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U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

wsj.com

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Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#131

Post by [deleted] »

nonbel wrote: post #106
andrepd wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Climate change is on track to cause catastrophic damage in the next few decades AND there is no indication of anything being seriously done about this. In other words, a train is barrelling and, crucially, there are no signs of anyone intending to stop it. Yeah, I think it's justified to be scared.

There was just a recent discussion here about this and every time I asked for sources and then checked that is not what was found in the primary sources. The catastrophic outlook is created by a few people and amplified by the media as clickbait, not any sort of scientific consensus or track record of successful predictions. You can go through my recent post history to find it.

[deleted]

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#132

Post by nonbel »

mbroncano wrote: post #11

It’s remarkable how much of the article narrates a tale of opioids and suicide, whereas the obvious elephant in the room seems the be the poor, or lack thereof of a public health care system.

See my post here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18561136

Depending on how the data breaks down that could just be a narrative they are pushing for whatever reason. The "overdoses" include poisoning by pretty much any drug.

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#133

Post by refurb »

jobigoud wrote: post #105
tzfld wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a metric of success of an economy. And it's pretty good at that.

Most natural disasters ultimately increase GDP and are good for the economy. It's a weird metric.

Disasters increase GDP? How? The money spent rebuilding a country is money not spent on other things.

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#134

Post by refurb »

mbroncano wrote: post #11

It’s remarkable how much of the article narrates a tale of opioids and suicide, whereas the obvious elephant in the room seems the be the poor, or lack thereof of a public health care system.

More money is spent on public healthcare in the US than private healthcare.

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#135

Post by Frondo »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #75
stupidbird wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's the same issue as the prison population being so enormous. When someone does crime/drugs the country collectively just thinks that these people did it to themselves. I've heard people casually refer to criminals/addicts as animals, it's ridiculous.

Yes that's sad. But consider: what would you call someone who injected strangers with noxious drugs and enjoyed their torment? An animal? Is it so big a leap to think the same, when they're doing it to themselves?

No, no person is a animal and it's misguided and inappropriate to make the comparison.

People who behave cruelly aren't animals, they're people who behave cruelly and we should seek to minimize/stop their cruelty and ability to inflict it.

Drug users, willing or no, also aren't animals. Drug users who want to stop should be given all the tools necessary to kick their habits. Drug users who don't want to stop should be given the tools necessary to reduce the harm to themselves and to society.

Anything else is barbaric.

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#136

Post by colinyoung »

lubesGordi wrote: post #88
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big change relatively recently is that suicides in rural areas are now far higher than urban. Have you been to a rural area in the US recently? Most have been completely hollowed out - there is no hope in a lot of these places. The despair there is real.

Can you be more specific than just 'rural'? I've been through middle Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas and those areas seem mostly fine to me. Is it because rural farming is still ok but other rural like appalachia or rural Montana isn't doing well? Specifically where is hollowed out?

I think OP was probably referring to the 'dead Main Streets' and 'neighborhood near the plant that closed is totally struggling' phenomenon. I've been around the same areas and see seriously struggling places. When I was growing up, the Main Street was a little better but still bad, but the new strip mall stores/outlets/Walmart out by the highway were doing great. Now, the stores around the Walmart aren't even alive.

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#137

Post by jeffreyrogers »

mbroncano wrote: post #51
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if I should be concerned. If I simply avoid opioids and suicide, I'm safe?

It depends. Do you attend a high school in America?

Is this a reference to shooting deaths? If so, you should be aware that there are ~100 mass shooting deaths a year despite the sensational coverage they get in the media. America does have many more gun deaths than other countries, but the majority of those deaths are suicides and a majority of the homicides are in high crime areas. This is a problem that we can address, but mass shootings, though tragic and terrifying, are not a large public health issue.

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#138

Post by nonbel »

yborg wrote: post #57
budu3 wrote: post #8

Can someone explain the link of the lowered life expectancy to flu and pneumonia? I thought that these were deceases that were only fatal for people with compromised immunity.

The 1918 flu strain was unusual in that it was more effective in killing previously healthy adults because it stimulated an immune system overreaction. So having a weakened immune system when exposed to this H1N1 strain actually increased survivability.

The 1918 flu was exceptional in that aspirin recently became a generic drug and the recommendation was to soak the patient in it. The symptoms of aspirin poisoning are similar to those of pneumonia (the main cause of death via flu).

>"In February 1919…Edward's fever kept getting higher and higher…aspirin…was given to him by the 1/2-handful over and over…Edward sweated through his mattress…Dr.…could not save his patient.

[...]

A confluence of events created a “perfect storm” for widespread salicylate toxicity. The loss of Bayer's patent on aspirin in February 1917 allowed many manufacturers into the lucrative aspirin market. Official recommendations for aspirin therapy at toxic doses were preceded by ignorance of the unusual nonlinear kinetics of salicylate (unknown until the 1960s), which predispose to accumulation and toxicity; tins and bottles that contained no warnings and few instructions; and fear of “Spanish” influenza, an illness that had been spreading like wildfire." https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/49/9/1405/301441

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#139

Post by jniedrauer »

lubesGordi wrote: post #88
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big change relatively recently is that suicides in rural areas are now far higher than urban. Have you been to a rural area in the US recently? Most have been completely hollowed out - there is no hope in a lot of these places. The despair there is real.

Can you be more specific than just 'rural'? I've been through middle Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas and those areas seem mostly fine to me. Is it because rural farming is still ok but other rural like appalachia or rural Montana isn't doing well? Specifically where is hollowed out?

I've seen what they described in Texas, Virginia, Utah, etc. I suspect that it is like this throughout much of the southern United States. People are born in places that cannot provide them an adequate living, and then they are too poor to leave. It's a pretty hopeless situation to become trapped in.

Re: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Further

#140

Post by jimmydddd »

enraged_camel wrote: post #127
bluedino wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people are just too stubborn to go to the doctor. And many people go, knowing they can’t pay, because they’ll just never pay the bill and will dodge the bill collectors. Plenty of people receive free healthcare in the USA by virtue of never paying, but getting treated. It’s the middle class who pays their huge bills. Insurance doesn’t cover why these days and deductibles are insanely high. The poor get treated a…

They never pay the bill, because they can't. Do you understand how insanely expensive healthcare in this country is, especially if you're making minimum wage and have dependents? What do you suggest they do instead? Die? Let their kids die?

It's not clear to me that @bluedino was arguing that people who can't pay for health care should go without. Instead, to me, the comments merely stated that such people can get access to health care. They can do this either by subsidized treatment, or by not paying the bill. We probably all agree that the US system has many flaws, but it is worthwhile to recognize the various routes to getting treatment.
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