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THE NUMBER OF people worldwide whose deaths were tied to avoidable health risks like high blood pressure and smoking has shot up by almost 23% since 1990.
According to results published in The Lancet, scientists concluded that a range of 79 health dangers contributed to 30.8 million deaths in 2013, 5.7 million more than in 1990 even when population growth and ageing were taken into account.
Bad behaviour
“To put it in plain English, we are behaving badly,” study co-author Ali Mokdad of the University of Washington told AFP.
I mean we know very well that smoking kills and that blood pressure is another killer. Nobody risks not changing the oil in their car, but nobody pays the same attention to their own body.
Since 1990, the most dangerous factors have changed significantly, shifting from causes rooted in privation to those stemming from excess.
High blood pressure — which is easily diagnosed and readily treated — was the top risk in 2013, contributing to 10.4 million deaths in the 188 countries studied.
Sodium
After blood pressure, the top four risk factors worldwide driving the 22.7 percent jump in deaths were smoking, a person’s height and weight, high blood sugar levels, and a diet high in sodium, according to the study.
The results were based on a wide range of data including World Health Organisation and World Bank reports, with further figures provided by roughly 1,000 partner scientists based in over 100 countries.
Cigarettes and dirty water
Since 1990, the most dangerous factors have changed significantly, shifting from causes rooted in privation to those stemming from these kinds of excess.
The single deadliest group of factors were all tied to how people eat. Diets high in red meat and sugary drinks and low in fruits and vegetables accounted for 21% of deaths in 2013.
At the same time, child undernutrition and unsafe water, for example, were no long among the top 10 deadliest risks.
However, a lack of sufficient food still contributed to the deaths of 1.3 million children in 2013, making it the leading cause of mortality for kids under five.
The impact was especially pronounced in countries like Chad, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
“While we have seen a tremendous growth in risk factors that contribute to… heart disease, pulmonary diseases and diabetes, childhood undernutrition remains a huge challenge for some countries,” said the study’s lead author Mohammad Hossein.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded study found that gender and where people live accounted for significant differences in what led them to get sick or die.
Smoking was the number two danger for men, leading to 4.4 million deaths in 2013. For women the number was about a two thirds lower.
Alcohol
Also, alcohol was among the top 10 risks for men, but it did not make the leading causes of death for women, who were most at risk due to diet-related problems like eating foods high in salt.
In the Middle East and Latin America high body mass index, which is the ratio between a person’s weight and height, was a leading cause of health problems.
India is struggling with unsafe water and child malnutrition. Alcohol is the number two risk in Russia and smoking is the top danger in many wealthy countries like Britain, the study said.
A toxic mix of risks is at work in sub-Saharan Africa where poor childhood nutrition, contaminated water, unsafe sex and alcohol were all leading causes of death.
“These practices are preventable and we could do something about them as individuals and communities,” said Mokdad. “These deaths should be prevented.”
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The analysis brings out several more questions;
Is there an explanation from NPHET why the county with the current highest incidence, Donegal, borders with the county with the lowest, Leitrim.
Science says that the virus does not discriminate, we are told, so why is it so preferable to Leitrim people?
How many people are there in the country now with Covid, the last official number released was in June. Did NPHET stop counting that figure back then?
How many cases have been identified from 1st August onwards that were infected in a hospital or care home setting, whether as a patient, employee or visitor?
What changes has NPHET made to it’s modelling process to increase it’s accuracy since March?
These may not have dawned on the Journal journalists, but the answers would still be helpful.
@Garry Coll: It’s because North Donegal borders with Derry/Tyrone. Southern Donegal doesn’t have high rates which is the part close to Leitrim
@Spring2020:
South Donegal is about 90, Leitrim is around 15. Try again.
@Garry Coll: Not sure what is taken as south Donegal in the figures Gary. It could be cut off at Donegal town or a line from south-west to north-east as I think some of the sports organisations do. Anyway there is very little connection with Donegal and North Leitrim. About 15 miles of border with them and the way it forms geographically means there is more interaction with Fermanagh and just pass through traffic of about 2 miles with Leitrim heading south. Although the automatic assumption is the interaction in North Donegal with Strabane/ Derry is giving rise to the large amount of cases what is not being reported is the large number of cases assoiated with Letterkenny Hospital. Although I have no insight I am led to believe upwards of 250 cases directly to there. You could have greater interaction with people from South of the County and Letterkenny than Leitrim.
@Gavin Linden: Correct. I’m from there. The way the counties meet, Donegal may as well be Cork, there’s very little interaction between the 2.
@Garry Coll: top of inishowen is at 522 per 100000 sw donegal at 67.2 according latest gov map
@Gavin Linden: it the do legal south electoral are map is here https://covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/
@Garry Coll: no one is listening & that’s the reason why …
I had to collect something from town last night around 7pm and based on how people were behaving both in and outside bars and restaurants we’re headed straight for a massive spike in cases. I’m right there with everyone who wants to be able to go out and get a bit of normality, but we know that cases in the thousands just gets us more lockdown and forces all the businesses we want to support to close again. Don’t be selfish, do the bare minimum to keep levels low so we can keep things open this time.
