IN THE KNOW

32 WELLNESS FOR ALL

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By JOLENE LIMUCO

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CHIN UP, SINGAPORE!

More than one in 10 people in Singapore will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime, said the Singapore Mental Health Study which surveyed 6,616 people between 2009 and 2011.

The study, funded by the Singapore Millennium Foundation and the Ministry of Health, found that the most common mental illness is depression. This is followed by alcohol abuse and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Depression will affect 6.3 per cent of

the Singapore population at some stage of their life. Interestingly, Singapore has the highest rate for OCD in the world at 3 per cent of the population. In the United States, 2.3 per cent of the population has OCD, while 1.1 per cent of the population in Europe has the condition.

The disease itself is affected by both genetic and environmental factors such as developmental upbringing and illness.

According to a study conducted by KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School between November 2010 and March 2011, a woman who experiences bleeding early in her pregnancy is at risk of having a miscarriage. But that risk increases if she’s older, has a previous history of miscarriage or a low blood progesterone (hormonal) level during pregnancy. The study also found that men above the age of 40 add to an eight-fold risk of miscarriage in their partners, and a mother more than 34 years old is twice more likely to miscarry.

Lead researcher of the study, Assistant Professor Tan Thiam Chye said that the findings show that the biological clock not only ticks in women, but in men as well.

Mental illness alert

The  verdict  is  out.  Baby  boomers  —  those  born  between  1946  and  1964  —  are  the  happiest  people  in  Singapore.  This  is  according  to  a  survey  conducted  between  December  2011  and  March  2012  by  integrated  marketing  communications  agency,  Grey  Singapore.

However,  the  study  also  found  that  the  overall  happiness  levels  among  Singaporeans  fell  by  8.3  per  cent  to  44.5  per  cent  compared  to  last  year’s  figure,  

while  the  number  of  unhappy  Singaporeans  went  up  to  25.3  per  cent  from  20.1  per  cent.  

The  survey,  which  gathered  responses  from  1,000  Singaporeans  aged  between  17  and  60,  showed  that  money  and  confidence  in  the  economy  are  what  make  people  unhappy.  Inversely,  the  top  things  that  Singaporeans  are  happy  about  include  their  neighbourhood,  closeness  to  their  families  and  religious  beliefs.  

Time check

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S: Getty Im

ages, Istockphoto

Jul-Sep 33

Fewer  kids  in  Singapore  are  short-­‐sighted,  the  results  of  a  six-­‐year  study  done  by  the  Health  Promotion  Board  (HPB)  has  shown.  The  study  found  a  5  per  cent  

drop  in  the  number  of  children  who  have  to  wear  prescription  

glasses.  About  20,000  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  12  were  screened  for  this  survey  

which  found  that  while  38  per  cent  of  children  were  diagnosed  with  myopia  in  2004,  the  number  dropped  to  33  per  cent  in  2009.  Singapore  has  one  of  the  world’s  highest  rates  of  myopia  where  65  per  cent  of  children  aged  12  are  short-­‐sighted.  Comparatively,  the  rate  is  40  per  cent  of  children  in  China,  and  12  per  cent  of  children  in  Australia.  

To  improve  short-­‐sightedness,  HPB  recommends  that  children  spend  more  time  outdoors  and  take  breaks  from  looking  at  the  computer  after  long  stretches  of  time.  

Scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) are now a step closer to finding the cure for dengue, which may be available in the next six to eight years. The research team, led by Associate Professor Paul Macary of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine’s department of microbiology, has recently discovered a new antibody that can neutralise and kill the dengue virus at a much faster rate than existing anti-dengue compounds. They have also identified a way to reproduce this antibody in large quantities.

The antibody works by attaching itself to the dengue virus and preventing it from attacking other cells in the body. The research team discovered the effectiveness of the anti-body after a two-year study on 200 patients who had recovered from the infectious disease.

Assoc Prof Macary says that this discovery is currently the best therapy that exists for dengue. There is currently no specific medicine or antibiotic for the virus, and a person infected with it may take days to fully recover.

However, the antibody that the researchers discovered only targets serotype one of the dengue virus, which accounts for up to 50 per cent of dengue cases in Southeast Asia. The virus has four serotypes, with serotype two being the most common in Singapore.

BUZZ OFF

A CLEARER VIEW

A new study provides a long sought-after explanation for the fat-fighting effects of black pepper. The research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in April 2012, found that piperine — the pungent-tasting substance that gives black pepper its characteristic taste — can block the formation of new fat cells.

Dr Soo-Jong Um and colleagues from Sejong University in Seoul are of the opinion that piperine reduces fat levels in the bloodstream and has other beneficial health effects. According to the researchers, black pepper and the black pepper plant have been used for centuries in traditional Eastern medicine to treat gastrointestinal distress, pain, inflammation and other disorders. Despite that long medicinal history, scientists know little about how piperine works on the innermost molecular level.

Their laboratory study and computer models found that piperine interferes with the activity of genes that control the formation of new fat cells. In doing so, piperine may also set off a metabolic chain reaction that helps keep fat in check in other ways.

Pepper your diet with this