Health
World Population Reaches 8 Billion, U.N. Says
Till 1804, fewer than one billion individuals roamed our planet. Greater than a century later, in 1927, we crossed two billion.
Since then, the world inhabitants has shot up within the form of a hockey stick, boosted by the triumphs of recent medication and public well being.
The newest marker was handed on Tuesday, when the United Nations mentioned the world inhabitants had reached eight billion, simply 11 years after it handed seven billion. (It’s an inexact quantity, since there is no such thing as a official depend, however the worldwide group mentioned its projections crossed the road on Tuesday.)
The expansion fee, which is predicted to gradual globally over the approaching many years, has been uneven around the globe. Slowing development charges in populous nations like China and the US have prompted some alarm, threatening to upend their societies. Rising birthrates in poorer nations threaten to pressure techniques which might be already struggling.
Listed here are a number of of the challenges forward.
A lot of the inhabitants development comes from the poorest international locations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
About 70 p.c of the expansion to eight billion from seven billion occurred in low- and lower-middle-income international locations, most of that are in sub-Saharan Africa, the United Nations mentioned. The pattern is predicted to develop into much more pronounced within the years forward.
“When the following billion is added between 2022 and 2037, these two teams of nations are anticipated to account for greater than 90 p.c of worldwide development,” the group mentioned.
The fertility fee has dropped globally; in high-income nations, the variety of individuals below 65 is predicted to say no within the coming years, the United Nations mentioned. However the fertility fee has remained stubbornly excessive in poorer international locations, the place extra girls and ladies lack entry to sexual and reproductive well being care, together with contraception.
Assembly the wants — together with schooling, public well being, employment, and water and sanitation — created by that development would require “a big enhance in public expenditures,” the group mentioned.
The environmental impression: Our ranges of manufacturing and consumption are unsustainable.
The rising inhabitants has helped gas consumption at what consultants say is an unsustainable tempo. It has contributed to environmental challenges, together with local weather change, deforestation and the lack of biodiversity, the United Nations mentioned.
“Slower inhabitants development over many many years may assist to mitigate the additional accumulation of environmental harm within the second half of the present century,” the group mentioned.
Decrease-income international locations, the place the inhabitants development is concentrated, have contributed far much less to local weather change than the richest nations. However as poorer populations develop, “their vitality consumption might want to enhance considerably if they’re to develop economically,” the group mentioned.
Consultants are forecasting slower development forward.
Whereas it took 11 years for the inhabitants to develop to eight billion from seven billion, the United Nations mentioned it anticipated 15 years to move earlier than we attain 9 billion, in 2037, and one other 22 to move earlier than 10 billion, in 2058.
“A decline on the planet’s inhabitants will not be anticipated for an additional half-century, with the precise date relying largely on the long run tempo of fertility decline in right now’s high-fertility international locations,” the group mentioned.
China’s births hit a historic low in 2021, a incontrovertible fact that, coupled with its elevated life expectancy, may result in labor shortages and hampered financial development. The US has slowed down as effectively, rising on the slowest fee because the Thirties over the previous decade.
India is predicted to surpass China because the world’s most populous nation in 2023, the United Nations mentioned in July.
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1. Anger can spike heart attack risk
Feeling angry for as little as eight minutes a day could raise your chances of experiencing a cardiac event, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. A cardiologist shares 7 strategies to cope with anger and reduce the risk. Click here to get the story.
2. Eating this fruit could reduce diabetes risk
Regularly consuming avocados could be helpful when it comes to avoiding diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Nutritionists weigh in. Click here to get the story.
3. High E. coli found in raw meats and dog food
Researchers discovered high levels of antibiotic-resistant E. coli in samples of raw beef, chicken, pork and lamb sold at grocery stores and pet stores. Experts indicate whether people should be concerned. Click here to get the story.
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A group of cats who were given raw milk from diseased cows died between March 19 and March 20, according to a CDC report. Experts discuss how this highlights the importance of safe practices. Click here to get the story.
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Caring for an aging parent and a child at the same time can bring plenty of extra challenges. Experts share stress-reducing strategies for members of the “sandwich generation.” Click here to get the story.
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Women should get mammograms every other year starting at age 40, according to updated recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The previous guidance said women should begin biennial mammograms at age 50. Click here to get the story.
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Eating a diet rich in one vitamin has been shown to improve responses to immunotherapy and reduce tumor growth. Nutritionists explain the benefits. Click here to get the story.
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Health
Pregnancy-related deaths back down to pre-pandemic levels, CDC data says
U.S. pregnancy-related deaths have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, new government data suggests.
About 680 women died last year during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, according to provisional CDC data. That’s down from 817 deaths in 2022 and 1,205 in 2021, when it was the highest level in more than 50 years.
COVID-19 seems to be the main explanation for the improvement, said Donna Hoyert, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maternal mortality researcher.
US BIRTHS SAW NOTABLE DECREASE IN 2023, MARKING END TO LATE PANDEMIC REBOUND, EXPERTS SAY
The coronavirus can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women. And, in the worst days of the pandemic, burned out physicians may have added to the risk by ignoring pregnant women’s worries, experts say.
Fewer death certificates are mentioning COVID-19 as a contributor to pregnancy-related deaths. The count was over 400 in 2021 but fewer than 10 last year, Hoyert said.
The agency on Thursday released a report detailing the final maternal mortality data for 2022. It also recently released provisional data for 2023. Those numbers are expected to change after further analysis — the final 2022 number was 11% higher than the provisional one. Still, 2023 is expected to end up down from 2022, Hoyert said.
The CDC counts women who die while pregnant, during childbirth and up to 42 days after birth from conditions considered related to pregnancy. Excessive bleeding, blood vessel blockages and infections are leading causes.
There were about 19 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2023, according to the provisional data. That’s in line with rates seen in 2018 and 2019.
But racial disparities remain: The death rate in Black moms is more than two-and-a-half times higher than that of white and Hispanic mothers.
“In the last five years we’ve really not improved on lowering the maternal death rate in our country, so there’s still a lot of work to do,” said Ashley Stoneburner, the March of Dimes’ director of applied research and analytics.
The advocacy organization this week kicked off an education campaign to get more pregnant women to consider taking low-dose aspirin if they are at risk of preeclempsia — a high blood pressure disorder that can harm both the mother and baby.
There are other efforts that may be helping to lower deaths and lingering health problems related to pregnancy, including stepped-up efforts to fight infections and address blood loss, said Dr. Laura Riley, a New York City-based obstetrician who handles high-risk pregnancies.
But there’s a risk that those kinds of improvements are being offset by a number of factors that may reduce the ability of women to get medical care before, during and after a birth, she said. Experts say the list includes the closure of rural hospitals and a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that did away with the federally established right to abortion — and contributed to physician burnout by causing doctors to feel constrained about providing care during pregnancy-related medical emergencies.
“I think there’s good news. We’re making strides in certain areas,” said Riley, head OB-GYN at Weill Cornell Medicine. “But the bad news and scary news is … there are these other political and social forces that make this (reducing maternal deaths) difficult.”
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