United States lags behind other nations in overall health.
Americans are living longer, but not necessarily healthier.
An extensive new study has found that from 1990-2010 the United States made progress in improving population health, but lagged behind other high-income countries in overall health.
The study cites “high costs with mediocre health outcomes” compared to other countries. The U.S. is spending more, yet our health is only gradually improving.
Michael Roizen, MD, Chair of the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic, says of the study results, “We’re becoming less competitive as a country because of our health. If we don’t take control chronic diseases will just increase costs that crowd out other important programs, like education and jobs.”
“The good news is that the things that cause these diseases are all under our control,” Dr. Roizen says.
Progress made in life expectancy
The study from the U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators was undertaken to help determine the major health problems in the U.S. and how they’ve changed over time.
Researchers say the U.S. did make significant progress in improving overall health. Key numbers include:
- Life expectancy for both sexes combined increased from 75.2 to 78.2 years
- Healthy life expectancy — the years a person at a given age can be expected to live in good health —increased from 65.8 to 68.1 years
- Age-specific rates of years lived with disability have remained stable
Health quality of longer life is lower
Despite these positive numbers, researchers say improvements in population health have been slower than in many other high-income countries.
Among wealthy nations, the U.S. rank for age-standardized death rate dropped from 18 to 27, and years of life lost due to premature death fell from 23 to 28.
Additionally, the gap between life expectancy and the expected number of healthy years that an American loses to disability increased from 9.4 to 10.1 years. So while living longer, Americans are not necessarily in good health.
Preventive medicine can improve health and cut costs
The study found disease and chronic disability account for nearly half of the U.S. health burden. Researchers suggest studying other countries’ health cost policies, as well as stressing education and preventive medicine to limit chronic disease as keys to improving national health.
Dr. Roizen agrees.
“Basic problems like ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and COPD are all related to things that are totally under our control,” he says. “It’s not in our genes. It’s in our choices.”
Dr. Roizen says risk factors we need to address include:
- Physical inactivity
- Poor diet
- Poor weight management
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
“The great news is there’s something we can do about it,” he says. “We can turn this curve downward.”
