USA is considered one of the richest countries ina world that spends a huge amount of money on the health of its citizens. However, recently, Business Insider published a study showing that in recent years, Americans have begun to decrease their life expectancy. According to statistics, in 2013, Americans lived on average about 78.9 years, but today this figure is 78.6 years. The difference may seem insignificant, but researchers argue that the life expectancy of residents of some states will continue to decline. There were several reasons for the increase in mortality, and one problem carries several others.
According to study author Stephen Wolfe,many people believe that a high level of development of medicine necessarily means a high life expectancy. However, the US mortality database over the past 50 years suggests otherwise. According to statistics, life expectancy in the US states has grown rapidly from 1959 to 2014, but there have been much more deaths in the last three years. It is noteworthy that people aged 25 to 64 years, that is, the most able-bodied citizens, are at risk of sudden death. But why did they begin to die more often?
Why did people die more often?
Increased deaths especiallyobserved in the New England region and Ohio. Researchers noted that residents of these areas suffered from economic changes that arose due to the closure of factories. People lost their jobs and lost the opportunity to receive a stable salary and live in comfortable homes. This problem entailed such terrible consequences as addiction to alcohol and drugs, as well as an increase in the number of suicides.
Factors such as unstable operation andearnings, cause psychological disorders and lead to illnesses and deaths, ”explained Professor Howard Co. of Harvard University, who was not involved in the study.
In particular, the researchers noted that since 1999by 2017, the number of overdoses of deadly drugs increased almost four times. Also, according to them, over this period of time, the number of suicides among people from 25 to 64 years old increased by 40%. According to statistics, the biggest damage to people's health is caused by alcohol - mortality due to alcohol abuse has increased by as much as 160%.
If this trend continues, employersthere will be a less healthy, less productive workforce, which is more likely to die prematurely compared to workers in other countries, concluded study author Stephen Wulf.
The authors of the scientific work doubt that the averagelife expectancy will again increase by itself. To do this, at a minimum, state governments need to provide people with permanent work. Perhaps, having received a reliable source of income, people will be able to get rid of addiction to alcohol and drugs, as a result of which mortality will again fall to the initial level.
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However, reduce the number of deaths by oneonly job creation is unlikely to succeed. The fact is that with insufficient wages, some people can get several jobs, which will also negatively affect their health. A tight schedule will not give them the opportunity to get enough sleep, which will subsequently cause cardiovascular diseases. You can read more about the relationship between sleep deprivation and fatal heart disease in our material.