The New Leading Causes of Death
In recent years, there has been a major drift in both the trends of chronic disease states and the causes of death in the United States.1 These changes reflect differences in lifestyle and behavioral choices. The major causes of death are not due to cancers or car accidents, but rather the poor management of habits that can lead to lifelong health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. A few examples of these bad habits are smoking, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and excessive alcohol consumption.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tracks trends of health-related behaviors and risks, with two public surveys: the telephone-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the interview-based National Health Interview Survey. Data collected from the BRFSS survey is compiled to create the Selected Metropolitan and Micropolitan Area Risk Trends (SMART) report. All data collected allows the CDC to identify problems in specific communities and allocate resources purposely.
The results of these CDC surveys along with a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) show that the actual leadingg causes of death are due to frequently preventable causes.
In 2000, the most common causes of death in the United States were:
- Tobacco (18.1%)
- Poor diet/sedentary lifestyle (16.6%)
- Alcohol consumption (3.5%)
- Infections (3.1%)
- Exposure to toxins (2.3%)
- Motor vehicle accidents (1.8%)
- Firearms (1.2%)
- Sexual behavior (0.8%)
- Illicit drug use (0.7%)
Although deaths from infections, toxins, motor vehicle accidents, and firearms are less predictable, deaths related to tobacco, diet, lack of exercise, excessive alcohol, sexual behavior, and drug use are absolutely avoidable. Another recent survey found that heart disease, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, diabetes and kidney diseases are the major chronic disease states in the United States.2
Tobacco use is consistently the top cause of death. However, chronic disease due to obesity and inactivity has been steadily rising over the past ten years, from 14% to 16.6%. This significant increase in morbidity secondary to obesity can be prevented with lifestyle modifications such as improved diet, daily exercise, abstaining from smoking, and minimizing alcohol intake.
The CDC is currently working with numerous national health organizations to design plans and programs that encourage healthier lifestyle choices while focusing on chronic disease prevention.
It is my strong opinion that with as little as 2-3 hours per week clocked-in at the gym, the United States can make strides toward becoming a healthier nation.
References:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/factsheets/death_causes2000.htm accessed 3/17/04.
- Minino AM, et al. Deaths: final data for 2000. National Vital Statistics Reports 2002; 50(15):1-120.
- Mokdad AH, et al. Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004; 291(10):1238-1246.
- American Medical Association. www.jama.ama-assn.org accessed 3/17/04.
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They forgot the top one
I'm only being partly facetious here, but you forgot the #1 contributor to death: Age!
It may seem silly to point this out as a cause of death, but as medical technology advances, and the population ages, it's becoming more common to see age as a "preventable" cause of death. And the fact of the matter is, the incidence of diseases increases proportionally with a person's age. Cancer rates for example rise dramatically as a person ages and their intracellular matrices break down and oxidative damages take their toll on DNA and genes making them more prone to cancer causing defects. The overall incidence for cancer over a person's lifetime is something like 1 in 2 (with the highest rates being in the later years) And as the population lives longer and longer on average it will rise even higher unless new technologies are created to prevent cancer.
Other aging related diseases are also becoming more prevalent, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Heart Disease (and atherosclerosis), Osteoporosis, etc. There is an overwhelming amount of money and research being put into the research of these diseases (which primarily affect the aging populations). Some researchers in the field are claiming that age and disease share many of the same mechanisms.
Amazingly, one of the best proposed preventatives for age related diseases is simply eating right and exercising regularly. There has been a lot of research performed recently showing that certain types of vigorous exercise can increase the amount of natural killer cells, which help prevent many kinds of disease & illnesses, and that the same exercise can return certain cell types to younger versions of themselves. Free radical scavenging has also been shown to increase with vigorous exercise. Additionally, many small scale lab studies show that Calorie Restriction (CR) retards aging in some organisms. People debate whether CR has the same effect in humans, but many of the longest lived humans live on low calorie diets.
So lets not ignore the #1 contributor to disease and death!
alternatives
Although welbutrin will help decrease the craving for nicotine, and is effective for a lot of people, it is a drug, and there is a chance of an adverse drug reaction. Lets not forget adverse drug reactions (drugs properly prescribed by a physician) is another leading cause of death in this country. I prefer using hypnosis, acupuncture and herbs such as lobelia to help smokers quit.Clearly, we have to help them quit this nasty addiction!
Darren Clair, MD
Vibrance Health Services
Great article!
I wish my mother would read this :(.
She smokes a lot, AND her diet is poor.
Although she's working on her diet, and going to the gym more, she still smokes, and she realizes its bad for her but thats not enough for her to stop.
Year after year, the only thing we ask her for Christmas is to stop smoking...
hrmm... now im sad :(.
"Obsession is a term the lazy use to describe the dedicated" - Anon.
"Shoot for the stars, you might just reach the sky" - Unknown
Hi Stevers I completely
Hi Stevers
I completely understand your struggle. Non-smokers don't realize just how addictive nicotine really is. I have patients who have lung cancer, had a part of their lung taken out and still can't stop smoking.
Fortunately, we do have some things to help such as nicotine patches/gum, wellbutrin, and chantix. Talk to your doctor and see if he/she can come up with a comprehensive plan of patch/pill/counseling and family support :)
"The greatest hindrance to creativity is a formula!"
-Dr. Sean Hashmi, M.D, M.S
Internal Medicine/Nephrology
www.drseanhashmi.com
Ahhh
Thanks doc :)
Wellbutrin is an anti-depressent correct?
I used to suffer from severe depression, and I believe that was the name of my prescription. It helped but i dont like being dependent on those things, so I had to try twice as hard to conquer depression without it, but knowing in the back of my head that it was all mental and that I really had no reason to feel that way was what really made a difference
"Obsession is a term the lazy use to describe the dedicated" - Anon.
"Shoot for the stars, you might just reach the sky" - Unknown
Yes you are correct but it
Yes you are correct but it also has been shown to help with quitting smoking. However, my experience is that one thing has never been effective to help people quit. You need a combined approach of counseling, medications, lifestyle modifications. In terms of how to help your mom take the first step, she has to hear it from someone she looks up to and respects. You know I have bought my own parents every piece of exercise equipment but it still ends up in the garage, collecting dirt. Its only when they see their friends working out that they actually get into it as well. If you are in the Los Angeles area, I would be happy to see your mom in my office.
"The greatest hindrance to creativity is a formula!"
-Dr. Sean Hashmi, M.D, M.S
Internal Medicine/Nephrology
www.drseanhashmi.com
Well ...
I dont live in L.A. but that is very kind of you. Yes I will discuss this all with her when I return home for the holidays. And I cannot really think of someone she looks up to and respects...well i'll work on that.
"Obsession is a term the lazy use to describe the dedicated" - Anon.
"Shoot for the stars, you might just reach the sky" - Unknown
really?
.:. Lifestyle Changes .:.The REAL Beginner's Guide to Fitness, Health & Nutrition
http://www.myfittribe.com/blogs/imjj123/20070610/starting-out.html
Will_I_Am (75c)