Young women in England and Wales projected to have just one child by 35

Young women in England and Wales are likely to have just one child by the time they are 35, according to groundbreaking analysis of past and projected fertility trends by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Girls who turn 18 this year are projected to have an average of one child each by the age of 35 – unlike their mothers’ generation who had an average of one child per woman by the time they reached 31.Projections from the ONS suggest that the birthrate in England and Wales will continue to drop, with women having smaller families after having babies later in life than previous generations.Young women turning 18 this year are projected to have most of their children after turning 30 years old, in contrast to previous generations who had had most of their children by that age. Women born in 1978 had about half their children by the age of 30, while their mothers (born in 1951) had had three-quarters of their children

Study finds strongest evidence yet that shingles vaccine helps cut dementia risk

Researchers who tracked cases of dementia in Welsh adults have uncovered the strongest evidence yet that the shingles vaccination reduces the risk of developing the devastating brain disease.Health records of more than 280,000 older adults revealed that those who received a largely discontinued shingles vaccine called Zostavax were 20% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next seven years than those who went without.Pascal Geldsetzer, at Stanford University, said: “For the first time we are able to say much more confidently that the shingles vaccine causes a reduction in dementia risk. If this truly is a causal effect, we have a finding that’s of tremendous importance.”The researchers took advantage of a vaccination rollout that took place in Wales more than a decade ago

Patient satisfaction with NHS has hit record low of 21%, survey finds

Public satisfaction with the NHS is at a record low and dissatisfaction is at its highest, with the deepest discontent about A&E, GP and dental care.Just 21% of adults in Britain are satisfied with how the health service runs, down from 24% a year before, while 59% are dissatisfied, up from 52%, the latest annual survey of patients found.Satisfaction has fallen dramatically from the 70% recorded in 2010, the year the last Labour government left office, and the 60% found in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic.Mark Dayan, a policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust thinktank, which analysed the data alongside the King’s Fund, said the years since 2019 have seen “a startling collapse in NHS satisfaction.“It is by far the most dramatic loss of confidence in how the NHS runs that we have seen in 40 years of this survey

Lowering bad cholesterol may cut risk of dementia by 26%, study suggests

Lowering your levels of bad cholesterol could reduce the risk of dementia by 26%, a study suggests.People with low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in their blood have a lower overall risk of dementia, and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease specifically, according to research published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.Taking statins also provided an “additional protective effect” against the condition for those people with low levels of bad cholesterol, researchers found.The number of people living with dementia worldwide is forecast to nearly triple to 153 million by 2050, but evidence suggests almost half of cases could be prevented or delayed.LDL-C is often referred to as bad cholesterol and can cause plaque to build in arteries, leading to cardiovascular disease, which can increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks and death

If you’re over 70, protect yourself and ask for breast screening | Letter

The supplement in your print edition about breast screening (24 March) left out one very shocking fact. If you are over 70, then you are no longer called for breast screening. In my case, I lost my temper with my bra – the wire was digging in and making my right breast sore. I marched down to my local bra shop, where the lovely shop assistant asked me if I had had a scan recently. When I said “no” she suggested that I see my doctor

Norman Campbell obituary

My father, Norman Campbell, who has died aged 79, was among the leading cardiologists of his generation in Britain and Ireland. His intelligence and excellent clinical skills made him a highly respected physician. He described his work as “on occasion fascinating, at times difficult and demanding, sometimes with moments of near terror”.His whole career, save a formative period in the US, was spent at the Royal Victoria hospital (the “Royal”) in Belfast. His generation of health professionals cemented the city’s status as a world-leading centre of cardiac care and rehabilitation