A study published February 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association points to three reasons for the life expectancy being lower for Americans than in other developed nations. Care to guess what they are?
"Guns, drugs and motor vehicle crashes account for half of the life-expectancy gap between men in the United States and other high-income countries, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association," writes Carolyn Y. Johnson, a reporter covering the business of health for The Washington Post.
The circle chart shows how much each of the causes reduces life expectancy in men:
- Gun violence: 5.4 months
- Drug poisoning, which includes overdoses: 3.6 months
- Motor vehicle crashes: 3.4 months
A corresponding chart points to the same three reasons for lower life expectancy for American women, though the number of months is smaller. Drugs, motor vehicles, and guns, in that order, are the main causes.
The study is significant because American medicine may be focusing on the wrong causes for the lower life expectancy in the United States, "about 2.2 years earlier than their counterparts in a dozen other high-income countries, according to 2012 data," writes Johnson. Traditional health issues such as "chronic disease, obesity, smoking or access to health care" have been its focus.
Gun, drugs, and motor vehicles are by no means strictly American causes of death, but they affect American far more than in other developed nations, so much so that they account for "a full year -- about half of the disadvantage that American men face" in the United States than elsewhere, according to Andrew Fenelon, a researcher with the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and one of three authors of the study.
Credit: CDC, Nov. 21, 2014
In a related Wonkblog piece, Johnson and Christopher Ingraham delve into how gun violence replaced traffic crashes as the leading cause of preventable death.
"The CDC had not touched firearm research since 1996 — when the NRA accused the agency of promoting gun control and Congress threatened to strip the agency’s funding," wrote Todd C. Frankel for The Washington Post last year.
Hat tip to Michael Keenly
FULL STORY: Three very American reasons why we’re still so unhealthy
U.S. Life Expectancy Continues Downward Trend
Drug overdoses and suicides caused American life expectancy to drop in 2017 for the second consecutive year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most notable is the gap between the urban and rural suicide rate.
National Safety Council Reports Huge Jump in 2015 Traffic Fatalities
According to preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council, 38,300 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2015, an 8 percent jump from 2014. In fact, the annual increase is the most in half a century. Note that the figure differs from NHTSA's.
The Messy Politics of Saving Lives from Drug Overdoses
Philadelphia was on the verge of approving a key harm reduction strategy to prevent fatal drug overdoses until the city council all but banned supervised injection sites, overriding a mayoral veto. A New York Times report explores the controversy.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Why Should We Subsidize Public Transportation?
Many public transit agencies face financial stress due to rising costs, declining fare revenue, and declining subsidies. Transit advocates must provide a strong business case for increasing public transit funding.
Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution
The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.
Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas
Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.
San Diego County Sees a Rise in Urban Coyotes
San Diego County experiences a rise in urban coyotes, as sightings become prevalent throughout its urban neighbourhoods and surrounding areas.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service