@Ribeard Ó Fiachna: How did you see inside the bars and restaurants? Did you actually go and look in through the windows?
It’ll take the country a long time to recover from this and I don’t mean the virus.
I mean the way we have turned into a curtain twitching, ‘look what they’re doing over there’ society. The East Germans from the 70’s would have loved a population like ours. Quick to turn on each other, quick to report.
@JedBartlett: Because I was walking by, stepping onto the road to avoid big groups congregating outside pubs, hugging, all the things we’re not supposed to do?
I need to be very clear here, I’m not blaming pubs and restaurants at all, I’ve heard of a few that aren’t doing the right things but all of them I’ve seen or been in have been brilliant. If you read my post again you’ll see that I’m specifically calling out the people who are meeting as many people as they want. You can call it curtain twitching but so many of us have lost people this year, missed out on important events and had livelihoods affected, I’m simply appealing to people to try and behave themselves so we don’t get knocked back again.
@Ribeard Ó Fiachna: They should just schedule a final lockdown for the month of February now. It’s clear that opening up over Christmas is going to cause a case spike, regardless of patron behavior. At least if we know in advance, people and businesses can plan in advance of it.
@JedBartlett: If people would actually follow guidelines and not be completely selfish tools, then there would be no need for “curtain-twichers”, just follow the guidelines, its not difficult
@Adam J: Nobody is immune to catching this, both rule followers and rule floaters are both at risk, rule followers have a reduced risk obviously but they’re not risk free unless you hide in a wardrobe until it’s completely eradicated.
The smugness towards people who don’t follow the guidelines really says a lot about people. I doubt very much there are many in this country who haven’t stepped within 2 metres if somebody else since this started or who have flouted some other guideline at some point.
@JedBartlett: Theres no smugness, its simple common sense, no doubt i’ve passed by people closer than 2m when there is no space to distance, but in those instances I am wearing a mask, to minimise the risk (Not eliminate….minimise)
There are others out there that lack the simple common sense to distance or wear masks, we are approaching a year of Covid 19 and they still dont get it, thats the hilarious part. Its the ignorance of those people that are worsening the outbreaks
@JedBartlett: You’re moving the goalposts now.
@Adam J: And there’s no smugness? Read your last sentence again.
@Ribeard Ó Fiachna: well said! It’s pure selfish behaviour from this lot who will have us back in lockdown in no time. Furthermore they might contract and recover but those they pass onto might not
@JedBartlett: Nazi “germany”, dearie. Did you “miss” that part of history” ?
@Iris Weber: Good man, Iris
@JedBartlett: I think you are a little paranoid, there is no smugness, just disappointment at tools who don’t get understand the damage they are doing
@Adam J: And I think there’s a bang of smugness here too. I hope you at no point catch this virus for that would make you one of the tools surely?
Softening everyone up for the next lockdown – we all know already – get on with it !
@Kevin Davy: lockdown 3 mid January.
@Kevin Davy: Stockholm’s ICU’s have reached 99% capacity due to worsening COVID-19 outbreak. Interview with doctors, Radio Sweden:
https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/7430274
The second part of the report talks about the economic damage due to the pandemic.
There are too many who still think we should have followed Sweden’s soft approach. However, Sweden has had a worse outbreak than us and is now toughening up its measures. They earlier limited gatherings to no more than 8 people and they want to enact laws that can force businesses (shops and gyms) to close (see: “Swedish government to ask parliament for tougher powers to fight pandemic” ).
Translation:
Intensive care in the Stockholm Region is under severe pressure. On Tuesday, the intensive care units were 99 percent full. This is the first time this has happened during the pandemic.
These are activities that are about life and death, so the situation is very serious, says Björn Persson, operations manager for perioperative medicine and intensive care at Karolinska.
The director of health and medical care, Björn Eriksson, says that he turned to the National Board of Health and Welfare for staff reinforcement.
A bit of fibbing going on with regard to schools
I know of 4 people who have been confirmed to have Corona, all four tested positive on their 2nd test and negative on their first. All carried on with life with their normal lives until a week later, something is wrong with the timings of the tests
Anyone know what the vaccine related death count is?
That’d be more interesting than the PCR False Positive count…
@Eddie: Yes Eddie, it’s 0. Hope you found that helpful.
@Eddie: GO away to russia.
Let’s change the Antigen test to the gold standard and stop doing a hearing test to indicate the performance of someone’s vision.
@O’Brien: Antigen tests have been reported as being as high as 50% for false positives, the cost is a factor too, Boots UK offering Lumiradx antigen test, is £120
No doubt Boots are profiteering here, but cost is a massive factor in testing unfortunately
Dublin is on level 1 because no wet pubs….rest of the country maybe level 3 can’t say because last 8 months I did not left dublin…..
@Anamaria Strango: dublin is on level 1 because no wet pubs…huh?
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