Having divorced parents increases the risk of cancer and heart disease, experts warn

As Terman & Oden showed long ago, high IQ people divorce less.  High IQ helps them to make their marriages work.  So this is just another instance of lower class people having worse health

Having divorced parents increase your risk of cancer and heart disease, according to new research.

A broken home in childhood has been linked to raised inflammation in adulthood, that can lead to a host of illnesses including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Youngsters whose mother and father split up before they reached 16, regardless of whether they were married, had 16 per cent higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) at the age of 44.

CRP is found in the blood, and increased amounts are a sign of inflammation in the body, a known risk factor for disease.

The study is based on data from 7,462 people in the 1958 National Child Development Study, which has followed them since birth.

The University College London researchers also found that people with divorced parents were more likely to be less materially well off, and to achieve fewer educational qualifications.

They believe that this could explain the increase in inflammation.

Epidemiologist Dr Rebecca Lacey said: ‘Our study suggests it is not parental divorce or separation per se which increases the risk of later inflammation but that it is other social disadvantages, such as how well the child does in education, which are triggered by having experienced parental divorce which are important.’

She said the findings underline the importance of supporting separating families in order to help reduce the risk of later disease.

The study added that ‘pathways through education appear to be particularly important and supporting children through education may be beneficial’.

Previous research has found divorce can have a 'domino effect' triggering a string of reactions that knock a child down.

They are more likely to smoke, fall behind academically and in social skills, and be more susceptible to sickness.

There is also an increased likelihood of them dropping out of school and turning to crime, and a greater chance of them ending up getting divorced themselves.

A higher risk of stroke and premature death have also been linked to the emotional trauma of seeing your parents break up.

SOURCE






My God!  A politician who goes by evidence!

Britain: A proposed law to force firms to sell cigarettes in plain packets will be scrapped today.

Ministers have spent over a year considering the idea, which campaigners say is backed by a majority of MPs and the public.

But Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will tell Parliament there is not enough evidence it would have a significant impact.

It comes as the Home Office also prepares to scrap its planned ban on two-for-one drinks deals, another measure aimed at improving public health.

In Australia, the only country to adopt plain packaging, all cigarette packs are drab green, which research suggests non-smokers and young people find less appealing.

A Whitehall source said: ‘Only Australia has done it so far and they only did it at the end of last year. So it is not clear yet whether or not it would actually have any effect. It is very hard to tell, which is why it is being shelved for now.’

Smoking causes over 100,000 deaths a year in the UK. Last April, displaying cigarettes in supermarkets was banned, and this will be extended to all other shops from April 2015.

David Cameron supported plain packs at first, but the Government has cooled on the idea.

While health groups have called it a ‘golden opportunity’ to cut smoking-related disease, industry insiders say plain packs will lead to more counterfeit cigarettes and less tax revenue. Some Tory MPs condemned it as a ‘nanny state’ measure.

The Prime Minister has also abandoned a ban on multi-buy drink offers, such as two-for-one or supermarket ‘meal deals’ with free wine, amid fears it would affect responsible consumers rather than problem drinkers.

The Home Office is expected to shelve the idea next week along with plans for a minimum alcohol price per unit of 45p.  A Government source said the ideas were ‘dead and buried’.

Instead, selling alcohol below cost price, or the rate of duty plus VAT, will be banned – affecting only a handful of products.

SOURCE