Life Expectancy News and Research

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Life expectancy is the expected (in the statistical sense) number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by e''x'', which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged ''x'', according to a particular mortality experience.

Obesity sends Type 2 diabetes rates in children soaring

Research results revealed at the Diabetes UK Annual Professional Conference, show 22 children under 16 have Type 2 diabetes in East London alone. Past estimates suggest there were only around 100 children diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the UK but this figure now appears to be a vast underestimate.

23 Apr 2005

Outrage over usage of HIV positive children as Guinea pigs

Saying “the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) has perpetrated a 21st century Tuskegee Experiment on nearly 500 New York City children over the course of 15 years,” New York State Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright (D- Central Harlem/West Harlem) today demanded that the Vera Institute of Justice in conjunction with the NYS Office of Children and Family Services conduct a thorough investigation of ACS policy in light of its enrollment HIV-positive children who are in foster care in clinical drug trials during the late 1980s to 2001.

23 Apr 2005

Mediterranean diet makes you live longer

The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.

7 Apr 2005

New technology and treatments for heart and lung patients drive revisions

The process for prioritizing heart and lung transplant candidates and determining the treatments they receive while awaiting donor organs is under review by the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) during its Annual Meeting and Scientific Session this week in Philadelphia.

7 Apr 2005

Weight loss surgery is the most effective treatment available for obesity say experts

A panel of experts charged with reviewing all the available evidence on morbid obesity and weight loss surgery today concluded weight loss surgery is the most effective treatment available and can result in the improvement or complete resolution of diseases associated with obesity, according to a consensus statement published in the April edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

5 Apr 2005

HIV/AIDS impacts on population dynamics and economic growth

Top officials at the United Nations Commission on Population and Development, at its yearly meeting are focussing on the negative effects of HIV/AIDS on population dynamics, including population losses and decreased life expectancy, as well as the pandemic's links to increased extreme poverty, stalled economic growth and poor reproductive health in many parts of the world.

5 Apr 2005

Chemoembolization, first-line treatment for liver cancer

New research by Jeff Geschwind, M.D., director of interventional radiology and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has shown that liver cancer patients, most of whom have inoperable tumours, could benefit from chemoembolization, a nonsurgical treatment option that delivers a high-dose of chemotherapy to the tumour while decreasing blood flow through the arteries feeding the tumour, known as embolization.

4 Apr 2005

Asian Flu threat underestimated

Dr. Keiji Fukuda an expert at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that the incident of the particularly lethal variation of influenza in Southeast Asia is probably far greater than has been reported so far.

21 Mar 2005

Rapid rise in obesity may reverse life expectancy trend

It's been assumed that U.S. life expectancy would rise indefinitely, but a new data analysis, published as a special report in the March 17 New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that this trend is about to reverse itself -- due to the rapid rise in obesity, especially among children.

21 Mar 2005

Public policy needs to change to take into account the social factors behind ill health

National and global public policy needs to change to take into account the social factors behind ill health and reduce the health inequalities seen within and between countries, states an article in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

21 Mar 2005

Experts dispute new report on lifespan reductions from obesity

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) says obesity scaremongers, in a bid to again frighten the public with an alarmist claim on obesity and mortality, are using statistics that lack empirical scientific evidence to back up their claims.

16 Mar 2005

Risk of ischemic heart disease associated with radiotherapy for breast cancer has substantially decreased in the last 25 years

The risk of ischemic heart disease that is associated with radiotherapy for breast cancer has substantially decreased in the last 25 years, according to a new study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

15 Mar 2005

New study reveals little risk in insuring HIV positive patients

The Dutch Association of Insurers has announced the results of a study revealing there is little risk in providing life insurance policies to HIV patients in the Netherlands undergoing Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART).

15 Mar 2005

Disparities in health care are pervasive in America

Disparities in health care are pervasive in America. These disparities adversely impact the cardiovascular health of Americans, especially African Americans, Hispanics, poor and uneducated people, according to a report in a special disparities themed issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Mar 2005

Survey reveals people’s perceptions of life-expectancy

People’s perceptions of their own life expectancy can be linked to their decision on whether or not to invest in a pension, a study led by Nottingham University Business School has revealed.

14 Mar 2005

Obesity among African-American stroke survivors increases risk factors for recurrent stroke

Obesity may put African-Americans who have survived one stroke at risk for a second stroke by increasing their risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and high cholesterol, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Mar 2005

New chemotherapy gives hope to brain tumour patients

A large international study conducted by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) Clinical Trials Group demonstrated that the addition of a novel chemotherapy agent, Temozolomide (brand name: Temodal®) to radiation therapy increases survival in patients suffering from glioblastoma, a very aggressive form of a brain tumour.

9 Mar 2005

Surgery gives normal life expectancy to patients with severe mitral regurgitation

"We know from previous studies that patients with symptomatic mitral regurgitation are at increased risk of death, but for those without symptoms the picture has been murkier," says Maurice Enriquez-Sarano, M.D., the Mayo Clinic cardiologist who led the study. "In this study we followed a large population of asymptomatic patients prospectively to identify keys to improved long-term outcomes, and to determine when patients should consider surgery."

2 Mar 2005

The gap in life expectancy between women and men is closing!

Women and men are living longer & staying more active. With fewer deaths from major causes such as heart disease and cancer Americans' are now on average living to a record 77.6 years.

1 Mar 2005

NICE promotes use of dual-chamber pacemakers for treating bradycardia

In new medical guidance for England and Wales published today, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) promotes the expanded use of dual-chamber pacemakers for treating slow heart rhythms, called bradycardia, which affect an estimated 100,000 people in the UK.

23 Feb 2005