International health news
A new study has shown that, by 2040, one-third of tuberculosis cases in Russia could be drug resistant. Due to the drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis, more people worldwide are at risk of contracting this disease and the number of cases would increase. By 2040, this number could reach 12.4% in India and even 32.5% of cases in Russia.
Donald Trump’s expansion of the policy blocking US aid to organizations offering abortion services could lead to more abortions according to medical workers. By expanding this policy, the United States has cut $600 million dollar in funds for family programming overseas. Another problem caused by his plan to cut costs, is that a lot of people who are infected with H.I.V. don’t get medicines anymore to hold back AIDS.
Country update
Over a 15-year period, the rate of people dying from Alzheimer’s disease rose by 55% in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and mainly affects people over the age of 65. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, this disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the US. More than 5 million Americans are living with this disease. That number is predicted to rise to 16 million by 2050.
Half of adults in Britain walk less than a mile per day and almost a fifth walk less than a quarter of a mile per day. To motivate people to get walking, Cancer Research UK is encouraging people to get fitter by challenging them to take 10,000 steps a day this June.
Health advice
A study suggests that sleeping less than 6 hours a night could double your chances of dying from heart disease and diabetes. Known as metabolic syndrome, this cluster of risk factors can include high blood pressure, high levels of LDL bad cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity, high levels of blood fats known as triglycerides and low levels of HDL, the good cholesterol. Someone with at least three of these conditions has metabolic syndrome.
A new study suggests that increasing the consumption of coffee may help to stave off liver cancer. People who drink more coffee have a 20% lower risk of developing hepatocellular cancer (HCC) than people who don’t drink coffee.