How economic recessions affect public health

Washington, September 1 (ANI): A new study suggests that mortality rates during economic recessions in developed countries decline rather than increase.

Publihsed in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the study also suggests that in poor countries where GDP per capita is less than 5,000 dollars, economic growth appears to improve health by increasing access to food, clean water, shelter, and basic health services.


The author points out that studies on wealthy countries show that greater national wealth does not equate with better health for its citizens.



Countries like Sweden, which have strong social safety nets and strong labour protection, see smaller changes in the health of its citizens during recessions.

Bezruchka says that studies have shown that unemployment can be bad for people’s health, yet smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and overeating decline during recessions with beneficial impacts on health.

Perhaps even more importantly, adds Bezruchka, when unemployment rates soar, people have more time for friends, family, and children.

That, according to him, results in lower mortality.


Older killer whales make for more successful mommies

Washington, Feb 3 (ANI): Older killer whales (Orcinus orca) nearing menopause are more successful in rearing their young, according to a study.

The research has shown that estimated survival rates for calves born to these older mothers were 10 percent higher than those for other calves.

For the research, Eric Ward from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, USA, and colleagues studied killer whales inhabiting the inland and nearshore waters of Washington state (USA) and British Columbia (Canada).

They used a 30-year dataset collected by the Center for Whale Research and Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans.


The study was aimed to investigate what benefits killer whales derive from the menopause.

One theory, termed the “attentive mother hypothesis”, is that giving birth to calves and then losing the ability to reproduce helps the mother to focus on bringing up her offspring, without wasting time and energy on further pregnancies.

The findings support the theory to an extent in that during a calf’s first year of life, having a mother who was nearing menopause increased chances of survival.

Ward said: “We found that the oldest mothers may also be the best mothers. Older females may be more successful in raising young because of maternal experience, or they may allocate more effort to their offspring relative to younger females”.

The study is published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Frontiers in Zoology. (ANI)