Alcohol kills more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence

Alcohol causes nearly 4% of deaths worldwide. That is, about 2.5 million deaths a year. More than AIDS, tuberculosis and violence, says a report by the World Health Organization (WHO). "The harmful use of alcohol is a problem worldwide, causing millions of deaths, including hundreds of thousands of young lives. It is not only a causal factor in many diseases, but a precursor to violence and injury," he said in a statement Ala Alwan, Assistant Director of the Division of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO and the Alcohol kills more than AIDS.

Rising incomes have led to drink more heavily populated countries in Africa and Asia, including India and South Africa, and excessive consumption of alcohol is a problem well documented in many developed nations, according to the United Nations agency.

Alcohol kills more than AIDS

Policies to control alcohol remain fragile and are not among the priorities of many governments, despite the strong impact of alcohol in society through traffic accidents, violence, disease, child abuse and absenteeism underlines the WHO Global Report on Alcohol and Health.

Approximately 2.5 million people die each year from causes related to alcohol intake. Alcohol consumption is especially fatal to the younger groups and the alcohol is a major risk factor in the world of death among men between 15 and 59 years, "says the report.In Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), one of every five deaths due to alcohol, the highest rate. In countries such as Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine and excessive alcohol consumption, is increasingly prevalent. However, WHO warns, is increasing everywhere Alcohol kills more than AIDS..

"Worldwide, about 11% of heavy drinkers had a drinking episodes every week," the report said. By gender, men, which far exceed women by a ratio of four to one, "always involved in risky drinking at levels much higher than females in all regions."

Alcohol kills more than tuberculosis

Health ministers from all 193 WHO member states agreed last May to try to curb growing binge drinking and other forms of alcohol abuse through higher taxes on alcoholic beverages and more restrictions on the marketing.

Alcohol is behind 60 types of disease and injury. Its consumption is associated with liver cirrhosis, epilepsy, poisoning, traffic accidents, violence and various cancers, including colorectal, breast, larynx and liver Alcohol kills more than AIDS..

"Six or seven years, we had clear evidence of a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. Now we have," said Vladimir Poznyak Reuters, responsible for the substance abuse unit of WHO who coordinated the report.Alcohol or illegal home production that bypasses the government controls and taxes, representing nearly 30% of total adult consumption in the world. And some of these beverages are toxic.

According to WHO, moderate drinking can have a beneficial effect on heart disease and cerebrovascular accident (CVA). "However, the beneficial protective effect of alcohol on the heart disappears in cases of excessive intake," the agency said.One of the most effective ways to curb alcohol consumption, especially among younger groups, is raising taxes, the report said. Set age limits for purchasing and consuming alcohol and to regulate alcohol levels in drivers also reduces the abuse if they apply, but few countries use these policies.

The crisis increased antidepressant use

The crisis is not just economic. The mental health of the Spanish also appears to be failing under significant increase in antidepressant use: 10% in the last two years. Moreover, the delivery of these products has grown as the crisis grew.

From late 2009 to February this year, the increase in units was up 6%, which meant a total of 85,671,868 euros, according to a study by consulting firm IMS Health and the Crisis and depress.

These data corroborate some schools of pharmaceuticals, such as Bangkok, which recognizes that the sale of these drugs and anxiety has increased by 16.3% in the region over the past year. In fact, Extremadura is the third region with the highest per capita consumption of these drugs, only behind the Asturias and Galicia, and the sixth in tranquilizers.

Crisis and depress

José Ángel Arbesú, coordinator of the Mental Health of the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (Semergen) explained that "indeed, economic problems and unemployment crisis are triggering a series of problems of stress, anxiety and depression have been linked to an increase in prescriptions of psychotropic drugs. " It acknowledges, however, that because "the patent of many of these drugs have expired and have become generic, the total bill has not increased as much as the number of prescriptionsand the Crisis and depress.."



The fact that the number of people who use the so-called 'happy pill' (Prozac) is increasing throughout the world has led some researchers raised whether the requirements are being made without appropriate evidence. That is, without a clear diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorders, diseases that doctors normally treat this type of medication and the Crisis and depress..

