Watching the World
Tragedies on Mondays
Research conducted at Flinders University in Australia has revealed that Monday seems to be the day of the week when men are most likely to commit suicide. As reported in The Sydney Morning Herald, 19,425 persons committed suicide in Australia between 1981 and 1990. The suicide rate for women remained constant throughout the week, but with men it tended to rise significantly on Mondays. Then it tapered off as the week progressed. Returning to work was cited as a major contributing factor. On Mondays that were public holidays, the number of suicides fell, but they rose again on the next day, Tuesday. Other studies reveal that most suicides occur in the afternoon, when anxieties peak and the majority of panic attacks occur. Monday is also the worst day for heart attacks. One study indicated that of 6,000 heart attacks, 18 percent occurred on Mondays compared with 12 percent on Sundays. Absenteeism also peaks on Mondays.
Tuberculosis on the Increase
Tuberculosis is the world’s most deadly disease at present, reports the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. In 1992, over 3,000,000 people died of it—significantly more than those who died of AIDS, cholera, and malaria. In an effort to prevent the spread of tuberculosis, the World Health Organization recently held a conference in London. It was declared that the disease was a serious global epidemic, hitting the underdeveloped countries hardest. But it is also on the march in the industrialized countries because of the increase in travel and immigration. The most common form of TB can be cured in 95 percent of the cases, but the newer and more resistant strains can be cured in less than 40 percent of the cases.
The Endangered Rhino
About 20 years ago, some 65,000 rhinoceroses roamed the plains and forests of Africa. But the number has been reduced to a mere 2,500 today, and poachers are the principal culprits. In Zimbabwe alone the rhino population has decreased from more than 2,000 in 1990 to less than 500. “No other large mammal in the world is being so heavily slaughtered, nor heading so rapidly towards extinction,” notes the magazine Our Planet. What triggers this wholesale slaughter? The rhino’s horns. A pair of horns sawed off the black rhino’s nose has been sold for as much as $50,000 (U.S.) on the black market. Some horns are ground into powder for use in Oriental medicines. Others are shaped into decorative handles for daggers. It is a sad twist that the rhino’s horns—its unique form of protection—have become its downfall.
Canada’s Top Killer
In Canada, cardiovascular disease accounts for some 75,000 deaths annually. This is “more than the combined total due to cancer, AIDS and accidents,” notes The Edmonton Journal. According to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, “a sedentary lifestyle now is considered as potentially damaging as smoking, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol.” Regular exercise is widely recognized as a preventive measure against heart disease. But as Anthony Graham, chief of cardiology at Toronto’s Wellesley Hospital, stated, there is a ‘perception that healthful exercise must involve heart-pounding workouts.’ However, he added: “You can receive significant incremental benefit from much less aggressive exercise.” The Journal reported that “science has proved the benefits of low-intensity exercise like walking, yardwork, housework and dancing in preventing heart disease.”
Asian Women Live Longer
The life expectancy for women in Hong Kong has improved steadily over the past 20 years, according to the magazine China Today. In 1971 the expected life span for Hong Kong women was 75.3 years. In 1981 it went up to 78.5. And in 1991 it reached the peak of 80.6 years. Better nutrition and improved medical services are credited for this improvement. Asian women in general seem to enjoy a better-than-average life expectancy. Women in Taiwan can expect to live some 77 years. In Singapore the life expectancy for women is about 76 years, and in the People’s Republic of China, it is 71 years. China Today notes that “Japanese women still hold the world lead at 83 years.”
Violent Games
A new generation of violent video games is becoming extremely popular among youths today. According to the magazine Entertainment Weekly, one game includes a scene in which “a woman in skimpy nightclothes gets grabbed around the neck in order to have her blood drained and made into wine.” In another game, the characters “beat people to a pulp in a global street-fighting tournament,” says the New York Daily News. Yet another game is described in the Daily News as “gut-wrenching.” The newspaper continues: “Body blows are accompanied by blood spurts; when the bad guy wins he often decapitates the hero, and on occasion holds up the head in triumph, with the spinal cord still attached. Other losing participants can be impaled or set on fire.”
Allergic to Food?
A major allergy study in South Africa revealed that among the asthmatic children tested, 43 percent “reacted adversely to sulphur dioxide,” reports The Star of Johannesburg. Sulfur dioxide is widely used as a food preservative in South Africa. For instance, sulfites and sulfur dioxide are sprayed on vegetables and fresh fruits in salad bars and some supermarkets to inhibit browning. Sulfites and sulfur dioxide are also used in other foods, such as flour dough, soft drinks, wine, and beer. The study has caused increased pressure for stricter food labeling laws.
AIDS in Japan
Of Japan’s 124 million inhabitants, less than 3,000 have tested positive for the AIDS virus, according to official figures. “Privately, though, many medical workers, some of them employed by the health ministry, believe Japan has more victims than the official figures acknowledge,” states the magazine The Economist. One expert estimates the real figures to be at least ten times higher than the official ones. The magazine noted that “more than half of Japan’s haemophiliacs are believed to be HIV positive, partly, it is claimed, as a result of having been given contaminated Factor 8, a blood product.” In Japan, many avoid discussing the role that homosexuality plays in the spread of AIDS. But Yuichi Shiokawa, head of Japan’s Surveillance Committee on AIDS, says that “homosexuality is widespread, particularly in the priesthood and the armed forces.”
Abused Seniors
The Canadian newspaper The Vancouver Sun stated recently that “children and teens should be the target of school programs designed to promote the value of older citizens.” Why? Because it is estimated that in Canada “more than 315,000 people over 65 are abused every year,” reports the Sun. It adds that “many experts believe the problem is much larger because the abuse is often concealed by families.” The elderly are reluctant to admit that they are suffering physical violence, mental abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. Misuse of money and possessions by grown children who have power of attorney often leaves an aging parent afraid and vulnerable.
Tired at the Wheel?
According to The Star of Johannesburg, South Africa, up to one third of all vehicular collisions in that country are caused by driver fatigue. This can be just as lethal as driving under the influence of alcohol or speeding. Some of the symptoms of driver fatigue are sore or heavy eyes, daydreaming, and straying across the traffic lines. The danger of tiredness at the wheel is that drivers may not recognize their condition until it is too late. Music, coffee, or fresh air may not really correct the problem. In fact, trying to fight fatigue may only reduce the driver’s concentration level. A spokesman for the Directorate Traffic Safety advises: “There is only one thing to do if you feel tired at the wheel—take a break at once. Get your car completely off the road or into a rest area and resume your trip only after you are fully recovered.”
Killer in the Food
Every year some 80 million persons in the United States are victims of food poisoning, according to a Tufts University newsletter. “The problem often goes unrecognized because many of its symptoms—chills, fever, nausea, cramps, diarrhea, vomiting—can resemble those of the flu,” noted the newsletter. In some cases these foodborne diseases prove fatal. In the United States alone, about 9,000 people die each year as a result of food poisoning. The Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter states that the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that 85 percent of all foodborne illness could be avoided if people took the proper precautionary steps in their own homes.” Among the precautions listed were refrigerating all foods within two hours of cooking and rinsing all vegetables and fruits before eating them.