Tablet Treatment for Children

Tablet computers are being provided for Children’s Mental Health Services. Care and Support Manager, Norman Lamb, announced this move towards improving early and effective intervention for children and young people suffering from mental health problems. It is thought that using this technology to track their progress will appeal to children and will also help therapists monitor and adjust the treatment given. This use of technology fits well with the the government's mandate to the NHS published in November 2012, which set out the ambitions for the health service over two years, with a clear objective to put mental health on a level with physical health and to extend and ensure more open access to the ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme’, in particular for children and young people and for those out of work.
Other moves to help children in mental distress include the campaign launched by four youth charities, Young Minds, ChildLine, YouthNet and Selfharm.co.uk who have joined together to promote awareness of self-harm. The number of young people who self-harm as a result of depression, loneliness and family problems is estimated to be about 1 in 12 and is a major concern for children as young as 13. Support available at a young age, early in the development of mental health problems, could reduce the number of children taking their problems through to their adult lives.

Living well for longer

Improvements in the fight against the 5 major causes of death, including new plans to tackle cardiovascular disease, could save 30,000 lives by 2020, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced. This link leads to an outline of the strategy and video where Jeremy Hunt speaks of his ambition to cut avoidable deaths from the 5 major causes – cancer, heart, stroke, respiratory and liver disease – and to make life expectancy in England among the best in Europe.

A document on Equality Analysis gives a summary of the various issues around achieving a longer and healthier life expectancy for all of the population.

Public Health England 2013

The Department of Health has published an article on the tasks ahead for Public Health England. The article 'Global Burden of Disease study shows mixed picture for UK health' sets out current health comparison with other countries and aims for improvements.

The five main health challenges within the UK population are seen as smoking, alcohol, obesity, inactivity & high blood pressure.

Linked with the aim to reduce the number of cases of high blood pressure is the drive to reduce salt intake launched today by Anna Soubry.

Health training in a deprived area

A social enterprise known as Mytime Active has been given a three year contract for its Health Trainer Service to work with residents in the disadvantaged areas around Portsmouth. The training will focus on encouragement to change behaviours and lifestyles with an overall aim to improve general health and life expectation. On average men living in the deprived areas around Portsmouth can expect a life 10 years shorter than men living in more affluent areas. Trainers work with residents on an individual basis to assess what changes for improvement can be made such as increasing activity, eating a healthier diet and giving up smoking.

Child poverty in the UK 2013

Child poverty in the UK remains at a high level and is well documented in the End Child Poverty report and maps published this month. The Marmot review of health inequalities found that that child poverty has a severe impact on children’s health, and called for a strategy to give every child the best start in life.

End Child Poverty calls for Government action from at national, regional and local levels to achieve the target of the Child Poverty Act 2010 to end child poverty by 2020.

There are four dimensions of poverty captured under the Child Poverty Act, each with a target to be met by 2020. They are:
• Relative low income poverty (below 60 per cent median household income)
• Absolute low income poverty (below 60 per cent of median household income held constant at 2010/11 level)
• Persistent low income poverty (below 60 per cent of median household income for three years or longer)
• Material deprivation combined with relative low income (below 70 per cent median household income and suffering from inability to afford essential spending needs)

Health inequalities. Why?

World Health Day this year is April 7th.
The World Health Organisation has created a short factfile showing the stark reality of health inequalities around the world.
Each year a different area of public health concern is selected and this year focus will be on the topic of blood pressure. A third of the world's adult population have raised blood pressure bringing with it the associated health risks of heart attacks and strokes and added complications eg. diabetes. The British Heart Foundation website has an informative page on identifying and dealing with raised blood pressure.

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)

The abstract of an 'ahead of print' article in Kidney Int. 2013 'Acute kidney injury: global health alert' highlights the need for vigilance in detecting Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). The article advises preventive strategies and early identification are needed in developing and developed countries to address this increasing health issue.

The elderly are identified in the Journal of Nephrology article as the highest risk category. ‘Acute kidney injury in the elderly population’

AKI was also the topic of a seminar reported in The Lancet December 2012 issue.

 

Obesity linked with Vitamin D deficiency

A further reason to eat healthily and be active is suggested in a new report on the link between obesity and vitamin D deficiency.

 It seems that vitamin D, which is stored in fatty tissue, may be prevented from circulating within the body because of the increased storage capacity in obese bodies.

The study linked each 10% rise in body mass index to a 4% drop of available vitamin D in the body.

The functions of vitamin D are listed on the NHS Choices website

Fair Air?

 “Traffic fumes linked to lower birth weight” is an article in today’s BBC News reporting on a study in Environmental Health Perspectives. Its conclusion is that babies born to mothers living anywhere with measurably poor air quality are at risk of low birth weight. These babies may only be a little low in birth weight but in adult life are at increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study looked at data from nine nations and concluded that the problems were common to all.                                                                                                                                        

Comment on the report from The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is that though air quality in the UK is "generally good, more needs to be done, especially in the cities, to reduce the harmful effects of air pollution". Action is called for in the 2012 London Assembly paper reporting on the high percentage of deaths attributed to air pollution in London boroughs.

London is among the worst in Europe for air pollution. A report Great Smog 60 years on makes interesting reading about the past and present air pollutants in the city.

Scotland's ‘top 10’ polluted streets were named in a report revealing their high nitrogen dioxide levels. Using the EU and UK standard of 40 micrograms per cubic metre of nitrogen dioxide, Glasgow returned the worst readings. 

