The Health News Australia April 13 2018
- Australians are again being urged to protect themselves ahead of this year’s flu season. The Brisbane virus is 1 of 4 strains included in this year’s vaccine. Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon said because influenza was constantly mutating, vaccine manufacturers often looked at what strains had affected countries on the other side of the world during its winter. The WHO recommended the Brisbane virus be included in this year’s vaccine.
- Smokers of e-cigarettes could be fined up to five hundred fifty dollars if caught vaping in public spaces or on public transport across NSW. The ban will come into effect in July after state parliament recently passed new laws. That includes shopping centres, cinemas, libraries, trains, buses, public swimming pools, near children’s play equipment, sports grounds, public transport stops and outdoor dining areas.
- The ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), in collaboration with Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), has released new findings on cognitive ageing and decline trends in Australia. The report, led by University of New South Wales scientist Professor Kaarin Anstey, CEPAR Chief Investigator and NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at NeuRA, highlights seven key modifiable lifestyle factors which are attributed to dementia; the rising numbers of people with dementia; and the increasing cost to families, carers, and the economy. Dementia is the leading cause of disability among Australians over 65 and the second leading cause of death in Australia.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 13th of April 2018. Read by Tabetha Moreto.
Australians are again being urged to protect themselves ahead of this year’s flu season. The Brisbane virus is one of four strains included in this year’s vaccine. Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon said because influenza was constantly mutating, vaccine manufacturers often looked at what strains had affected countries on the other side of the world during its winter.
The World Health Organisation recommended the Brisbane virus be included in this year’s vaccine. It is not a new strain and also formed part of the two thousand sixteen and two thousand seventeen vaccines. Doctor Gannon said the two thousand eighteen vaccine protected against the Brisbane virus, as well as two A strains and another B-strain.
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Doctor Gannon said part of the reason for the higher numbers of people being diagnosed was because of Australia’s ageing population. He added: “There are a higher proportion of people in the community vulnerable to getting sick.”
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The flu vaccine takes up to fourteen days to be effective, so people are being urged to get immunised before the season begins in May.
Smokers of e-cigarettes could be fined up to five hundred fifty dollars if caught vaping in public spaces or on public transport across New South Wales. The ban will come into effect in July after state parliament recently passed new laws. Health Minister Brad Hazzard said in a statement: “Put simply, where you are not allowed to smoke cigarettes, you now cannot vape either.”
That includes shopping centres, cinemas, libraries, trains, buses, public swimming pools, near children’s play equipment, sports grounds, public transport stops and outdoor dining areas.
New South Wales’s chief health officer said there is evidence of potential health risks from e-cigarette vapours – even if there’s no illegal nicotine in the e-liquid. Doctor Kerry Chant said that vapours can contain chemicals, toxins and metals, and some of these substances, like formaldehyde, are known to cause cancer. Cancer Council NSW welcomed the ban, which already exists in Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
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The new laws also force retailers to notify New South Wales Heath they are selling e-cigarettes.
In a separate move the premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, has said the state will only raise the legal smoking age to twenty one if the rest of the nation agrees to do the same.
https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/report-identifies-seven-ways-help-curtail-dementia
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, in collaboration with Neuroscience Research Australia, has released new findings on cognitive ageing and decline trends in Australia. The report, led by University of New South Wales scientist Professor Kaarin Anstey, CEPAR Chief Investigator and NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at NeuRA, highlights seven key modifiable lifestyle factors which are attributed to dementia; the rising numbers of people with dementia; and the increasing cost to families, carers, and the economy. Dementia is the leading cause of disability among Australians over sixty five and the second leading cause of death in Australia.
In two thousand sixteen, the direct costs alone of dementia were close to nine billion dollars in Australia, with a predicted increase to twelve billion dollars by two thousand twenty five.
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Professor Anstey has estimated that close to fifty percent of dementia cases can be attributed to seven key modifiable lifestyle factors; midlife hypertension, diabetes, low educational attainment, smoking, physical inactivity, midlife obesity, and depression.
The impact of dementia goes far beyond individual health. The report noted there were direct, indirect and intangible costs of dementia for the wider society and significant indirect costs to Australia’s economy. For example, dementia patients and those who care for them often have to withdraw from the workforce. For someone with moderate dementia, the care hours are seventeen per week on average, while severe cases involve hours similar to a full-time job. In two thousand sixteen, the cost of foregone work hours was estimated to be five point five billion dollars.
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More than four hundred thousand Australians are currently living with dementia. These figures have been revised upward from past projections. More accurate projections of dementia rates out to two thousand thirty are critical to enable government policy makers and community services to better plan for the impact of cognitive decline in the future.
