After the Keira Bell verdict
An English ruling on transgender teens could have global repercussions
Worries grow over treatments that can leave children sterile
I
N 2018 ANDREA DAVIDSON’S 12-year-old daughter, Meghan, announced she was “definitely a boy”. Ms Davidson says her child was never a tomboy but the family doctor congratulated her and asked what pronouns she had chosen, before writing a referral to the British Columbia Children’s Hospital (
BCCH). “We thought we were going to see a psychologist, but it was a nurse and a social worker,” says Ms Davidson (both her and her daughter’s names have been changed). “Within ten minutes they had offered our child Lupron” a puberty-blocking drug. “They brought up the drug directly with our child, in front of us, without discussing it with us privately first.” There was no mention of other mental-health issues, which are known to increase the likelihood of gender dysphoria, the feeling that you are in the wrong
In comparative terms, deaths from COVID-19 are currently about:
90% below annual fatalities from all causes.
7.7 times average annual fatalities from the flu.
70% above annual fatalities from accidents.
Although C-19 is a new disease and took its first reported life in the U.S. during late February, these comparisons may substantially overstate its deadliness. This is because fatalities from accidents, the flu, and other common causes of death occur in droves every year, and this is unlikely for C-19 because of the facts below.
Immunity
The primary reason why the flu kills tens of thousands of people every year is that the viruses that cause it mutate in ways that prevent humans from becoming immune to them. Per the Journal of Infectious Diseases, “All viruses mutate, but influenza remains highly unusual among infectious diseases” because it mutates very rapidly, and thus, “new vaccines are needed almost every year” to protect against it.
Type 2 diabetes diagnosis at a younger age may be associated with a higher risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease than getting diagnosed at an older age, new research suggests.
Each one-year increase in age of diabetes diagnosis was associated with a 4%, 3% and 5% lower risk of all-cause mortality, macrovascular (large blood vessels) disease, and microvascular (small blood vessels) disease respectively, adjusted for current age.
Researchers say rates of type 2 diabetes have increased in all age groups and in virtually all countries over the past three decades.
They add that a particularly worrying trend over this period was the increased rate of diabetes in those aged 20 to 44 years.
Study reveals the devastating impact and hidden danger of type 2 diabetes diagnosis in younger adults medicalxpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medicalxpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Type 2 diabetes diagnosis at a younger age may be associated with a higher risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease than getting diagnosed at an older age, new research suggests.
Each one-year increase in age of diabetes diagnosis was associated with a 4%, 3% and 5% lower risk of all-cause mortality, macrovascular (large blood vessels) disease, and microvascular (small blood vessels) disease respectively, adjusted for current age.
Researchers say rates of type 2 diabetes have increased in all age groups and in virtually all countries over the past three decades.
They add that a particularly worrying trend over this period was the increased rate of diabetes in those aged 20 to 44 years.