U.S. Lags In Halting Preventable Death

(WebMD)  The U.S. today finds itself last on a new list of countries seeking to curb preventable deaths in people younger than 75.

Not only does the U.S. have the worst spot on that list, its rate of improvement is also slower than the other 18 industrialized nations included in the study.

The U.S. might have been spared an estimated 101,000 deaths annually if its preventable death rate matched that of the top-ranked countries, according to the researchers, who included Ellen Nolte, PhD, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.



Preventable Deaths

Nolte's team defined preventable deaths as deaths in people younger than 75 with treatable cancers, bacterial infections, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and surgical complications.

Using data from the World Health Organization, the researchers compared preventable death rates among 19 countries during 1997-1998 and 2002 2003.

From 1997 to 1998, the U.S. had a high rate of preventable deaths, but it wasn't the worst-ranked country on the list. By 2002-2003, preventable death rates dropped in all 19 countries, including the U.S.

But the U.S. had had the mildest rate of decline -- 4% -- compared with a 16% average decline among the other countries. That's how the U.S. wound up with the highest preventable death rate in 2002-2003.

Why did the U.S. lag in avoiding preventable deaths? The study doesn't answer that question. But the slow decline in U.S. preventable deaths "has coincided with an increase in the uninsured population," write the researchers.

How the Nations Ranked

Here is the full list of how the 19 countries ranked in their 2002-2003 preventable death rates:

1. France


2. Japan


3. Australia


4. Spain


5. Italy


6. Canada


7. Norway


8. The Netherlands


9. Sweden


10. Greece


11. Austria


12. Germany


13. Finland


14. New Zealand


15. Denmark


16. U.K.


17. Ireland


18. Portugal


19. U.S.

By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2008 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved

[grammawhamma]

Population control. 101,000 less people per year to worry about.

[omega39-2009]

What???? We''re 19th???

Let me just pull out my Heritage foundation secret talking points instruction manual and my CATO institute decoder ring........

[baileyccc]

Somehow the poisoning of our citizens with unnatural products like Prescription Drugs failed to make this list. Prescription Drugs should be called Side Effect Drugs.

[Solarrays247]

We used to be No. 1.....isn''t that a shame? And we currently have the most expensive health care in the world? No more excuses....it is way past the time for change!

[Syndicate]

Are not all deaths preventable? Why aren''t the European''s represented as the European Union? Perhaps because that would make us fourth on the list instead of 19th and destroy in political gains.