Smoke & Ash

A study led by Dr Michael Thun and published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that women who smoke are at far greater risk of dying now than they were in the 1960s. This appears to be due to the current generation of women smoking more cigarettes and starting to smoke at a younger age. The study, based on 2 million American women, reported that the changes in women’s smoking habits over the last 50 years has brought women’s risk of lung cancer and resultant death rates up to the same level as men’s. These findings were reported in a number of news media including Science Daily.

According to a study published in The Lancet, based on more than a million women in the UK, lifelong smokers died a decade earlier than those who never started. Women who give up smoking by the age of 30 will almost completely avoid the risks of dying early from tobacco-related diseases. Lead Researcher Prof Sir Richard Peto, at Oxford University, said "If women smoke like men, they die like men."

An additional fact noted in the American study is that smokers who switched to cigarettes labelled as ‘light’ or 'mild' may have made the situation worse because the smoke had to be breathed in more deeply to achieve the nicotine levels of standard cigarettes. Those labels are now banned.

Just a few of the chemicals in cigarettes:

• Nicotine - immediate physiological effects include increased heart rate and a rise in blood pressure
• Ammonia - also found in toilet cleaners
• Acetone - found in nail varnish remover
• Cadmium - a highly poisonous metal used in batteries
• Vinyl chloride - used to make PVC
• Napthtalene - used in moth balls
• Carbon monoxide - poisonous gas that is commonly given off by exhausts and gas fires, fatal in large amounts
• Tar - thick brown stuff in cigarette smoke that stains fingers and teeth a yellow-brown colour and which deposits in a smoker's lungs, clogging them up
• Cyanide - a lethal gas used in Second World War gas chambers
• Formaldehyde - used to preserve dead bodies
• Arsenic - poison

Weighing up the fat tax

The number of people in the UK, not just overweight, but obese, is a problem that has to be tackled. Children in particular regard  many unhealthy foods like sugary cereals and ready made meals as part of their normal everyday intake. The future health implications both personally and as a cost to the NHS are alarming.

In November 2012, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham called for changes in the law to force food manufacturers to limit the fat, salt and sugar in processed foods so that ingredients are controlled at the production point.

The Independent leading article today 'The case for a fat tax' takes an opposing view that taxing the unhealthy products at the point of sale could be the most effective in reducing the population's intake of 'nasties'.

Denmark first introduced a 'fat tax' just over a year ago, but have abandoned it because of resulting food prices increases and job losses: BBC report.

Inequalities - a lost battle?

The King's Fund have a current Blog entitled Have we lost the battle to improve health inequalities? Gabriel Scally, Associate Fellow of the Institute for Public Policy Research has the opinion that more could and should have been done towards acheiving social health equality.  

                                                                                         The government's key aims to reduce social health inequality were listed in 'Fair Society Healthy Lives' and reviewed in (The Marmot Review Summary) 2002:

Give every child the best start in life.

Create fair employment and good work for all.

Ensure healthy standard of living for all.

Strengthen the role and impact of ill-health prevention.

Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and  communities.

Enable all children, young people & adults to maximise their  capabilities & have control of their lives.

On all counts, there still seems to be a long way to go to.

.



Alzheimer's Update

The Alzheimer's Society have published the latest statistics on dementia diagnosis in the UK. These range from 31.6% of people with dementia having a formal diagnosis in the East Riding of Yorkshire, to 75.4% in Islington.


Jeremy Hunt said that there has been a small overall improvement, but inequality of alzheimer’s diagnosis between different parts of the country is unacceptable. A Guardian report today quotes Mr Hunt saying 'It’s disgraceful that more than half of all people with dementia are not receiving a diagnosis. A map of the dementia prevalence and diagnosis rates makes the situation very clear.

Old and cold?

Back in the news this week, and reported in the Telegraph, is the topic of means-testing winter fuel payments; a timely re-appearance considering the cold weather dip that is forecast to start this weekend.

In the winter of 2011/12 19,500 deaths in the over 75 age group were directly caused by these pensioners being unable to afford to keep themselves warm enough. The problem is not new; similar figures apply to previous winters. Currently under debate is the thought voiced by Mr Burstow, the former care services minister, that money saved through paying WFP only to those eligible for pension credit would make it possible to pay for a cap on care costs for the elderly. Would this, however, mean more of our elderly who are ‘neither rich not poor’ moving into the fuel poverty category with its’ potential health hazards?

Eat well on a budget in 2013

This week sees a new Change4Life campaign hitting our TV screens revealing details about the amounts of salt, sugar and fats in many family favourite foods. It is the quantity of these ‘nasties’ in everyday foods that is often surprising. The new campaign called 'Be Food Smart' promotes meal alternatives affordable on a low budget. By signing up to the campaign, subscribers have access to a range of healthy eating information, recipes and money off vouchers.

Public Health Minister, Anna Soubry, comments that the development of simple and clear food labels is underway to assist in making informed choices about our daily food.

Rich food, poor health.

A BBC report quotes the shadow health secretary Andy Burnham’s concern that current voluntary agreements with the food industry are not working and that the nationwide obesity problem is worsening. With obesity being a major cause of preventable disease there is general agreement that action is needed to tackle it, but whether regulation or collaboration is the route to take is subject to much debate. The Government’s key aim is to control levels of fat, sugar and salt in our food.

Possible actions under discussion are compulsory cookery lessons in schools, improved food labelling and legislation on manufactured foods. How would you tackle this growing problem?

Further thinking:

An article written by Kraft Foods’ CEO in this month’s issue of NGF, Next Generation Food, is thought provoking in its comments on the two contrasting global epidemics; obesity and hunger.