All of the articles this month relate to human health and well being, with the findings on mental health sure to be contentious.

• Most should know about the growing problem of myopia in children but the extent of it is still shocking. The epidemic is global and was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which lead children to spend more time indoors. Previous predictions of the incidence of myopia are doubling or tripling, leading governments to scramble for solutions. As the article notes, as this cohort ages, the high incidence rates and increased severity of myopia may lead to increased susceptibility to conditions like macular degeneration, making this a serious health issue.
• One health-related announcement that was viralled around the world is a new study claiming that sildenafil, the active ingredient of Viagra, appears to help prevent dementia. The claim is actually fairly modest, saying only that sildenafil is able to get into the blood vessels in the brain and hence improve blood flow. There’s no direct data yet on the drug’s effects on dementia patients but that study is sure to be coming.
• There’s a tussle going on in the developed world right now over whether or not the mental health crisis among the young have cultural roots, either being worsened by social media or the normalization of having a mental health condition. This article covers findings from a survey of college students to say that liberal students have worse mental health than moderate and conservative students. Furthermore, liberal female and non-binary students have the worst self-reported mental health. I won’t go into the editorializing about the causes but I will say that I am sympathetic to the view that to some extent mental health issues seem to be contagious. The more you talk about them and raise awareness about them, the more students will report that they suffer from such issues.
• Finally another paper claims that people’s satisfaction with their life correlates with their personality types, as classified under the Big Five domains. Emotional stability, extraversion and conscientiousness correlated with high life satisfaction while openness and agreeableness were not. These findings remained true across a span of ten years for individuals. This suggestion that life satisfaction is to some extent shaped by personality traits contradicts the belief that happiness is determined mainly by one’s lot in life.