Pancreatic Cancer Deaths Around The World
This data is from a web site called World Life Expectancy.
My son died at just 37 and if I can save one person’s family, from the same anguish, that I have suffered, it would have been worth it.
The data is World Health Organisation data from 2018, and the figures shown are as follows.
- Age adjusted death rate per 100,000 of the population
- World ranking
- Rating in the country of pancreatic cancer amongst all deaths.
The country name links to the data.
- Argentina – 7.78 – 31 – 16
- Armenia – 10.34 – 3 – 15
- Australia – 6.25 – 50 – 13
- Austria – 9.13 – 10 – 12
- Bangladesh – 0.77 – 176 – >50
- Barbados – 7.99 – 22 – 22
- Belgium – 7.34 – 38 – 12
- Bulgaria – 7.91 – 25 – 15
- Cambodia – 1.79 – 139 – 48
- Canada – 6.40 – 47 – 13
- China – 4.07 – 85 – 22
- Cote d’Ivoire – 3.81 – 88 – 48
- Croatia – 8.05 – 18 – 15
- Cyprus – 6.50 – 45 – 15
- Czech Republic – 9.89 – 5 – 14
- Denmark – 8.51 – 16 – 12
- Estonia – 9.26 – 6 – 15
- Ethiopia – 1.16 – 165 – >50
- Finland – 8.78 – 11 – 11
- France – 7.92 – 24 – 10
- Germany – 8.68 – 14 – 13
- Greece – 7.36 – 37 – 10
- Haiti – 2.99 – 107 – 42
- Hungary – 11.35 – 1 – 13
- Iceland – 9.21 – 7 – 10
- India – 1.63 – 146 – >50
- Iran – 2.28 – 128 – 27
- Iraq – 1.39 – 99 – 37
- Ireland – 6.83 – 40 – 14
- Israel – 9.18 – 8 – 12
- Italy – 7.41 – 36 – 10
- Japan – 8.74 – 12 – 10
- Laos – 1.15 – 167 – >50
- Latvia – 6.72 – 13 – 14
- Lithuania – 8.21 – 19 – 15
- Luxembourg – 8.15 – 20 – 12
- Malta – 10.01 – 4 – 11
- Netherlands – 8.38 – 17 – 11
- New Zealand – 5.69 – 53 – 15
- Niger – 1.77 – 142 – 50
- Nigeria – 2.30 – 120 – >50
- Norway – 7.78 – 30 – 11
- Pakistan – 0.51 – 182 – >50
- Russia – 7.86 – 29 – 20
- Slovakia – 9.17 – 9 – 14
- Slovenia – 8.55 – 15 – 12
- South Africa – 4.89 – 71 – 33
- South Korea – 6.75 – 42 – 15
- Spain – 6.32 – 49 – 11
- Sweden – 8.15 – 21 – 12
- Switzerland – 7.49 – 34 – 11
- United Kingdom – 6.55 – 44 – 14
- United States – 7.96 – 23 – 17
- Uruquay – 10.72 – 2 – 15
- Vietnam – 0.75 – 178 – 50
These are a few of my thoughts.
The Top Ten Countries
These are the top ten countries.
- Hungary
- Uruguay
- Armemia
- Malta
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Iceland
- Israel
- Slovakia
- Austria
The full list is on the World Life Expectancy web site.
From the top ten, it looks to me, that pancreatic cancer seems to be common in the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.
I also think there could be a Jewish connection.
In the history of Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire on Wikipedia, this is an extract, that talks about Jews around 1900.
In that period, the majority of Jews in Austria-Hungary lived in small towns (shtetls) in Galicia and rural areas in Hungary and Bohemia; however, they had large communities and even local majorities in the downtown districts of Vienna, Budapest and Prague. Of the pre-World War I military forces of the major European powers, the Austro-Hungarian army was almost alone in its regular promotion of Jews to positions of command. While the Jewish population of the lands of the Dual Monarchy was about five percent, Jews made up nearly eighteen percent of the reserve officer corps. Thanks to the modernity of the constitution and to the benevolence of emperor Franz Joseph, the Austrian Jews came to regard the era of Austria-Hungary as a golden era of their history.
