Poor sleep, menopause flare-ups: health in warmer world
Extreme heat is the world's biggest weather-related killer but it's also responsible for a host of other health and wellbeing niggles that are not as well understood.
Bad sleep, worse productivity and exacerbated menopausal symptoms are among common complaints during heatwaves.
University of Bristol climate change and health expert Eunice Lo has been looking beyond hospital and mortality data for deeper insights into the health and wellbeing implications of extremely hot, humid weather.
Using the world-renowned Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - a UK cohort who have been been filling out questionnaires since the 1990s - Dr Lo surveyed about 3400 participants about their experience during a seven-day heatwave in 2023.
Presenting the findings at an Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society conference in Cairns this week, she said many respondents experienced slightly poorer or much worse sleep than normal.
A clear drop-off in productivity was reported but mood was mixed, with some in higher spirits in the hot weather.
Others felt anxious and worried about the future in a warming climate.
Dr Lo was visiting Australia as parts of England faced fresh heat alerts and temperature forecasts above 30C, challenging conditions in a country with poorly ventilated buildings designed for cold weather.
Women were more likely to report negative impacts than men, especially those who were pregnant or experiencing menopause.
"It really highlights women-specific health issues or experiences that probably deserve a lot more research than what we currently do," Dr Lo told AAP.
Mothers and babies have been studied in the context of climate change, with the World Health Organization linking high temperatures to preterm birth and stillbirth as well as hypertension and gestational diabetes.
In 2024, climate change was responsible for adding about 10 extra days of heat extreme enough to be considered harmful for pregnant women in Australia, according to Climate Central.
Research continues to reveal links to climate change and and a range of worse health outcomes, including mental health concerns and more common and severe sleep apnea.
Climate change might also exacerbate eczema and lengthen pollen seasons in some Australian cities, in bad news for hay fever sufferers.
Dr Lo said Australia faced a host of unique climate challenges for health, including exposure to bushfire smoke.
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The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- The Advertiser
What's gambling cost? Advocates slam political inaction
Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Perth Now
What's gambling cost? Advocates slam political inaction
Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- News.com.au
Aussie girl Marleigh, 10, talks to A Current Affair about new blood donation rules
A 10-year old Australian girl who relies on blood donations to stay alive says she has a better chance at life from new rules that allow gay and bisexual men and transgender women to donate plasma. Mum Kate told A Current Affair her daughter Marleigh relies on blood donations because of an incurable condition that is potentially fatal and has no cure. Kate fought for years to have the rules changed in Australia that would allow more people to donate lifesaving plasma. Kate said Marleigh suffered seizures that lasted up to almost 40 hours and their gay male friends were heartbroken they could not donate blood when the young girl was at her sickest. 'Her immune system is wrongly identifying her healthy brain cells as foreign and attacking her brain,' she said. 'We have so many friends, particularly our gay male friends, who would love to donate for Marleigh. 'All they wanted to do was go and jump in a seat at Lifeblood and donate the blood.' According to Lifeblood, earlier rules prevented gay and bisexual men and transgender women from donating blood or plasma if they had sex with men in the past three months. Lifeblood will remove most sexual activity wait times for plasma donations from July 14, which means most people, and anyone who takes pre-exposure prophylaxis that meets other eligibility criteria, will be able to donate plasma. The lifesaving organisation expects an extra 24,000 Australians will be able to give about 95,000 donations of plasma each year. Lifeblood chief medical officer Jo Pink said with plasma now the donation type most needed by Australian patients, the change came at an important time. 'We're excited to be able to welcome more people from across the community into our donor centres from next month,' she said. Dr Pink said the Therapeutic Goods Administration was also in the process of approving their submission to remove gender-based sexual activity rules, which means all donors will be asked the same rules about their sexual activity. She said their submission to change rules for blood donation included data that showed a six month wait was the safest option for Australian patients. 'But we are committed to reviewing this as more evidence becomes available,' she said. 'There are many steps that Lifeblood needs to take before we can implement the new gender-neutral assessments, including working with state and territory governments to change the donor questionnaire. 'We hope to be able to implement this part of the changes next year. 'Blood safety is and always will be our top priority but we know the current donation rules have been very difficult for many people in the LGBTQIA+ community. 'While they were put in place to ensure a safe blood supply in the past, we know that they've contributed to the stigma faced by the community.' Health Equity Matters chief executive officer Dash Heath-Paynter said he welcomed this change that could unlock thousands of donations of lifesaving plasma. 'While there is still more work, the Therapeutic Goods Administration's approval for gender neutral assessments for blood donation is welcomed,' he said. 'In terms of plasma donations, these changes mean Australia's regulations are world-leading.' Kirby Institute head of global health program John Kaldor said Lifeblood had developed pragmatic and innovative new procedures for blood donations with scientific evidence that shifted societal expectations.
