in the 19th century

Many patients live for years without understanding what is going on, says Dr Beibei Du-Harpur, clinical lecturer in dermatology at King’s College London

Extra body weight can also create deeper skin folds, under which HS eruptions can occur. But not all sufferers are smokers or overweight. ‘Some people are simply more prone to HS because of their hair follicle and oil gland structure,’ says Dr Du-Harpur.

Early cases of HS are usually treated with courses of antibiotics and prescription creams or gels. But research has led to huge advancements now beginning to trickle down to patients in the UK.

Called biologics, this new range of drugs target and block specific immune system proteins that drive painful inflammation and tissue damage, reducing flare-ups and preventing future outbreaks.

For many, the drugs have already been life-changing. Laurelle-Maria Sterling, 32, has lived with HS since her teens. Diagnosed at 20, when she was regularly in and out of hospital, she was prescribed course after course of antibiotics.

‘None of them got rid of the HS,’ she says. ‘My only option was surgery – great for pain relief, as the pain from healing is better than the pain from the condition – but it didn’t stop flare-ups in other areas.’

Four years ago she was put on a drug called adalimumab, also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. She says: ‘It calmed down the level of inflammation. I still get occasional flare-ups but they no longer become as severe.’

In the US, adalimumab and JAK inhibitors are already used to treat milder cases of HS. A study published in Nature found JAK inhibitor povorcitinib cut inflammatory nodules and abscesses in HS patients by more than 50 per cent.

The ‘promising’ JAK inhibitor drugs should be rolled out by the NHS for HS patients in the next year or two, says Dr Du-Harpur.

Eating blueberries could help you to lose weight, a study has found.

Researchers in Japan have found that a compound in blueberries, pterostilbene, a polyphenol that protects cells from damage, could cause muscles to burn more energy.

In a lab test, researchers exposed the compound to muscle cells from mice.

They found that it caused the cells to start breaking down ectopic fat, a type of fat that builds up in muscle cells in a condition called myosteatosis, raising the risk of conditions such as diabetes.

Researchers said this happened because it triggered a pathway in cells that causes them to begin to break down more fats.

‘Our findings establish a scientific framework for developing functional foods and nutritional supplements that target muscle fat metabolism,’ Dr Takakazu Mitani, lead study author, said.

‘However, beyond the potential of pterostilbene itself, this work provides an experimental framework for identifying other natural compounds that [could also burn fat].’

Much more research is needed, but researchers say they are hopeful that, in the future, the compound could be used in medications to help boost weight loss. 

A compound in blueberries may prevent fat accumulation in muscle cells, a study suggests

Previous research in animals has already suggested pterostilbene can trigger weight loss, including in the liver.

Scientists say the compound needs to be tested in humans, however, to determine whether it could help to fuel weight loss. 

In the latest study, there was no information on how much of the substance muscle cells were exposed to to trigger weight loss.

In a 2014 study where rats lost weight, the rodents were fed 15 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. That’s equivalent to more than 20,000 blueberries per kilogram, with each one-gram berry containing up to 520 nanograms of the compound.

The new study, published in the journal Food Bioscience, evaluated pterostilbene and four other compounds commonly found in grapes, peanuts, rhubarb, red wine and cranberries. 

In the lab, the researchers first exposed skeletal-muscle cells from mice to drugs that caused them to accumulate fat.

Then, they exposed each to one of the five compounds and tracked the reaction.

The study found that pterostilbene increased the activity of a receptor called the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ), which is used to break down fat cells. 

This process reduced the amount of fats that accumulated within the muscle cells, which may reduce body fat and lower the risk of obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance. 

Scientists also found that the compound may promote muscle cell growth, which improves exercise performance and recovery. 

‘We currently lack approved treatments specifically targeting myosteatosis,’ Mitani said. ‘This critical gap led our team to screen food-derived compounds for natural, dietary interventions. 

‘During the screening, we identified pterostilbene and focused our investigation on uncovering its precise mechanism of action.’

Fueled by high-calorie and high-fat diets, aging and a sedentary lifestyle, ectopic fat can interfere with normal muscle function and lead to long-term conditions such as type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.

The team noted that while further studies are needed to determine pterostilbene’s effects on humans, pterostilbene may be an important compound contributing to a lower risk of diabetes, obesity and boosting metabolism with age.