The effects 'collateral' to study and work simultaneously

By having a few euros for personal expenses, to help the family finances or to gain professional experience, students increasingly sought to combine their careers and working life. An apparently harmless but which can have serious consequences if the employment hours exceed 20 a week and the health of the student.
Katheryn Monaham think so, at the University of Washington, Joanna M. Lee (of Virginia) and Laurence Steinberg (of the Temple, all in the U.S.) after conducting an investigation with more than 1,700 students.

 Effects 'collateral' to study and work

"Working part-time during the school year has been a feature of American teenagers for over 20 years. Today, as has been the case since 1980, an important part of high school students have part-time jobs, and many of these works over 20 hours a week. During the past two decades, numerous studies have examined the impact of work on adolescents, but the literature on the effects of partial employment has inconsistent results and no agreement on whether study and have a long working day (more than 20 hours per week) is harmful to academic performance or behavior and mental health, "the authors make clear in the last 'Child Development."

A total of 1,792 students from all socioeconomic and ethnic status have participated in the trial. They all looked at whether to combine studies with a temporary job, the hours of the week, as well as the academic level (working at home, concentration in class, among other variables) behavior problems, the existence of depressive symptoms, autonomy from parents and psychosocial development. The data show that teens who work more than 20 hours per week are more likely to participate less in class or have poorer academic performance than those who are not employed or are in less time health of the student..

Enrique García Huete, a clinical psychologist recognizes that the effects on performance are different even if weekly hours worked were "looking for a financial reward or are making practices. A resident MIR, for example, is working on his own career, which makes it probably more attentive in class and concentrate, because they are studying and working in the same. "

Consequences of stydy and work

This specialist recognizes that, indeed, the "school performance declines because the stress of work and fatigue (especially some jobs) reduce the concentration, attention and memory, essential elements of performance."
The study concludes also that kids with longer hours are more likely to take drugs or drink alcohol. "The leisure, out with friends are essential to stress. It is likely that if you do not have time for fun is good to relax drug use (hashish) or, precisely, in order to increase the performance and activity (cocaine and amphetamines) "adds Garcia Huete health of the student..

But not all bad news. Both the authors of the study and the Madrid psychologist recognize that "students who work have more autonomy and independence, raising self-esteem. They also have more responsibility is demonstrated by those who are working to help pay for school. All this also makes young people are more likely to achieve their goals. "

Obesity and snuff cut life expectancy in the U.S.

U.S. is a nation that spends more money on health. Yet, paradoxically, the life expectancy of its citizens do not grow in line, being lower than those of other developed countries. This follows from a work signed by the National Research Council (National Research Council).

The main objective of the panel of experts who participated in this research was to understand "the divergent trends in longevity in countries with more resources." And, in particular, to analyze what is the status of U.S. compared with other developed nations.As a first result, found that during the last quarter century, although life expectancy of Americans themselves have grown, have followed a slower pace as compared to countries like Japan, Australia or Spain and the obesity in U.S.

 Obesity and snuff

One of the main causes of this slowdown could be smoking, according to the report stresses. Side effects of cigarettes takes several years to become evident, and it seems that is what has happened in the U.S.. Currently, there are fewer smokers but those who were addicts are now feeling the evils of this harmful habit.

"Two or three decades, smoking was much more widespread in the U.S. than in Europe or Japan, and the consequences still being felt in the rates of mortality," the report said.
Especially, this is the case of women, who are the most slow to sign up for the fashion of snuff and now sick and die for it. This situation is also happening in our country obesity in U.S..

Given this period of time between exposure to snuff and the onset of the disease, it is foreseeable that the United States in the years to note a marked reduction in mortality from this product. A decrease that was felt by the male population, were the first to light a cigarette but also the first to turn it off.In the case of Japan, it seems that the opposite will occur. Smoking was established later and still might not have felt all the burden it imposes on the deaths and, consequently, expectations of life obesity in U.S..

Obesity and other risk

On the other hand, the paper's authors emphasize that the second factor clearly related to the longevity of Americans is obesity.It is not known the real impact of excess weight but estimates could be behind one fifth or one-third of that decrease in the lifespan.In fact, current trends continue, obesity could wipe out improvements made by ex-smokers obesity in U.S..

The factors that were considered as a possible cause, not statistically significant in the U.S.. Not even the lack of universal access to healthcare, sedentary habits or the harmful effects of hormone therapy.However, the experts make it clear that the lack of clarity or strength of some of the results could be due to the limitations provided by the research in this field, since most of the studies are observational.