#146

Recent study in JAMA Nov 13, 2023. Reported in STAT below

1 Like
#147

It’s hard to give each moment in history a single score. There are always things that are better and things that are worse. Not to say that it all evens out in the end, but it’s just complicated to even know how to say whether things are getting better or worse as a whole.

I do think people are perceiving their lives and the world as worse than ever before. We have access to so much input… the average person in the past would have to put a huge amount of effort into consuming even 10% of the “bad news” that bombards the average person today

4 Likes
#148

I am not one to argue whether the “good old days” were better or not.
Fortunately, I grew up in a small town and had a wonderful childhood.
Even though folks struggled to make ends meet there was so much less stress.
As I posted earlier, when I was working I did notice that a lot of weight was gained by “stress eating”
Food became a comfort to some to counteract the stress they were experiencing.
I think stress is highly underrated as a killer. I lived in Europe for several years and even as a non-native, I found life there less stressful than in the U.S. Maybe I was just blissfully ignorant about the stress the Europeans were experiencing. They had a greater respect for eating and fast food was not a common option in everyday eating as it is in the U.S.
As an example, I was shopping in an outdoor market in Italy waiting in line to buy something when the bells tolled noon. Everyone immediately closed for lunch and didn’t care if you were waiting in line to buy something. Most businesses and the market closed for three hours for lunch. For many Europeans lunch was the primary meal of the day. I don’t know if they still do this, but I thought it was nice that money wasn’t more important than taking time for a leisurely lunch.

5 Likes
#149

The cold acclimatisation switches on brown fat that burns off surplus glucose :fire: ?
Just a thought, I used to know people how worked on brown fat

1 Like
#150

This chart shows a comparison of health systems performances and resources. The most effective are the closest to the origin, with lower mortality rate from avoidable causes and lower expenditure per capita.

F-4vFyDWsAAxTpF
F-4vFyDWsAAxTpF1011×767 93.6 KB

Source: https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1724368034343641598?s=20

4 Likes
#151

The statistics are interesting, but most of their conclusions seem to be WAGs.

#152

Japan has taken the crown. Hong Kong is now number 2. Financial conditions are getting more difficult as the government has cut tax subsidies for everyone and is introducing new taxes. Stress is a killer.

4 Likes
#153

All the longevity biotechnology companies in the San Francisco bay area suggest the area will keep it’s lead in the country…

And don’t move to Hidalgo Texas…

Full study details

3 Likes
#154

Another way to look at the trendlines … this time life expectancy vs. GDP per capita.

Screen Shot 2024-01-17 at 2.49.50 PM
Screen Shot 2024-01-17 at 2.49.50 PM892×254 75.9 KB

GEE2ha2WQAAbFnu
GEE2ha2WQAAbFnu1344×1014 30.9 KB

4 Likes
#155
1 Like
#156

Why is the US still in such poor health, despite its wealth?

A decade ago, a study showed that the US had the lowest life expectancy among high-income countries. Why are things still getting worse,

2 Likes
#157

And they are the world’s highest consumers of meat:

Balanced by seafood consumption. Hong Kong ranks fifth in the world (per capita consumption), outranking Japan (13th). Iceland comes in second.

3 Likes
#158

Not only the US is an outlier but the gap keeps widening. For instance life expectancy is increasing in France and reached a new record high: France's ageing population is having fewer babies and living longer than ever (“France’s life expectancy now stands at a record 85.7 years for women and 80 for men, the highest it has ever been for either category and the first time men are projected to reach 80 on average.”)

On the other hand it’s also decreasing in Canada: Life expectancy in Canada fell for the 3rd year in a row. What’s happening? - National | Globalnews.ca

So maybe European countries will follow and start declining as well in terms of life expectancy? (why: I don’t know: stress? Pollution? Collapsing healthcare systems? :man_shrugging:)

