The State of US Health

 According to a recent report titled The State of US Health, 1990-2010 :  Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors, whose objective was measuring the burden of diseases, injuries, and leading risk factors in the United States from 1990 to 2010 and to compare these measurements with those of the 34 wealthy countries, revealed that some things have improved but overall we continue to fall way behind other wealthy nations.Here’s their conclusion:”Overall, population health in the United States has improved from 1990 to 2010. Life expectancy at birth and HALE (healthy life expectancy) have increased and all-cause death rates at all ages have decreased. Although life span has increased, rates of age-specific YLDs (years lived with disability) have remained stable, and morbidity and chronic disability now account for nearly half of the health burden in the United States. However, improvements in population health in the United States have not kept pace with advances in population health in other wealthy nations. Regular assessments of the local burden of disease and matching information on health expenditures for the same disease and injury categories could allow for a more direct assessment of how changes in health spending have affected or, indeed, not affected changes in the burden of disease and may provide insights into where the US health care system could most effectively invest its resources to obtain maximum benefits for the nation’s population health. In many cases, the best investments for improving population health would likely be public health programs and multisectoral action to address risks such as physical inactivity, diet, ambient particulate pollution, and alcohol and tobacco consumption.”Our average life expectancy has increased from 75.2 in 1990 to 78.2 in 2010.  That is good news but we’re way behind other wealthy nations when it comes to both health outcomes and life expectancy.Even though we spend more money on healthcare than any other country, we don’t have universal healthcare coverage and there is still a big difference in the quality of care for different socioeconomic and ethnic groups which makes our situation even worse.How much worse?  We rank 27th in age-standardized death rate (down from 18th in 1990); 28th in years of life lost (down from 23rd); 5th for years lost to disability (up from 6th), and; 27th for life expectancy at birth (down from 20th place).Our biggest health problems are heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and road injury.  It is interesting to note that we also had an increase in the years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLL) from Alzheimer’s disease, drug use, chronic kidney disease, kidney cancer, and accidental falls.As we often point out, chronic diseases and disability account for almost half of the entire U.S. healthcare cost.  Not surprisingly, the study identified poor diet, tobacco smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, and physical inactivity as the most probable (and preventable) causes.This report shows once again that ultimately your health is not dependent on or fixed by our government, health insurance or our healthcare system, but only from following a healthy lifestyle like TurboCharged. This will always be your best investment and insurance for living a long and healthy life.Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.