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The Hindu
6 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Study indicates incidence of rheumatoid arthritis increased 13 pc since 1990
Rheumatoid arthritis affected nearly 18 million people worldwide in 2021 -- an over 13 per cent rise in cases since 1990, a study has found. According to the study, more young people are being diagnosed with this disease, which became geographically widespread with time. Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune condition, occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its healthy tissues, especially those in joints, leading to inflammation, pain and stiffness. The study, published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, found that population growth impacted the disease's burden in most countries, including India, Pakistan and Spain, while ageing impacted the most in Thailand, China and Poland. The regions high on the sociodemographic index were hit the hardest, while those low witnessed an increase, it said. "While previous Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies have provided important insights, they have largely focused on high-level descriptions and visualisations at global and national scales, failing to capture local disparities or the dynamic interactions between socioeconomic development and disease trends," said principal investigator Queran Lin from Imperial College London. Coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, GBD studies analyse data from over 200 countries and territories to map trends in disease prevalence, severity and deaths attributable to 371 diseases between 1990 and 2021. "In 2021, RA (rheumatoid arthritis) affected 17.9 million people globally, with a 13.2 per cent increase in incidence rate from 1990-2021, trending younger and broader," the authors wrote. They were "able to generate the most granular disease burden estimates to date, offering a new framework for guiding precision public health across diverse populations", Lin said. The study also projected that the regions with a low-middle sociodemographic index could see an increase in burden by 2040 due to ageing and population growth, while the burden in regions high on the index could decrease. Controlling smoking could curb deaths due to the chronic disease in high-smoking regions (such as China) by 16.8 per cent and the burden on the population by over 20 per cent, the authors said. Japan showed a decline in burden of rheumatoid arthritis (by over 22 per cent) despite having a high sociodemographic index, which the authors said might reflect nationwide early diagnosis programs, widespread use of biologic therapies and a diet rich in anti-inflammatory components. The authors called for localised policies and resource allocation, particularly in the regions having low-middle sociodemographic index. "Demographic changes and uneven health infrastructure exacerbated RA burdens and disparities worldwide, with high SDI areas hardest hit while low SDI regions saw increases. Trend analysis empowered targeted policies such as localised smoking control to address these inequities," the authors wrote.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Study indicates incidence of rheumatoid arthritis increased 13 pc since 1990
New Delhi: Rheumatoid arthritis affected nearly 18 million people worldwide in 2021 -- an over 13 per cent rise in cases since 1990, a study has found. According to the study, more young people are being diagnosed with this disease, which became geographically widespread with time. Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune condition , occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its healthy tissues, especially those in joints, leading to inflammation, pain and stiffness. The study, published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, found that population growth impacted the disease's burden in most countries, including India, Pakistan and Spain, while ageing impacted the most in Thailand, China and Poland. The regions high on the sociodemographic index were hit the hardest, while those low witnessed an increase, it said. "While previous Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies have provided important insights, they have largely focused on high-level descriptions and visualisations at global and national scales, failing to capture local disparities or the dynamic interactions between socioeconomic development and disease trends," said principal investigator Queran Lin from Imperial College London. Coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, GBD studies analyse data from over 200 countries and territories to map trends in disease prevalence, severity and deaths attributable to 371 diseases between 1990 and 2021. "In 2021, RA (rheumatoid arthritis) affected 17.9 million people globally, with a 13.2 per cent increase in incidence rate from 1990-2021, trending younger and broader," the authors wrote. They were "able to generate the most granular disease burden estimates to date, offering a new framework for guiding precision public health across diverse populations", Lin said. The study also projected that the regions with a low-middle sociodemographic index could see an increase in burden by 2040 due to ageing and population growth, while the burden in regions high on the index could decrease. Controlling smoking could curb deaths due to the chronic disease in high-smoking regions (such as China) by 16.8 per cent and the burden on the population by over 20 per cent, the authors said. Japan showed a decline in burden of rheumatoid arthritis (by over 22 per cent) despite having a high sociodemographic index, which the authors said might reflect nationwide early diagnosis programs, widespread use of biologic therapies and a diet rich in anti-inflammatory components. The authors called for localised policies and resource allocation, particularly in the regions having low-middle sociodemographic index. "Demographic changes and uneven health infrastructure exacerbated RA burdens and disparities worldwide, with high SDI areas hardest hit while low SDI regions saw increases. Trend analysis empowered targeted policies such as localised smoking control to address these inequities," the authors wrote.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Police seek answers as Austria mourns victims of one of the worst shootings in its history