That doesn’t sound like they were suffering large amounts of anti-semitism, as they had for a long time in the Baltic States and East Prussia, where my ancestor emigrated to England around 1800.
I need some help here from a Jewish historian.
But the statistics and geography are indicating to me, that Jews from the Austro-Hungarian Empire could have chosen to emigate through the Balkans to Palestine, when they saw the way the tide was turning after World War One.
I know a bit about life in Palestine in the 1930s, because at one period of my life, my next-door neighbour was a retired British Officer, who was stationed in the country. He was actually in the King David Hotel, when it was blown up. Charles is long-dead now, but I wished I’d recorded his memories, as in today’s Middle East climate, they would be an unusual insight.
But why Iceland, Malta and Uruguay?
Ireland And The United Kingdom
As could be expected, Ireland and the United Kingdom are fairly close together in the table; at 40 and 44 respectively.
- Just men and the positions are 49 and 51.
- Just women and it’s 37 and 42.
In the tables, Canada and Australia are just below the United Kingdom, with New Zealand a few places further down.
Cambodia, Laos And Vietnam
To a coeliac like me, Cambodia is interesting, as they are reckoned to have the most gluten-free cuisine in the world.
But these three countries, are all in the bottom third of the table, along with some other major countries, whose food has a lot of rice; Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand.
I know gluten affects my health, but if your diet contains little gluten, does that lower, your chance of getting pancreatic cancer?
1-in-11,000 Chance Of Contracting COVID-19 On Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
That looks like a chance I’ll take!
Coeliac Disease And Sex Of The Sufferer
This page on the NHS web site is an overview of coeliac disease.
Under Who’s Affected, this is said.
Coeliac disease is a condition that affects at least 1 in every 100 people in the UK.
But some experts think this may be underestimated because milder cases may go undiagnosed or be misdiagnosed as other digestive conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Reported cases of coeliac disease are around 3 times higher in women than men.
It can develop at any age, although symptoms are most likely to develop:
during early childhood – between 8 and 12 months old, although it may take several years before a correct diagnosis is made
in later adulthood – between 40 and 60 years of age
People with certain conditions, including type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroid disease, Down’s syndrome and Turner syndrome, have an increased risk of getting coeliac disease.First-degree relatives (parents, brothers, sisters and children) of people with coeliac disease are also at increased risk of developing the condition.
The page is fairly definite, that women are three times more likely to be coeliac than men!
Scaled Back Hajj Pilgrimage Due To Start In Saudi Arabia
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
Quite frankly, I was very surprised, when I heard this news on the BBC.
I thought, the Hajj would have been cancelled and not just scaled back.
In the past, I have had vicars as friends and I have talked to devout Orthodox Jews, and we have discussed serious moral dilemmas.
I can remember some from both groups saying, that your health always comes first.
In the current pandemic, the Church of England and prominent Jews like the Chief Rabbi have behaved with ultra-caution.
So where is this caution from the Muslim religious leaders?
I hope the Government and other political leaders, are giving them the truth, as they are endangering us all!
Option Enables SWR To Expand Class 701 Fleet
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on Rail Business UK.
Currently. South Western Railway (SWR) has the following Class 701 trains on order from Bombardier.
- 60 x ten-car trains
- 30 x five-car trains
They also had an option for two more ten-car trains.
This has been increased to five trains.
At least one train company, thinks it’s worth investing in more trains despite COVID-19!
The Spanish COVID-19 Outbreak Must Be Serious
I am watching BBC Breakfast and they are reporting the new outbreaks of COVID-19 in Spain.
It must be serious, as the BBC featured an interview with the Chief Medical Enforcer; Jonathan Van-Tam.
This doctor of Vietnamese heritage, who was raised in Boston in Lincolnshire, has surely been one of the heroes and most trusted voices in the fight against the pandemic.
Coronavirus: Protein Treatment Trial ‘A Breakthrough’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the first three paragraphs of the article.
The preliminary results of a clinical trial suggest a new treatment for Covid-19 reduces the number of patients needing intensive care, according to the UK company that developed it.
The treatment from Southampton-based biotech Synairgen uses a protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it gets a viral infection.
The protein is inhaled directly into the lungs of patients with coronavirus, using a nebuliser, in the hope that it will stimulate an immune response.
