Populuaton Studies

Africa’s Covid-19 Death Rate

/ SupremeCmdr / 2 Comments

The most widely accepted factor is Africa’s youthful population. Only about 3 per cent of Africans are over the age of 65, the age group in which illness and death from the coronavirus are most common. (By comparison, about 18 per cent of Canada’s population is over the age of 65.)

Africa’s low COVID-19 death rate has multiple causes, WHO says — https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-africas-low-covid-19-death-rate-has-multiple-causes-who-says/
  • Case fatality rate of 2.4
  • lower testing rates
  • youthful population
  • 90% of cases in people <65 years of age
  • more rural areas, more time outdoors
  • strict lock downs early
  • poor road network, limited international flights

Trends in excess mortality associated with atrial fibrillation over 45 years (Framingham Heart Study)

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Conclusions

We found no evidence of a temporal trend in hazard ratios between newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation and all cause mortality. The hazard ratios for non-cardiovascular death declined over time but no evidence of a temporal trend for cardiovascular death was found. Mortality associated with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation remained high compared with individuals without atrial fibrillation, despite showing some improvements over the past 45 years. More than 10 years after a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, individuals with atrial fibrillation lose about two years of life compared with matched referents.

BMJ 2020; 370 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2724 (Published 11 August 2020)

Cite this as: BMJ 2020;370:m2724

Happy Older Asians Live Longer

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Happy older people live longer, according to researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. In a study published today in Age and Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, the authors found that an increase in happiness is directly proportional with a reduction in mortality.

This is one of the few Asian studies to have assessed the association between happiness and mortality among older people, while accounting for several social factors, such as loneliness and social network, therefore extending the generalisability of the findings to non-Western populations.

Stay happy my friends.  Check out the entire article here.

Healthy Lifestyle May Increase Lifespan by 7 Years

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Current US life expectancy is 78 years for men and 82 years for women, but for the low-risk group in this study, life expectancies were 85 and 89 years, respectively.

Source: Healthy Lifestyle May Increase Lifespan by 7 Years

Source: A healthy lifestyle increases life expectancy by up to seven years: Maintaining a normal weight, not smoking, and drinking alcohol at moderate levels are factors that add healthy years to life — ScienceDaily

I should have saved more, invested better, and not spent so much money on the kids.

East ‘Meats’ West: Diabetes on Rise in China

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The Chinese people are eating more food per serving, have more money to buy and eat food — particularly junk food — when they’re not hungry, and engage in less physical activity, Xiaohui said.

He said that many people still eat a traditional Chinese meal, but along with rice and veggies will be more meat, and portions will be bigger as well. In addition, fast-food restaurants such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s are enjoying success at the price of a growing obesity epidemic among children and teens, he said.

via Medical News: East ‘Meats’ West: Diabetes on Rise in China – in Meeting Coverage, AACE from MedPage Today.

Traditional ethnic diets are preferable for your particular ethnicity.  You want fries with that?