Police in Austria were hunting for clues on Wednesday after a gunman opened fire at his former high school a day earlier, killing nine students and a teacher in a deadly spree that stunned the country. Scores of shocked people gathered near the scene of the crime to observe a minute of silence 24 hours after the rampage in the city of Graz, mourning the victims of one of the worst school shootings in the country's history. Authorities confirmed they had searched the home of the 21-year-old Austrian national who attacked the Dreierschützengasse secondary school in the city, the capital of the southern Austrian province of Styria. Graz police spokesman Sabri Yorgun told CNN that officers had discovered a non-functional makeshift bomb, a suicide note and a video message at the shooter's home. 'We have carried out a search operation at the home address of the… suspect from the district of Graz… and have been able to establish that there was a suicide note both in digital form, via video message, and in handwritten form,' Yorgun told CNN Wednesday morning, adding that the items had been secured to assess the suspect's motives. Of the 10 people who died in the shooting, nine were students aged between 14 and 17, officials said. One of those was found dead outside the school when officers arrived on Tuesday morning. The bodies of the other students, as well as several other injured children, were found inside the building. All of those killed were Austrian citizens, apart from one who was a Polish national. The tenth victim, who died on Tuesday night in hospital, was a female school teacher, Yorgun confirmed. A further 11 people, aged between 15 and 26, were injured in the incident, including eight people with Austrian citizenship, two with Romanian citizenship and one with Iranian citizenship, police said Wednesday. According to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, one of the victims was a French student. 'Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends,' Barrot said. CNN understands that all those who were injured in Tuesday's attack are now in a stable condition, including nine who remain in intensive care. One victim with facial injuries requires a follow-up operation, while another has been left needing knee surgery. Officers first responded to reports of 'several' suspected gunshots at the school in the northwest of Graz at around 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) on Tuesday. Several vehicles and a police helicopter were then deployed to the site. The suspect, who had previously attended the school but not graduated, used a rifle and a handgun to carry out the killing spree, before fatally shooting himself in a bathroom, authorities said at a Tuesday news conference. Gun violence is rare in Austria, along with most central European countries. The country's rate of firearm homicides was just 0.1 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, compared to 4.5 per 100,000 people in the United States. But Austria's gun ownership is higher than most European Union countries; there are 30 civilian firearms owned for every 100 citizens, according to the Small Arms Survey, a research institute based in Switzerland. A small number of high-profile violent incidents have taken place there in recent years. Last October, the mayor of a northern Austrian town was shot dead, along with another victim. In February, a 23-year-old man stabbed five passersby in southern Austria in what police said was a random attack. CNN's Rob Picheta, Lauren Kent and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.
CNN
11-06-2025
- CNN
Police seek answers as Austria mourns victims of one of the worst shootings in its history
Police in Austria were hunting for clues on Wednesday after a gunman opened fire at his former high school a day earlier, killing nine students and a teacher in a deadly spree that stunned the country. Scores of shocked people gathered near the scene of the crime to observe a minute of silence 24 hours after the rampage in the city of Graz, mourning the victims of one of the worst school shootings in the country's history. Authorities confirmed they had searched the home of the 21-year-old Austrian national who attacked the Dreierschützengasse secondary school in the city, the capital of the southern Austrian province of Styria. Graz police spokesman Sabri Yorgun told CNN that officers had discovered a non-functional makeshift bomb, a suicide note and a video message at the shooter's home. 'We have carried out a search operation at the home address of the… suspect from the district of Graz… and have been able to establish that there was a suicide note both in digital form, via video message, and in handwritten form,' Yorgun told CNN Wednesday morning, adding that the items had been secured to assess the suspect's motives. Of the 10 people who died in the shooting, nine were students aged between 15 and 17, officials said. One of those was found dead outside the school when officers arrived on Tuesday morning. The bodies of the other students, as well as several other injured children, were found inside the building. The tenth victim, who died on Tuesday night in hospital, was a female school teacher, Yorgun confirmed. According to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, one of the victims was a French student. 'Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends,' Barrot said. CNN understands that all those who were injured in Tuesday's attack are now in a stable condition, including nine who remain in intensive care. One victim with facial injuries requires a follow-up operation, while another has been left needing knee surgery. Officers first responded to reports of 'several' suspected gunshots at the school in the northwest of Graz at around 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) on Tuesday. Several vehicles and a police helicopter were then deployed to the site. The suspect, who had previously attended the school but not graduated, used a rifle and a handgun to carry out the killing spree, before fatally shooting himself in a bathroom, authorities said at a Tuesday news conference. Gun violence is rare in Austria, along with most central European countries. The country's rate of firearm homicides was just 0.1 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, compared to 4.5 per 100,000 people in the United States. But Austria's gun ownership is higher than most European Union countries; there are 30 civilian firearms owned for every 100 citizens, according to the Small Arms Survey, a research institute based in Switzerland. A small number of high-profile violent incidents have taken place there in recent years. Last October, the mayor of a northern Austrian town was shot dead, along with another victim. In February, a 23-year-old man stabbed five passersby in southern Austria in what police said was a random attack. CNN's Rob Picheta, Lauren Kent and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.