I first heard of Synairgen about five months ago, when I read about the company in the Sunday Times. It was only a few words, but it did say, that they were developing an inhaled beta interferon for use by Covid-19 patients or those with lung problems.
I should say, that I know about inhaled pharmaceuticals. Not because, I’ve ever used any, but because I funded the development of a very successful metered-dose inhaler for asthma drugs.
Two inventors; Stephen Dunne and Terry Weston came to me looking for finance to complete the development of an aerosol value, that instead of using CFCs or HCFCs as a propellant, used purified air. In fact it was pure nitrogen, but the average user of a deodorant or fly-spray doesn’t know that nitrogen is a constituent of air and thinks it’s posionous.
We formed a company called Dunne Miller Weston or DMW.
It was a technical success and the company’s MP; John Gummer, took details of the breakthrough to the conference that resulted in the Montreal Protocol.
The device and the associated patents were sold to Johnson & Johnson.
The two inventors had other ideas and one was for a metered dose inhaler for asthma drugs.
I remember that they were able to get a grant from Glaxo to prove the concept of the device.
Because, the full development would need more money, we now had a fourth partner; Mike.
I remember going with Mike to see Glaxo and we were unable to reach agreement on how Glaxo would contribute to the full development. They tended to give out these grants and I got the impression, that ours was one of the first to get a positive result and they didn’t know how to handle it.
But, it didn’t matter, as we were able to raise the funding from elsewhere and develop a successful device.
This was sold to Boehringer Ingelheim for a lot of money and all investors were very satisfied. Their product name is Respimat.
Glaxo carried on using an HCFC device.
I earned a reasonable about of money from my investment, but I also learned a lot about pharmaceuticals.
- At the time, New Zealand had the highest level of asthma inhaler use in the world.
- Pharmaceutical companies are very conservative.
- Doctors tend to give out inhalers like toys.
- Naked flames are a big cause of asthma.
But the most important knowledge I acquired was over a drink with an engineer in a pharmaceutical company, that the fine spray we obtained with our device would have lots of medical applications, including delivery of insulin for diabetics. We’d already had very good feedback, from test users in Germany.
Some other applications are stored in my brain. One could be a very big seller in the modern world!
So when I saw the report in The Sunday Times, I bought a few shares in Synairgen.
I have been well-rewarded today!
Should The NHS Adopt A Whack-A-Coeliac Policy?
The Wikipedia entry for Whac-a-Mole, says this about the colloquial use of the name of an arcade game.
In late June 2020, Boris Johnson based the UK’s COVID-19 strategy on the game.
Because of the high number of diagnosed coeliacs in the Cambridge area, I believe that I was diagnosed to be coeliac, by possible use of a Whack-a-Coeliac policy at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, in the last years of the Twentieth Century.
- I was suffering from low B12 levels and my GP sent me to the hospital to see a consultant.
- It was only a quick visit and all I remember, is the speed with which the nurse took my blood.
- A couple of days later, I received a letter from the hospital, saying it was likely I was a coeliac and it would be confirmed by an endoscopy.
- A point to note, is that I had my endoscopy with just a throat spray and this must have increased the efficiency and throughput and reduced the cost of the procedure.
The only way, I could have been diagnosed so quickly would have been through an analysis of my genes and blood. But I was never told, what method was used.
I have a few further thoughts.
My Health Since Diagnosis
It has undoubtedly improved.
Cancer And Diagnosed Coeliacs On A Gluten-Free Diet
Joe West of Nottingham University has shown, that diagnosed coeliacs on a gluten-free diet have a 25% lower risk of cancer compared to the general population.
That is certainly a collateral benefit of being a coeliac. But is it being a coeliac or the diet?
I’m no medic, but could the reason be, that diagnosed coeliacs on a gluten-free diet have a strong immune system?
Coeliac Disease Is A Many-Headed Hydra
I have heard a doctor describe coeliac disease or gluten-sensitivity as a many-headed hydra, as it can turn up in so many other illnesses.
Type “coeliac disease many-headed hydra” into Google and this article on the NCBI , which is entitled Gluten Sensitivity: A Many Headed Hydra, is the first of many.
This is the sub-title of the article.
