May

The premise that aging is an important health care cost driver is tackled in the latest issue of the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) Mythbusters series, entitled “Myth: The aging population is to blame for uncontrollable health care costs.” 

I remember as a child being fascinated with a brochure the school gave us to bring home to our parents—it was an Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) brochure. I was shock­ed and amused at how much my body parts were worth if I lost them in an accident. Today as an insurance advisor, I still think that the sound of AD&D is somewhat macabre, but I also see there is a definite place for this benefit in many families’ insurance portfolio.

An individual’s blood and the level of a hormone in their spit could reveal if they are on the point of burnout, according to researchers at the University of Montreal. 

Researchers hypothesized that healthy workers with chronic stress and with mild burnout symptoms would have worse physiological dysregulations and lower cortisol levels. Cortisol levels are often high in people suffering from depression, and tend to be low in cases of burnout. 

Dr Mary Conley of Victoria, BC, has won the 2011 Reproductive Health Award from the Federation of Medical Women of Canada (www.fmwc.ca/index.php).

Dr Conley spent her career as a family doctor, teacher, abortion provid­er, and pro-choice activist. Originally from New Brunswick, she graduated with an honors degree from UNB and an MD from UBC. She received her training for performing abortions while interning at the Ottawa Civic Hospital In 1975. 

The number of people around the world who suffer from blindness is decreasing, according to new figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to new WHO estimates, 39 million people are blind, down from 45 million in 2000, and 246 million have significant visual impairment, down from 314 million in 2000.