The Star
04-06-2025
- General
- The Star
This deadly and addictive habit is hard to quit
Quitting smoking isn't easy. Some try and repeatedly fail, while others enjoy it too much to want to kick the habit. Most keep smoking because they get addicted to nicotine, one of the chemicals in cigarettes and other tobacco products. According to a study published May 28 (2025) in The Lancet Public Health journal, Asean nations are seeing double-digit increases in some of the leading causes of death and disability, and that includes smoking. Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in the United States and the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine analysed the data from 1990 to 2021 by age, sex and location across the 10 Asean countries. Among their findings: The number of smokers has increased in every Asean country by 63% to 137 million regionally, which is 12% of the total number of global smokers. Smoking prevalence has declined in the region, but remains high at 48% among males aged 15 and older. An estimated one in five male children aged 10 to 14 are currently smoking in Malaysia. In 2021, more than half a million people in the region died from smoking-related diseases – an increase of 231,000 deaths from 1990, with men dying at a rate 10 times higher than women. The region's highest number of smoking-related deaths was from ischaemic heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The reality is that the majority of smokers do indeed want to quit, but despite all the resources out there, are not sure how. Scan for help As one of the partners of the Health Ministry's JomQuit programme, the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) receives between 300 and 500 applicants weekly – a huge number. To register, all a smoker needs to do is scan a QR code from the JomQuit posters put up in public places. 'We started our programme in December last year [2024] to offer six sessions of online consultations for those who want to quit. 'When they register, our doctors give them a call, find out more about their occupation, lifestyle, budget, etc, and provide behavioural counselling. 'Many participants do not pick up our calls although they have applied, which is a problem,' says NCSM's medical officer and health promotion lead Dr G. Leevyadhashiny. The point of the call is to get individuals to understand why they need to quit smoking. For the younger ones, most started because of peer pressure. Dr Leevyadhashiny says: 'For the long-term smokers, it's habitual and they're so used to having a cigarette in hand that it is difficult to quit. 'We counsel them on how to overcome this, and surprisingly, many do not know about nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or that they can walk into any government clinic and sign up for the free quit-smoking programme.' She adds: 'If in a day, I call 10 people, eight would've tried to quit before by going cold turkey, not through NRT. 'Cold turkey is difficult because it takes time for the body to acclimatise removing nicotine from the system. 'Plus, one can be easily influenced again by peer pressure. 'Many also think NRT is lifelong and this is not necessarily true.' ALSO READ: Helping smokers wean off that nicotine addiction when they decide to quit NCSM hasn't run the programme long enough to gather conclusive statistics, but Dr Leevyadhashiny reckons the quit rate is about 40%. 'So far, I haven't been able to get further than the second consultation, but at least, there is greater awareness on the programme and it gives smokers an opportunity to clear whatever doubts they have,' she says. The quitting prognosis for younger smokers is better as they haven't indulged in the activity for too long, but of course, the best thing is not to start smoking at all. Tried and tried again Looking at the glowing Naveen Ahmad, 58, you'd never guess she was once a chain smoker – for 27 years! After 27 years of smoking and many failed quit attempts, Naveen listened to her inner voice and finally managed to kick the habit in 2018. — NAVEEN AHMAD Although the Penangite's father was a smoker, Naveen was not influenced by him. In fact, as a curious teenager, she once snuck a quick puff on a leftover cigarette when he asked her to empty the ashtray, and she hated the taste. She couldn't understand how her dad and his friends could inhale that awful smell. All that changed when she moved to Kuala Lumpur in her early 20s. It was the era of discos and parties, when it was considered cool to light up a cigarette. 'Smoking was widely accepted and you could do it anywhere back then. 'I remember I was with a friend and she offered me a stick to share, saying it wouldn't do any harm. 'One shared stick a night became one whole stick, two sticks, and many outings later, I was buying my own cigarettes. 'My colleagues were also smoking and we looked forward to taking breaks at the staircase,' recalls the then sales manager. Since many of her clients also smoked, it proved to be an apt icebreaker. She shares: 'I got to know clients better over cigarettes; we bonded and became buddies overnight. And I'd win the pitch!' Naveen was smoking half a pack daily, but if she partied, which was quite frequent, it became one pack. This went on for a few years until she and a colleague decided to challenge each other to quit. 'We quit cold turkey, changed our lifestyle, lessened our partying and started going to the gym. 