Heightened responsiveness to gluten is not confined to the gut
My son; George was an undiagnosed coeliac, who had a poor diet consisting mostly of Subways, cigarettes and high-strength cannabis. He died at just thirty-seven of pancreatic cancer.
Did George have a poor immune system, which was useless at fighting the cancer?
Undiagnosed Coeliac Disease In The Over-Sixty-Fives
In A Thought On Deaths Of The Elderly From Covid-19, I used data from Age UK and Coeliac UK to estimate the number of coeliacs in the UK over the age of sixty-five. I said this.
Age UK has a figure of twelve million who are over 65 in the UK. If 1-in-100 in the UK are coeliac, that is 120,000 coeliacs over 65.
But some research shows that the number of coeliacs can be as high as 1-in-50.
If that 120,000 were all diagnosed, I would have several coeliacs amongst my over-65 friends. I have just one and she is self-diagnosed.
Are all these undiagnosed coeliacs out there, easy targets for diseases like cancer and COVID-19?
The Ease Of Testing For Coeliac Disease
I was worried that my granddaughter was coeliac and I asked my GP, how difficult a test is to perform.
He said, that a genetic test is usually quick and correct and only a few borderline cases need to be referred to a consultant.
Diagnosis has moved on a lot in twenty years.
Cambridge, Oxford and Covid-19
Six weeks ago I wrote Oxford And Cambridge Compared On COVID-19, to try to find out why the number of Covid-19 cases are so much lower in Cambridge than Oxford.
Checking today, the rate of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents is as follows.
- Cambridge 336.6
- Oxford 449
So why the difference?
In the related post, this was my explanation.
Is the large number of diagnosed coeliacs around Cambridge, the reason the area has a lower COVID-19 rate than Oxford?
It sounds a long shot, but it could be a vindication of a possible Whack-a-Coeliac policy at Addenbrooke’s in the last years of the Twentieth Century.
Or were the hospital testing the genetic test for coeliac disease? Perhaps, in conjunction with Cambridge University and/or the Sanger Centre.
Conclusion
I believe the NHS should seriously look at a Whack-a-Coeliac policy!
- The health of a large number of people would improve.
- There would be less cancer in the UK.
- A better combined National Immune System might help in our fight against the next virus to follow COVID-19.
It would be a very simple testing program, that would be mainly in the hands of the GPs, their nurses and the testing laboratories.
Japan A ‘Very Interesting Market’ For Gore Street As It Becomes An ‘Enabler’ Of JXTG’s Transition
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Solar Power Portal.
This is the introductory paragraph.
London Stock Exchange-listed energy storage fund Gore Street has outlined how it sees Japan as a “very interesting market” following its investment from JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation.
I like Gore Street’s philosophy and its execution.
I am not an investor and probably never will be, but they seem to be based on sound principles and do their modelling well. I’ve built enough large financial models to know a good one from its results.
Gore Street is normally investing in lithium-ion batteries.
- These batteries now have a predictable reliability profile and I suspect cash-flow from owning a battery is fairly predictable.
- The control and monitoring software will get better as time goes by and these batteries will probably update themselves automatically.
- They probably aren’t that affected by COVID-19, as lockdown still needs energy to be balanced and these batteries are probably performing as normal.
- The heat of the last few weeks probably caused more grief than COVID-19.
- If a site visit is necessary, they can probably be done with one man in a van with a key to the security system. So maintenance is probably easy to do, whilst maintaining social distance.
I also liked this paragraph from the article.
, Gore Street Capital CEO, Alex O’Cinneide, said that the fact that the deregulation of the Japanese market over the next few years makes it of interest to the company, alongside it having the same characteristics of the UK in terms of the decommissioning of coal, nuclear and gas and increasing levels of renewables.
Could Gore Street Energy Fund, be a safe investment for today’s difficult times?
Coeliac Disease: Can We Avert The Impending Epidemic In India?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this peer-reviewed paper on the Indian Journal Of Research Medicine.
With the high levels of COVID-19 in Leicester and people with an Indian heritage making up 28.3 % of the population of the city, I was searching the internet to see if there was any connection between those of Indian heritage and coeliac disease.
I know you should not try to prove a theory. But as a coeliac, I’m very interested to see how the millions of diagnosed coeliacs on a gluten-free diet like me, are faring in this pandemic.
