The 'Dirty Little Secret' : Poverty Linked to Early Death Now Just as 100 Years Ago

[steven johnson]

The 'Dirty Little Secret' in the healthcare debate is that lifestyle and income have a much greater association with longevity and health than the healthcare system and how much money we spend on it.

Poverty and premature death still firmly linked


In a study of 2357 men the average of ages at death of those dying before and after the age of 90 were 83 and those reaching it were 93 years, respectivey.

The adverse risk factors for dying before the age of 90 were smoking, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. In contrast, regular exercise was associated with almost a 30% decrease in mortality risk. So there are still things you can do besides making more money.

Exceptional Longevity in Men: Modifiable Factors Associated With Survival and Function to Age 90 Years


Then you have Mike Roizen's ways to add years to your life: exercise (8 years), Omega 3 fatty acid intake (2.7 years), strong social support network (8 years), sex three times a week (1.8 years), owning a pet (1 year).

The link between poverty and early death is as strong today as it was a century ago, a study shows.

Despite major changes in the causes of death since the 1900s, the association between deprivation and mortality remains "firmly entrenched", it found.

It is possible that the health effects of poverty have passed through the generations, wrote Dr Ian Gregory in the British Medical Journal.

Although people's experience of poverty changed over the years - in the 1900s it meant not having the bare necessities for existence but a century later poverty is defined as relative to society as a whole - the association between deprivation and high mortality did not change.


No change in health gap from 1900

[pinto]

1. Kick

:kick:

[elocs]

2. I would rather live as I wish and live a shorter life

than live life painted by somebody else's numbers and succeed in living a longer life. Ultimately we all die. I can live with that fact.

[autorank]

3. k*r Stingy rulers - implications for health reform

This post shows what "the rulers" think of the poor. It's not hard to sell assistance programs
that are honestly run and help people maintain and move up. But that doesn't happen. The whole
emphasis since "welfare reform" has been marginalizing and "disappearing" the poor. Well, now we
know that the wages of a very low income is death before your time. I hope the so called leaders
who made this happen are proud of themselves.

This phenomenon has consequences. Earlier death means poorer health, generally. Those at or
below the poverty level comprise 25% of the uninsured in the United States. They'll be a
big chunk of the "big group" that supposedly be so appealing in the insurance exchange proposed.

Guess what? Nobody would want to insure them thanks to the hard work of stingy politicians
who mislead the people and rake off just as much as they can without the least bit of shame.