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The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Women in poorest parts of England and Wales ‘will spend only two-thirds of life in good health'
Healthy life expectancy for females in the most deprived areas of England and Wales has fallen to the lowest level since recent records began, with those women now likely to spend only two-thirds of their lives in good health. Women living in wealthier parts of England are likely to enjoy about two more decades of healthy life, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has shown. Females born between 2020 and 2022 in the most deprived areas of England were likely to spend just 65.1% of their lives in good health, compared with 81.5% in the least deprived areas, the ONS found. The estimate for the most deprived areas is the lowest since the series began in 2013-15, when it stood at 66.3%. 'We have higher rates of ill health than ever before in this country, and that's disproportionately affecting women more than men,' said Emma Frew, a University of Birmingham health economics professor and a research professor at the National Institute for Health and Care Research. 'The impact of the cost of living crisis, the two-child cap on benefits – these disproportionately affect women more than men because it's women that tend to have more responsibility in the household, more responsibility for childcare. 'They contribute more to unpaid care, there are higher rates of mental health problems and high rates of domestic violence, which tends to focus on girls and women.' The inequality gap between men and women has grown, with males born in 2020-22 in the most deprived areas expected to spend 70.4% of their lives in good health, compared with 84.5% for those in the least deprived. The gap between richer and poorer areas has also widened for both genders – for females, it has grown from 19.6 years in 2013-15 to 20.2 years in 2020-22, while for males it has grown from 18.7 to 19.1. In Wales, females born in the most deprived areas in 2020-22 can expect to spend 61.5% of their lives in good health, the lowest since those estimates began in 2013-15. In the least deprived areas the figure stands at 80.7%. 'We're seeing increasing levels of poverty because of things like the cost of living crisis, which has pushed more households into food insecurity states,' Frew said. 'We think of ourselves as being quite a developed country, but there are parts of the country that have economic and health outcomes much more similar to developing countries.' Compared with the pre-coronavirus pandemic period of 2017-19, life expectancy at birth in England in 2020 to 2022 has decreased in the most deprived areas by 1.4 years for males, to 72.6 years, and by 1.1 years for females, to 77.7 years. 'We've got people who still have a similar level of life expectancy, but not healthy life expectancy. I think that's the key metric healthcare service and local authorities are really targeting, because it is not just getting people to live longer, but we need to get people to live healthier and longer,' Frew said. 'There needs to be a really concerted health and equality strategy that looks at those gender differences.'
South China Morning Post
26-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Former Hong Kong protester challenges travel ban in bid to study law
A former Hong Kong protester has lodged a judicial challenge against prison authorities' decision to bar him from studying law in the United Kingdom on national security grounds, even after he completed his prison sentence for offences committed during the 2019 anti-government unrest To Kai-wa on Wednesday sought a judicial review after the Correctional Services Department forbade him from leaving Hong Kong during his post-release supervision by citing his failure to 'demonstrate sincere remorse and reflection' or undergo 'full rehabilitation and deradicalisation '. The 28-year-old, who was not subject to a new legal restriction barring the early discharge of national security offenders, was released in October 2024 after serving two-thirds of his sentence. But he was placed under 22-month supervision and ordered not to leave the city without the approval of the department's supervision case review committee before the supervision period ended in August 2026. In January this year, the applicant asked for permission to travel after receiving a conditional offer to enrol in a law degree programme at the University of Birmingham.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
The key to getting vitamin D in winter without using supplements
A new study has found the key to maintaining vitamin D levels in winter. Regular, moderate-intensity exercise helps maintain crucial vitamin D levels during the darker months – even without weight loss or supplements. Researchers discovered that overweight and obese adults who participated in a 10-week indoor exercise programme during the darker months experienced significantly less decline in vitamin D compared to a non-exercising control group. This effect was observed even though participants' weight was deliberately kept stable, demonstrating that the benefit stems from the exercise itself, rather than weight loss or supplementation. The key to getting vitamin D in winter without using supplements Exercise completely preserved the body's active form of vitamin D, which plays a key role in supporting bone health, the immune system, and various organs. Previous studies suggest that vitamin D supplements alone do not help maintain this active form. The small-scale study was led by academics from the University of Bath, University of Birmingham and University of Cambridge. Lead author Dr Oly Perkin, from the University of Bath, said: 'This is the first study to show that exercise alone can protect against the winter dip in vitamin D. 'It's a powerful reminder that we still have lots to learn about how exercise benefits our health.' People who exercised saw a smaller drop in their overall vitamin D levels over winter of around 15%, compared with a 25% drop in those who did not exercise. Those who exercised kept healthy levels of the active form of vitamin D, which helps support the immune system and bone health. In the non-exercising group, levels of this active form fell by 15%. Weight was kept stable throughout the study, proving the effect was due to exercise, not weight loss. To ensure sunlight did not skew results, the study ran between October and April – when natural vitamin D production from sunlight is minimal in this part of the UK – and participants were asked to avoid supplements. A previous study from the team showed that a single workout can briefly boost vitamin D levels, but this is the first to show that regular cardio exercise can maintain basal circulating vitamin D levels and offer lasting protection during the winter months. Principal investigator Professor Dylan Thompson, from the University of Bath, said: 'Collectively, the findings from the VitaDEx project show that exercise increases the concentrations of vitamin D metabolites each time you are active and, on top of this, doing regular activity helps to maintain your basal resting levels of vitamin D during winter. 'This means exercise gives you a double benefit to your vitamin D, first in and around each exercise bout, and second through changing your baseline levels.' The study offers compelling evidence that exercise could be an effective winter vitamin D strategy, especially for those who are overweight or obese for whom vitamin D supplements are less effective. Liam Kilawee, who took part in the study, said: 'I was impressed on how thorough the process was and how the team engaged with me during research period. 'The results were pleasing as I could see that my actions had a positive reaction.' – The study, Exercise without Weight Loss Prevents Seasonal Decline in Vitamin D Metabolites: The VitaDEx Randomised Controlled Trial, is published in the journal Advanced Science.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
The number of oral sex partners that can raise your chance of lethal cancer almost 10-fold, according to experts - are you at risk?