These are some extracts from the paper.
Prevalence Of Coeliac Disease In Northern India
Coeliac disease was recognized in northern India, primarily in children, since the 1960s. A community-based study in Ludhiana that involved a step-wise approach to case detection and diagnosis estimated that celiac disease prevalence in this city was at least 1 in 310 individuals. Hospital-based studies examining a general paediatric patient population suggest a prevalence of 1 per cent.
One per cent is a high figure.
Diet And Coeliac Disease
The other variable is that cereal consumption patterns are very different between north and south India, although there has been a recent change in these patterns particularly in urban areas. In south India, rice is the primary cereal consumed in the diet. In the Indian sub-continent, wheat consumption is high in Pakistan and in the States of north India, which also constitute the coeliac belt of India.
It’s fascinating how two parts of the same country can be so different.
Introducing Babies To Gluten
The time of first exposure to wheat influences the development of celiac disease. In countries such as Finland, Estonia, and Denmark, characterized by low gluten consumption in infancy, celiac disease prevalence is much lower than in Sweden where gluten consumption is high in infancy. A natural experiment occurred in Sweden about two decades ago when national recommendations were made to introduce wheat into the diet after cessation of breast feeding at six months. This change was coupled with increased wheat gluten consumption through infant feeds. Together these measures resulted in a two-fold increase in incidence of celiac disease in Sweden, which was attributed to introduction of wheat into the diet after cessation of breast feeding. In 1996 this recommendation was changed to introduce gluten in gradually increasing amounts while the infant was still being breast fed. This led to a dramatic decrease in celiac disease incidence.
We used a Baby Mouli with our three and they all got what we ate, through a sieve.
All Wheats Are Not Equal
The other dimension to this problem is that not all wheat is alike when it comes to inducing celiac disease. The ancient or diploid wheats (e.g. Triticum monococcum) are poorly antigenic, while the modern hexaploid wheats e.g. Triticum aestivum) have highly antigenic glutens, more capable of inducing celiac disease in India, for centuries, grew diploid and later tetraploid wheat which is less antigenic, while hexaploid wheat used in making bread is recently introduced. Thus a change back to older varieties of wheat may have public health consequences.
I’ve read somewhere before that high-gluten wheats could have been the reason that bubonic plague came back.
Public Health Recommendations
Public health authorities may well want to examine both these avenues, i.e. infant feeding recommendations and wheat varieties cultivated in the country, for opportunities to avert the epidemic of celiac disease which is impending in our country.
I’ll agree with that! And the recommendations should be carried forward in the UK.
Conclusion
I have found this medical paper fascinating.
I can’t resist looking up the rates of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the countries mentioned.
- Denmark 12751 – 6.80 million – 187.5
- Estonia – 1947 – 1.32 million – 147.3
- Finland – 7190 – 5.52 million – 130.2
- Sweden – 65137 – 10.3 million – 632.4
- United Kingdom – 311965 – 66.5 million – 469.1
- United States – 2593169 – 326.7 million – 793
Note.
- The first figure is the number of lab confirmed cases from Wikipedia
- The second figure is the population.
- The third figure is the rate of lab-confirmed cases per 100.000 of the population
I have left India out as their number of tests seems extremely low.
Note how the three countries, that have fed their children on a low-gluten diet are top of the table, with the lowest rates of lab-confirmed cases.
I have said it before and I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face. Undiagnosed coeliac disease may have something to do with this pandemic and someone should investigate it properly.
Thoughts On The Outbreak In Leicester
I have heard reports that those found positive in Leicester live in a poor area and they tend to be younger.
Could it be that in their new country, they were introduced to gluten too early, because it’s easier to give gluten than proper food? Especially, where some roads in this country, are lined with scores of fast food shops selling gluten-rich junk food.
What do I know? I’m just an engineer and a coeliac who has a good nose for problems!
But please someone! Research the connection between undiagnosed coeliac disease and COVID-19!
My son; George was an undiagnosed coeliac with a gluten-rich and smokey lifestyle. He died at just 37 from pancreatic cancer.
Did he have a poor immune system, which meant he couldn’t fight the cancer? One expert on cancer from Liverpool University said, “Yes!”
The Anonymous Widower 