2 Likes
#159

I read an article a while ago and what stuck with me that among most important reasons for falling life expectancy in US were besides COVID-19 mostly related to psychological reasons (drug overdose, accidental deaths, suicides). I would have thought that ASCVD, diabetes and related diseases caused by obesity are major drivers. In this regard I would argue that healthcare is not collapsing, that even with very unhealthy lifestyle modern medicine can help you live longer, you are overfed and sedentary, you get your polypill treatment and it helps.
But what are we doing with psychological health? Societal disintegration that is cornerstone of psychological well being? I think that it is a global process, connected with darwinism that fosters individualism and capitalism and its absurd form that we live at this moment, consumerism. Instead of investing into healthy relationships with others and self we believe having and owning will give us a sense of worth. Modern medicine and its approach to psychological wellbeing where this is often being reduced to “brain chemistry” and popping pills instead of exploring the psyche and fundamentally change the outcomes.
Lastly but not leastly healthy and happy individuals don’t make good consumers.

4 Likes
#160

The major drivers of my sunny disposition are my faith, my family, lithium and NAC, and this forum. You guys really challenge me to extend my knowledge base. Thank you.

It’s also a great place to post my witticisms. :wink:

7 Likes
#161

Yes, Covid caused a dip, but other countries, such as France, recovered and are now above pre-pandemic levels. So, it’s not the leading cause of the US decline. As you correctly said, mental health is the biggest issue: U.S. life expectancy rose in 2022, but it remains below its pre-pandemic level 2023

For decades, U.S. life expectancy rose a little nearly every year. But about a decade ago, the trend flattened and even declined some years — a stall blamed largely on overdose deaths and suicides.
But the U.S. is battling other issues, including drug overdose deaths and suicides.
The number of U.S. suicides reached an all-time high last year, and the national suicide rate was the highest seen since 1941, according to a second CDC report released Wednesday.

I don’t think capitalism is to blame (but I’m a hardcore capitalist, so I may be biased :wink: ). “Instead of investing into healthy and relationships with other and self we believe having and owning will give us a sense of worth.”: this has always been true. That’s why, across different cultures and times, texts of wisdom have always urged people to focus on virtues, inner peace, and the quality of our relationships over the accumulation of material wealth:

The Dhammapada, Buddha’s Path of Wisdom:

Happiness is not having a lot. Happiness is giving a lot.
The one who has no possessions, no desires, and no attachment, has all the treasures of the world.
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 70:

Just as the ocean remains undisturbed by the incessant flow of waters from rivers merging into it, likewise the sage who is unmoved despite the flow of desirable objects all around him attains peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy desires.

Matthew 6:19-21:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius:

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

Anyway, we haven’t made much progress in terms of mental health since then. I guess that’s why these texts are still read today… It motivated to post back then: Depressão e saúde mental: o que você usa? . Given the massive investments in mental health, I hope that we’ll soon find successful interventions. Psychedelic-assisted therapy seems promising…

4 Likes
#162

What do y’all think is the cause for the deteriorating state of mental health in the USA?
The breakdown of the family? Loneliness? Lack of faith? Social Media? Work stress? Financial stress? Using southern contractions?

2 Likes
#163

It is not capitalism per se but the darwinian idea / social Darwinism that is so intertwined with capitalism where there is little room for social solidarity, but the “survival of the fittest”. I believe this disintegration of communities has been rooted in idea of modernism, but this is entirely different debate.

I don’t think it is only problem of the US but it has become a pandemic. I believe it is a problem that is rooted in the idea of individual freedom which leads to economic freedom and dismantling of social structures (families, communities, etc.). Such freedom lead to the dominance of privileged groups, privileged individuals and despair of the unprivileged. If we add consumerism where your worth is measured in your buying power we get a lot of depressed unprivileged individuals.

3 Likes
#164

I’m not sure there are good studies on the reasons. My assumptions:

  • Pollution may affect our stress levels via gut dysbiosis,
  • Social media and phones might increase stress and deteriorate sleep,
  • As said by @scta123 the “dismantling of social structures (families, communities, etc.)” creates more loneliness and stress and it removes an essential support during a crisis.
3 Likes
#165

I don’t have an answer as to what is happening about life expectancy in the USA. However, there are questions as to who is dying at what age.

Is it children dying before the age of 1. Much of the increase in average lifespans has come from a reduction in infant mortality.

Alternatively it could be younger people being murdered in quantity. That can skew the figures.

I don’t know what the age of the people dying earlier is. (or what they die from).

1 Like