People who have had oral sex with six or more partners in their lifetime are almost 10-times more likely to get throat cancer, a medic has warned. Dr Hisham Mehanna, an expert in cancer at the University of Birmingham, said seven in 10 throat cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). This normally harmless virus spreads through sexual contact and has been linked to causing changes in cells that can become cancer. Writing for The Conversation Dr Mehanna said: 'Over the past two decades, there has been a rapid increase in throat cancer in the West, to the extent that some have called it an epidemic.' 'This has been due to a large rise in a specific type of throat cancer called oropharyngeal cancer.' Oropharyngeal cancer is the most common type of throat cancer, appearing in the tonsils and back of the throat. Medics consider HPV infection to be the biggest risk factor for developing the disease, outpacing other potential causes like smoking, alcohol and an unhealthy diet. Dr Mehanna explained: 'The prevailing theory is that most of us catch HPV infections and are able to clear them completely.' 'However, a small number of people are not able to get rid of the infection, maybe due to a defect in a particular aspect of their immune system. 'In those patients, the virus is able to replicate continuously, and over time can cause cells to become cancerous.' Dr Mehann added that those with multiple oral sex partners are at increased risk of cancer of the throat and mouth. 'For oropharyngeal cancer, the main risk factor is the number of lifetime sexual partners, especially oral sex,' he said. 'Those with six or more lifetime oral-sex partners are 8.5 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer than those who do not practise oral sex.' In Britain, head and neck cancers — a category including throat cancer— are responsible for more than 12,000 cases of the disease and 4,000 deaths per year. In the US more than 50,000 cases of oral or oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed each year, causing more than 10,000 annual deaths. But data suggests rates are on the rise. Official data show there were 3,834 new cases of oropharyngeal cancer in England in 2019, a 47 per cent increase since 2013. Separate data show rates of head and neck cancer have surged by more than a third in Britain — with the trend being driven partly by younger patients being diagnosed. Data from the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) show a 60 per cent rise in cases among women and a 34 per cent rise in men aged 25 to 49, between 1993 and 2019. CRUK estimates 73 per cent of oropharyngeal cancer cases in the UK are caused by HPV. HPV is a common virus spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex with someone who is already infected. Around eight in 10 people will carry HPV in their body at some point, with around a third of the population infected at any one time, research suggests. There are over 150 types of HPV, but only about 12 can cause cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common high-risk strains that can cause oropharyngeal cancer. It isn't clear if oral sex performed on a woman is riskier in terms of HPV transmission than oral sex performed on a man. Research suggests the overwhelming majority of men (85.4 per cent) and women (83.2 per cent) perform oral sex during intimacy. A vaccine to protect against HPV is available and offered to children aged 12 to 13 in the UK. They are offered the vaccine at this age because the jab is considered to be most effective before someone becomes sexually active. However, it is still offered to older children if they missed out, as well as men who have sex with men as they are considered at greater risk of HPV. The HPV was later also offered to boys who have seen a similar decline in uptake But the latest data for England shows only about seven in 10 eligible children had the jab in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, a significant decline compared to previous years. This is despite research showing the roll-out of the jab helped cut cervical cancer rates among young women in Britain by 90 per cent. US research suggests the jab could also have help slash rates of head and neck cancers. A study involving 5million Americans found it halved rates of the disease in men. In 2013 Hollywood legend Michael Douglas revealed that his mouth cancer was caused by contracting HPV by performing oral sex. The Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct star, now 79, who is married to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, 54, was successfully treated and is still cancer free.
