Watching the World.- Positive Outlook Promotes Longevity. A recently concluded study found that older people with a more positive outlook on life and aging “lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging,” says a paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The study, conducted over a period of 23 years on 660 persons aged 50 and older, established two things: A negative attitude toward aging “can diminish life expectancy,” and a positive outlook “can prolong life expectancy.” Indeed, positive self-perceptions may contribute more to longevity than such things as low blood cholesterol and ideal blood pressure, suggests the report. It concludes by encouraging society in general to take a more positive view of the elderly by involving them in activities and to “deemphasize negative stereotypes of aging,” which people tend to accept—even if unconsciously—to their detriment. Deadly Shopping Bags. Worldwide, it is estimated that every year more than 100,000 mammals, birds, and fish die as a result of eating or being suffocated by discarded plastic bags. In Australia alone, shoppers use 6.9 billion plastic shopping bags annually, an average of 360 bags for each shopper. Of these, an estimated 25 million plastic bags end up as litter. Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph reported late in 2002 that in order to reduce the carnage to animals, supermarkets in Australia would replace traditional plastic shopping bags with a biodegradable substitute. Although the new bags look and feel like plastic, they are made from tapioca starch and will decompose within three months. “They’re the first we’ve found here in Australia that are bio-degradable and whose cost is comparable to normal plastic bags,” says Paul Shenston, chairman of the environmental lobby group Planet Ark. A recent survey found that “81 per cent of shoppers ‘strongly agree’ that bio-degradable bags should be used.” Aspirin and Bypass Patients. “Giving patients aspirin in the first 48 hours after heart bypass surgery can greatly reduce their risk of death and serious complications involving the heart, brain, kidneys and digestive tract.” So says a study reported on in The New York Times. Those given aspirin had a death rate that was 67 percent lower than those not given it. The rate of strokes and heart attacks was reduced by half, the rate of kidney failure was 74 percent lower, and the rate of major intestinal-tract complications was cut by 62 percent. The study, though not a randomized controlled trial, examined 5,065 patients who were treated at 70 hospitals in 17 countries. In the past, surgeons generally did not allow patients to take aspirin for several days before surgery or right afterward, fearing that it would increase bleeding. However, the study showed that there were actually fewer incidents of bleeding in patients given the aspirin shortly after surgery and that small doses—as in baby aspirin—were sufficient. It is estimated that applying these findings might save some 27,000 lives worldwide each year.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 23:51:41 +0000