Health experts warn of 'falling baby' due to declining fertility rates

Overall fertility rates, which represent the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime, have declined since 1950 and in 91 countries they are no longer high enough to maintain population levels current.

The lowest rate of all is in Cyprus where, on average, women give birth to only one child throughout their lives.

Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute of Metrology and Health Assessment (IHME) of the University of Washington, said the statistics were evidence of a "recession" ".

He added that declining fertility rates were a consequence of the availability of reproductive health services and that many women chose to postpone or not have families to seek new work opportunities.

But in 104 other countries, the trend has reversed, with a growing population. Niger comfortably tops the list with a fertility rate of seven.

The figures come from the annual global burden of disease study, which also provides estimates for about 280 causes of death, 359 diseases and injuries, and 84 risk factors in 195 countries and territories worldwide.

Among the findings, more than half of the world's deaths in 2017 were caused by four risk factors: high blood pressure (10.4 million), smoking (7.1 million), hyperglycemia (6.5 million) and index high body mass (4.7 million).

Professor John Newton, director of health improvement at Public Health England and research associate, said the findings of this study provided vital information on how to ensure that the NHS would remain an effective service.

"The many health problems that weigh most heavily on the UK's health services are substantially avoidable, this is another reminder that prevention must be the centerpiece of any future plan to protect the health of the UK's health services. nation and the NHS, "he said. .

"It also shows that new challenges are constantly emerging and that we as individuals and governments can not take the health of the public for granted."