Here are the top stories in health news this week from Yahoo News partners.
‘There is no doubt in my mind that these people are suffering.’
In recent years, some people who have been legally ostracized in the Netherlands have cited autism or intellectual disability as the sole or primary reason for not being able to lead a normal life.
The findings were. Published last month About 900 of the nearly 60,000 people who killed themselves between 2012 and 2021 analyzed documents released by the Dutch government’s Mortality Review Committee, according to researchers at Britain’s Kingston University.
Most of these 900 people were elderly and had diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s and ALS. But the group included five people under the age of 30 who “identified autism as the sole cause or major contributor to euthanasia,” according to the Associated Press. 30 of the men attributed loneliness to unbearable pain, while eight attributed their suffering to factors related to intellectual disability or autism – social isolation, lack of coping strategies or inability to adjust their thinking. He said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that these people are suffering,” said palliative care specialist Irene Tufry-Wijen, who led the study. But is society okay with sending this message that there is no other way to help them and it is better to die?
In the year In 2002, the Netherlands became the first country to legalize euthanasia. Other countries, including Belgium, Canada and Colombia, have adopted the practice, but the Netherlands is the only country “to share details of potentially controversial deaths,” according to the Associated Press.
A new law provides more ‘accommodation’ for pregnant and postpartum workers
The Fairness for Pregnant Workers Act took effect Tuesday, and 2.8 million pregnant and postpartum workers a year are expected to benefit from the policy change, according to NBC News.
The law, signed by President Biden in December, requires employers with at least 15 employees to provide “reasonable accommodation” to workers who need it. Examples of possible accommodations include flexible hours, parking, and “excessive activities and/or exposure to chemicals that are unsafe for pregnancy.” According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The new law does not guarantee paid parental leave, and employers can opt out of providing an accommodation if they can show that the accommodation would cause an “undue hardship” to their business.
Malaria has spread domestically in the US for the first time in 20 years.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention On Monday, the Health Alert Network issued a health advisory The Associated Press reports that the outbreak of malaria in Florida and Texas is the first domestically transmitted case in the United States in 20 years.
The CDC said there was no evidence that the cases in the two states were related. Florida Department of Health A statewide mosquito advisory has been issuedIn Sarasota County, on the state’s Gulf Coast, the first person was diagnosed in late May after four residents were treated and recovered. One case has been reported in Cameron County, Texas, located on the Gulf Coast in the southernmost part of the state.
Malaria is a parasite transmitted by the bite of Anopheles mosquitoes, not by human-to-human contact. Symptoms include fever, chills, sweating, nausea and vomiting, and headache. About 2,000 cases of malaria are reported in the U.S. each year, but most cases are among travelers from countries where malaria is endemic.
For ‘optimal’ results, children should read this several hours a week, research says
A study of more than 10,000 children in the US found that those who read for pleasure at a young age performed better in school and on mental health assessments during adolescence.
The study Published on Wednesday Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick in the UK and Fudan University in China compared children who read for fun before age 9 with children who started reading later or never. They got it That’s what he said. Children who started reading for pleasure showed better academic achievement and better scores on tests measuring verbal learning, memory and speech development at a young age.
They also slept longer and tended to use screens, and “had better mental well-being; He is showing fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as improved concentration, and fewer behavior problems such as aggression and rule breaking,” PA media reported.
“Reading is not only a pleasurable experience – it stimulates imagination and creativity, increases empathy and reduces stress.” Professor Barbara Sahakian Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge University. “However, we found significant evidence that it is associated with important developmental factors in children, improving their cognitive, mental health and brain structure, which are cornerstones of future learning and well-being.”
For “optimal” results, researchers have concluded that children should read for pleasure at least 12 hours per week.