Medical Matters The impact of global warming on climate change may pose wider concerns that arise not just from the direct effects due to extremes of weather. A recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that over half (58%) of 275 infectious diseases worldwide have been aggravated by climate change. In what…
Medical Matters Depression affects about 10% of Irish adults with over 400,000 people estimated to be taking antidepressants. The discovery of drugs to treat low mood emerged only in the 1950’s and by chance, after an antihistamine and anti-TB medication were observed to have positive effects on mental health. What both shared in common was…
Medical matters The air we breathe and the environment around us have impacts on our health that in the past were unknown. In fact, air pollution as been described as the “invisible killer” and has been cited by the WHO as the new “tobacco” and a “public health emergency”. Up to 43% of lung diseases…
Medical Matters One of the newest viruses to hit our shores (Monkeypox) arrived to Ireland this May and to date has infected about one dozen people. First recognised in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease affected monkeys kept for research, the virus has remained endemic to Africa. In fact, the first human case…
Medical Matters Figures this year show that life expectancy in Ireland is now the highest in the EU at 82.6 years with the gap between females and males narrowing in the last decade. Women are now living to 84.1 and men 80.5 years which compares to a mean age of 76.6 years about two decades…
Medical Matters We are now well into the phase of ‘living with Covid’ with the vast majority of the population either having been vaccinated or contracted infection. Hospitalisation rates have dropped and newly confirmed cases are also in decline. It is also estimated that those who are incompletely or not vaccinated continue to be disproportionately…
Medical Matters Vitamin D has been catapulted into a ‘hotspot’ of discussion in the field of nutritional health science over the last decade. There are now nearly 100,000 published peer reviewed studies on the topic of “vitamin D’ and over 1,000 specifically related to vitamin D and Covid. So what’s our understanding of vitamin D…
Medical Matters Nearly one in five people or just over 1.25 million have tested PCR positive for Covid in Ireland since the pandemic began. With hundreds of thousands more infected but not officially tested the proportion of the population that have escaped Covid may be a lot smaller than many would have anticipated. The death…
Medical Matters There are approximately 500 people living with motor neurone disease (MND) in Ireland with about 140 cases diagnosed every year. Though rare, in recent years, the stories of several well-known people with MND has been highlighted in the media and has increased awareness of the condition. The globally recognised ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ that…
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health has been considerable with a marked a rise in loneliness and social isolation over the past 18 months. While studies show that all ages of the population have been affected, it points to a disproportionate impact on younger adults who have felt the brunt of Covid…