A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline • Hacker News Board

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#91

Post by tenpies » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:20 PM UTC

lordnacho wrote: post #11

Speculation: - People have become more aware of the risk factors, and behave accordingly. Awareness would be connected to prevalence but have a lagged effect. - Deadly diseases cause evolutionary responses. Perhaps a disproportionate number of people with predisposition to these illnesses passed away before having offspring. - Reporting bias? While an illness looms large in the minds of the medical community, doctors…

> People have become more aware of the risk factors, and behave accordingly.

I wonder how this could be properly measured. My impression based on rising obesity rates and decrease in overall physical activity levels is that we are terrible at making sacrifices in the present for our future self.

Sure, we all avoid trans-fats, leaded fuel, and other similar choices; but all of these are largely forced on the entire population.

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#92

Post by taneq » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:22 PM UTC

illumin8 wrote: post #80

autokad wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

stomach cancer was spiked due to h-pylori. water treatments put a huge dent in that

A comment like this could be very insightful, but you didn't mention what h-pylori is, or why water treatments help reduce it.

It's the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers.

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#93

Post by taneq » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:24 PM UTC

sukilot wrote: post #32

DanBC wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When smokers give up smoking they start to clear their lungs. They cough up phlegm. many people swallow that, not spit it out. That increases risk of mouth, throat, stomach, bladder, and penis cancer. Tobacco is already pretty harmful. > Chew is full of fiberglass No, it isn't.

Why don't active smokers cough up phlegm?

Don't they? What then is the origin of the term, "smoker's cough"?

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#94

Post by dmix » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:26 PM UTC

Better home food (popularity of brown bread vs white bread), better take out food (not just McDonald's and diners anymore), and more indoor working conditions (less exposure to pollution) likely play a big part.

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#95

Post by Swizec » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:34 PM UTC

tlrobinson wrote: post #50

lordnacho wrote: post #11

Speculation: - People have become more aware of the risk factors, and behave accordingly. Awareness would be connected to prevalence but have a lagged effect. - Deadly diseases cause evolutionary responses. Perhaps a disproportionate number of people with predisposition to these illnesses passed away before having offspring. - Reporting bias? While an illness looms large in the minds of the medical community, doctors…

I don't think you'd see any significant evolutionary responses in the timeframes the article is talking about (<100 years or 4 generations)

Haven't studies shown that high stress (like concentration camp) has immediate effect on next generation's DNA? That would indicate that it's at least potentially possible for evolutionary adaptation to work pretty fast.

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#96

Post by Chinjut » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:35 PM UTC

illumin8 wrote: post #80

autokad wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

stomach cancer was spiked due to h-pylori. water treatments put a huge dent in that

A comment like this could be very insightful, but you didn't mention what h-pylori is, or why water treatments help reduce it.

It was mentioned in the article: "H. pylori, the bacteria that can cause stomach cancer"

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#97

Post by nxzero » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:38 PM UTC

codecamper wrote: post #90

I wonder if all the benefits may be coming from people having kids later in life. You'd think this would lead to more disease, but maybe we are actually evolving to be longer living and the kids later in life is what is causing it.

Research does show that having kids is correlated to having a longer life expectancy:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/iage/201410/having-chil...

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#98

Post by ekianjo » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:51 PM UTC

JacksonGariety wrote: post #61

SCAQTony wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is never one thing; your lead assessment is probably a serious contender among other pollutants. Then there is better hygiene via food handlers, stiffer USDA rules, cleaner water, less smoking and second hand smoke, more people exercising too.

Smoking rates are only decreasing in developed nations. Globally it's increasing by ~1% each year.

> Smoking rates are only decreasing in developed nations.

Except Japan when selling tobacco is still a very healthy business and there is no cancer prevention whatsoever. Lobby has been super effective down here.

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#99

Post by ekianjo » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:55 PM UTC

sgt101 wrote: post #7

wow - I have no clue (obviously) but possible reasons : - better home heating (less open fires, more heated bedrooms) - increased time from atmospheric nuclear bomb testing (and the various dispersals of plutonium in the 60's and 70's) - better nutrition in general - higher genetic diversity in breeding populations; not many peoples grandparents all come from the same village in the developed world now - less polluti…

> increased time from atmospheric nuclear bomb testing (and the various dispersals of plutonium in the 60's and 70's)

Ambient radioactivity, under a certain threshold (which is disputed) has actually shown some positive effects. If I remember correctly, folks living in naturally more radioactive areas have been showing lower cancer rates vs the average.

Re: A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline

#100

Post by artagnon » Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 11:58 PM UTC

Our genes are somehow improving in quality (survival longevity, quality of life, IQ), and this effect is cascading over generations. I don't know if it can be explained using pure epigenetics, and natural evolution is certainly too slow to explain this, so there might be mutagens in our everyday environment that directly modify the DNA sequence. We recognize cigarette smoke, heavy metals as mutagens, but are there more subtle mutagens that lead to better DNA?