'For two years, I felt good, but she started cheating while I was 'clean'. "That's when I counselled her and told her it was okay. 'She asked me to share a stick with her, and initially, I said no, but after much coaxing, I took the stick. 'I felt guilty, but didn't really care as I was fit, young and thought I was invincible,' she shares. Her colleagues began to gather every Friday night at a chosen nightspot and these two women looked forward to it as they could smoke. She says: 'I never stopped until I got pregnant. 'That's when I started to hate the smell of cigarettes and would be nauseated if anyone smoked. 'After my daughter was born, we were at a gathering and one 'devil' asked how come I hadn't started smoking again after confinement. "'Come on, join me la' ... and that was how I restarted again in 2004.' Pretty soon, Naveen was smoking up to two packs a day. She confesses: 'I smoked when I was excited, stressed and when I needed to think. I found great joy in it so I indulged. 'When I returned home, I'd still work, and to generate new ideas, I'd light up a cigarette on the balcony, not inside the house. 'My ex-husband was also a smoker, but he had quit by then and urged me to do the same. 'He'd share his NRT gum, but it tasted horrible and though I tried to quit many times over the decade, all my attempts failed. 'I told myself I'd quit when I felt ready and there was no need to stress over it.' A parched throat, bad cough, breathlessness and fatigue were part of her daily life, but she ignored these symptoms. In 2018, when she was 51, Naveen decided to take a career break and looked hard in the mirror. She didn't like the reflection. 'Eeuw, I spoke to the mirror – your skin is dark, your lips are like dried prunes, you look haggard and aged. 'I was also transitioning through menopause and a voice told me I had to quit no matter what. "But I was afraid of gaining weight. 'On Dec 30, 2018, I smoked my last pack of cigarettes, then lit up and smoked all the unfinished sticks in my ashtray till they became ash – my one final joy. 'I decided to go cold turkey because I was confident I didn't need professional help,' she says. The withdrawal symptoms were severe for a month – insomnia, anxiety, irritability, etc – but she never turned back. She gained 2kg, but Naveen attributes this to menopause. Temptations dangled, but she stood firm against them. Today, the product head of an information technology company is constantly being complimented for her glowing skin and youthful appearance. Now, when she is trying to come up with earth-shattering ideas, she no longer needs a cigarette. 'Artificial intelligence does it for me!' Naveen says, laughing. An alluring addiction On the other hand, Owen S (not his real name) has been smoking for almost 50 years and refuses to call it quits despite being fully aware of the dangers. The Health Ministry's latest poster encourages smokers to seek help by scanning the QR code to register themselves for online counselling. — Health Ministry His initiation into smoking began out of curiosity, camaraderie and a dash of rebellion at the age of 13, when his family was living in small-town Kulai, Johor. 'That first brush with tobacco, however, didn't take. 'My older brother caught me and promptly reported it to our mother, who responded swiftly and sternly, and it was enough to keep me away from cigarettes until I was about 17,' recalls the retired academician in his 60s. Although Owen's father, a former policeman, gave up smoking in his 40s to discourage his kids from following suit, all five of his sons picked up the habit. 'My four children harass me to quit. "They try to reason with love and science, and they are not wrong – every statistic is stacked against me and every cigarette is a gamble,' he says. Like many smokers who prefer to turn a blind eye to the disease statistics, he justifies his continued habit by noting no one in his smoking circle has died of respiratory ailments or lung cancer. His further reasoning is: 'You've got to understand the smoking styles out there. 'Some will smoke until the very end of the stick, but I throw it away after I'm two-thirds in. 'Other smokers will inhale as if it's their last breath, but I don't inhale as deeply so the smoke is mostly in my mouth, although it does get into my throat and lungs sometimes. 'And I'm always drinking water or a non-alcoholic beverage while I'm smoking so I don't have a smoker's cough.' It's important to note, however, that his smoking style does not in any way decrease his risk of the multiple diseases associated with smoking, including various cancers, respiratory diseases, heart disease and dental problems, among others. Owen, who now lives in Penang, spends roughly RM50 a day to feed his habit as he prefers one of the more established brands. ALSO READ: Reason to quit smoking: It's getting too pricey '[The rituals of smoking have] punctuated the best and worst days of my life, and in some strange way, smoking has been my constant companion,' he says, highlighting how insidiously smoking can intertwin itself into a person's life. 'Yes, it's a form of addiction and smoking is a choice I've made and I'm not ready to give it up. 'However, I do advise younger people not to pick up the habit,' he says. Those seeking assistance to quit smoking or vaping can refer to the official JomQuit portal or WhatsApp 010-3505199.
