Vienna – The abolition of “cold progression” is beginning to be reflected in the budget. So far this year, income tax has grown much more slowly than inflation. In addition, the implementation of the budget until the end of February is characterized by inflation-related additional payments, such as energy aid. The higher interest rates are also putting pressure on the budget. Overall, the development is negative compared to 2022.
03 avril 2023
Chronic stress exposes us to premature aging both physically and mentally. How to explain this phenomenon ?
In the event of stress, a sign of danger, we feel attacked. How does our body react when it encounters a stressful situation? “Faced with danger, the body triggers physiological reactions”underlines Pr Sébastien Grenier, psychologist and researcher at the University of Montreal.
For what reasons ? ‘Cause we’re suddenly gripped by a sense of “weak control and unpredictability” mixed with ” the novelty “. To which is added a certain “menace de l’ego”. And in response, the adrenal glands secrete a high concentration of cortisol, which is none other than the stress hormone. Cortisol which very quickly diffuses throughout the body to enable it to protect itself once morest the source of anxiety. At the same time, this hormone continues to invade the brain, specifically three areas: the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus and the amygdala.
Acceleration of cellular aging
When we are regularly and/or intensely exposed to this kind of feeling, the body and the psyche can suffer. “A phenomenon of acceleration of cellular aging is observed”, confirms Professor Grenier. As a result, we find ourselves overexposed to the risks “diseases associated with aging such as memory disorders, damage to the heart, immune, muscle and bone systems”.
This phenomenon is such that our DNA is even affected: at the end of our chromosomes, certain DNA sequences sensitive to the effect of stress are indeed destroyed when they are too exposed to this emotion. These same sequences therefore shorten over time, a sign of aging. Conversely, the longer these DNA sequences are, the more the subject is “in better health, both physically and cognitively” and the older he will live.
How do the body and the brain “talk”?
How do you know if your stress is getting overwhelming? Small point of reference: “Anxious people constantly live in the future, in anticipation of disasters”. The body also begins to “talk”, with “muscle and bone tensions, memory problems, concentration problems, increased forgetfulness”. as well as a trend “irritability, indecisiveness and low self-esteem”always emphasizes Professor Grenier.
On a physical level, you can endure “insomnia, fatigue, headaches and backaches or even heart palpitations, a feeling of shortness of breath and digestive disorders”.
And in terms of behavior? Increased and chronic stress can promote “social isolation, relationship difficulties, avoidance of anxiety-provoking situations, daily disorganization, agitation, aggressiveness [et/ou] excessive consumption of caffeine, tobacco or alcohol”.
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Source : University Institute of Geriatrics of Montreal, site consulted on March 28, 2023
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Written by : Laura Bourgault – Edited by: Vincent Roche
Slower consumption growth and challenging external conditions will lead to India’s growth slowing down to 6.3% in 2023-24, according to the World Bank, but the growth will remain resilient to external shocks. The World Bank revised its growth forecast downwards for the current year from 6.6% to 6.3% on Tuesday.
“Rising borrowing costs and slower income growth will weigh on private consumption growth, and government consumption is projected to grow at a slower pace due to the withdrawal of pandemic-related fiscal support measures,” the organisation said in its report.
It projects private consumption growth to decline to 6.9% in the current fiscal, compared to 8.7% in the previous year. The government consumption is expected to contract by 1.1%.
“Spillovers from recent developments in financial markets in the US and Europe pose a risk to short-term investment flows to emerging markets, including India,” said Dhruv Sharma, Senior Economist, World Bank, underscoring that the Indian banks were well capitalised.
The good and the bad:
– Growth to moderate further in the coming year
– Inflation outlook improves
– Current account deficit to narrow further
– Indian economy still resilient
The bank also revised its inflation forecast downwards and now projects headline inflation to decline to 5.2% in the current fiscal. Easing commodity prices and moderation of domestic demand will help keep the inflation under the Reserve Bank of India’s target band of 2-6%, according to the international organisation.
“The Reserve Bank of India has withdrawn accommodative measures to rein in inflation by hiking the policy interest rate,” the release noted.
Economists are pencilling in another 0.25 percentage point rate hike on April 6. The central bank has raised rates by a similar quantum in its February meeting to 6.5%.
The World Bank also revised its current account deficit forecast for 2023-24 downwards to 2.1% from 2.5% projected earlier.
“Notwithstanding external pressures, India’s service exports have continued to increase, and the current-account deficit is narrowing,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank’s Country Director in India.
India’s current account deficit narrowed sharply in the third quarter of 2022-23, data released by the government last week showed. The World Bank expects the current account deficit at 3% of GDP in 2022-23.
An ET poll of 14 economists had pegged the current account deficit at 2% for the current fiscal.
On the fiscal front, the World Bank projects debt-to-GDP ratio to stabilise on account of fiscal prudence on part of central and state governments. It projects debt-to-GDP ratio to slightly increase to 83.4% in 2023-24, from 83% in 2022-23.
“The central government is likely to meet its fiscal deficit target of 5.9 percent of GDP in 2023-24 and combined with consolidation in state government deficits, the general government deficit is also projected to decline,” it said.
The Citizen’s agreement on end of life has been meeting since September 2022 to decide on the legalization – or not – of euthanasia or assisted suicide. The conclusions were delivered on Sunday April 2, 2023. The citizens’ convention confirmed its position in favor of legalizing euthanasiaunder certain conditions of course.
“For a majority of citizens of the convention, access to active assistance in dying must be opened”, indicates the final report of the citizens’ convention. In total, 184 citizens were brought together in this Convention. They were called upon to give an opinion on a possible evolution of the Claeys-Leonetti law of 2016. This text allows caregivers to put under irreversible sedation of patients near deathwhose case is hopeless and the suffering intolerable.
However, this text does not go so far as to authorize a “active assistance in dying”that is to say an assisted suicide or an act of euthanasia.
The current end-of-life framework is currently not suitable
Nearly 200 citizens were drawn from among volunteers aged 18 to 87 to set up this Convention. They participated in several weekends of intense debates, and were brought to listen to different speakers, namely religious, caregivers, associations…
The French gathered within the framework of this Convention have in the majority considered that the current end-of-life framework was not appropriate. They also underline the concrete difficulties of access to an adequate supply of palliative care. As such, the Convention emphasizes the “alarming situation” of the French health system.
Emmanuel Macron in favor of a bill “by the end of the summer”
The debates lasted three months. This Monday, April 3, the members of the citizens’ convention met Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée for an act II. At the end of the meeting, the Head of State spokein favor of a bill “by the end of the summer”. “You have worked with rigor and with a respect, a consideration for each other, remarkable”, he recognized, believing that their work allowed “an additional step towards consensus”.
“We need to build a ten-year national plan for the management of pain and the development of palliative care, with the necessary investments”, he declared, acknowledging that the French support system for the end of life was “ill-suited” to current requirements.
The Convention established a long list of recommendations which will aim to develop palliative care and facilitate access to it.
The Order of Physicians considers this subject “extremely sensitive”
If the Head of State is in favor of this bill, this is not the case for the National Council of the Order of Physicians nowadays.
Invited by France Info on Sunday April 2, Jean-Marcel Mourgues, vice-president of the National Council of the Order of Physicians judges the subject of the end of life “extremely sensitiveHowever, according to the latter, “there is consensus on two points, in particular among associations in favor of an evolution of the law”: the specific conscience clause and the provision of means “for a real application” of the law Claeys-Leonetti, or “continuous sedation at a terminal stage of the disease”.