| Cutting edge |  There are three items in this morning's newsletter that point to the idea that we can have control over our health. A recent report from the UK suggests that lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking too much, too little exercise and poor eating habits markedly increase your risk of stroke, the changing types of breast cancer and the idea that abused children experience brain changes that result in difficulties handling stress in later life.
The first item shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone who keeps up with the medical literature. There are increasing bodies of evidence that suggest that a lifestyle of excess (of the wrong things) is seriously detrimental to overall health - stroke is just the latest of a string of illnesses to be linked to an unhealthy lifestyle.
But, the changing pattern of breast cancer is less intuitive. Again, the change is probably due to lifestyle - delaying childbearing, obesity (particularly after menopause) and possibly the use of hormone replacement therapy. This is a population change on a huge scale. It would be interesting to compare types of breast cancer among women with a Western lifestyle with those in women with a less Westernised lifestyle, although this would be difficult with poor health record keeping in most developing world countries.
The third item is more disturbing - the idea that child abuse can permanently alter the brain. Child abuse is unfortunately not confined to the poorer socio-economic portions of society and is often hidden, even by those who experience it. In South Africa, child abuse is quite frighteningly common. Ours is an already highly stressed society. If these children are to grow up even less able to deal with stress, this can only have serious long-term consequences for both the individuals concerned and the country as a whole.
Bridget Farham Editor
https://www.bizcommunity.com
| | Today's headlines
Chronic diseasesLifestyle doubles risk of strokeUnhealthy lifestyles are associated with more than double the risk of stroke, according to a new UK report.
MalariaTanzania: Anti-malarial drugs too expensive says ministerThe high cost of anti-malarial drugs - up to US$10 per course - has made treatment prohibitive for most poor people in Tanzania, the health minister said.
Medical ResearchSwimming the best way for men to prevent premature deathSwimming cuts men's risk of dying by 50% compared with running or walking, and doing nothing, according to new research.
OncologyBiology of breast cancer changingLifestyle changes may be changing the types of breastcancer that are most common, according to new research.
PaediatricsChild abuse permanently alters 'stress' geneCanadian studies suggest that childhood abuse permanently alters the way the brain reacts to stress.
Public healthCote d'Ivoire: 'Danger' as health workers strikeAiling Ivorians lined up for hours at public hospitals in the commercial capital Abidjan waiting for doctors on 18 February, the first day of a three-day strike by state medical workers. Public private partnership hospital opens - Martina Nicholson AssociatesPublic Private Partnership Hospital opens its doors in Port Alfred | | |
| | News for medical professionals | | Pfizer says that it will disclose payments of $500 to healthcare prescribers
| Increased antihypertensive use has cut cardiovascular events in Canada
| | More... | | |
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