International health news

Faster scientific breakthroughs on autism will now be possible due to the Ontario Brain Institute making their data openly available. It is thought that this will prompt new questions from researchers all over the world and lead to more studies on autism being carried out.

The World Health Organisation has announced a new initiative to tackle the impact climate change has on health. They predict that 250,000 more deaths could be occurring because of climate change by 2050.

Country Updates

Health guidelines in the USA have been updated, changing the high blood pressure threshold from 140/90 to 130/80. The lower threshold means the percentage of US citizens who fall under the high blood pressure category has increased by 14%.

A global health forum ‘Reaching the last mile’ is to be held in Abu Dhabi. The health forum is aimed towards fighting the eradication of polio and guinea worm disease which the UAE has been contributing to since the 1970’s.

Health advice

Doctors are now advising pregnant women in their last trimester to sleep on their sides in order to avoid stillbirths. A large scale study was conducted in England that found the amount of stillbirths that occur yearly could decrease by 3.7% if pregnant women avoided sleeping on their backs.

With the winter season comes an increasing number of people contracting minor illnesses. Doctors are urging patients to visit their local pharmacist for common problems, as they are qualified to offer advice on health and wellbeing. This leaves GPs with more time to see to complex cases.