Americans are dying young at alarming rates

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/theres-something-terribly-wrong-americans-are-dying-young-at-alarming-rates/2019/11/25/d88b28ec-0d6a-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html

by vo2maxer • 7 years ago

28 14 7 years ago

washingtonpost.com

vo2maxer2• 7 years ago

“US life expectancy has not kept pace with that of other wealthy countries and is now decreasing.” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2756187

sodosopa• 7 years ago

mainly because of drug and substance abuse and suicide. Highlights the need for mental health treatment and perhaps more education around the perils of self medicating.

taylodl• 7 years ago

What's driving drug and substance abuse and suicide in the United States? Why is our mental health so poor? I think there's root causes to these questions and I think they point to our extreme income inequalities.

algaeontoast2• 7 years ago

Are Americans on average more successful at their first attempt of suicide? (obviously firearms play a part in this)

downerending2• 7 years ago

Read the JAMA article here, rather than the dumbed-down summary: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2756187?gu...

There are lots of interesting details. Notably, the increases are mostly in the male population.

vo2maxer2• 7 years ago

Why not read both? The WaPo article links to the JAMA report and also to previous ones. It also elicits some comments from other researchers in the field. I am curious why you’re adding “dumbed-down” to “summary.” In addition, in the first comment, I quoted from the original report and inserted a link.

downerending2• 7 years ago

Partly because the WaPo article is behind a paywall. But mostly because journalists' glosses of scientific articles tend to be mediocre at best, and usually far worse. These days especially, it's important to go to the source.

Perenti• 7 years ago

Surely the smoking gun (or elephant in the room) is that medical care and medical insurance are very expensive in the USA, whilst other developed nations are adopting universal healthcare?

kube-system2• 7 years ago

I’m not sure if the lack of universal healthcare is a cause or a symptom of the problem.

As the article points out, people are engaging in more self destructive behaviors. These behaviors are much more influenced by social and cultural support systems than anything else.

algaeontoast2• 7 years ago

I wonder if binge drinking culture is a factor here?

Americans are dying young at alarming rates

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