Health - General
by: Jerry Price - Jul 28, 2006 - comment
“The health of the Nation continues to improve overall, in part because of the significant resources devoted to public health programs, research, health care, and health education. Over the past century many diseases have been controlled or their morbidity and mortality substantially reduced. Notable achievements in public health have included the control of infectious diseases such as typhoid and cholera through decontamination of water; implementation of widespread vaccination programs to eradicate or contain polio, diphtheria, pertussis, and measles; fluoridation of water to drastically reduce the prevalence of dental caries; and improvements in motor vehicle safety through vehicle redesign and efforts to increase use of seatbelts and motorcycle helmets. A sharp decline in deaths from cardiovascular disease is a major public health achievement that resulted in large part from public education campaigns emphasizing a healthy lifestyle and increased use of cholesterol and hypertension-lowering medications. Yet even as progress is made in improving both the quantity and quality of life, increased longevity is accompanied by increased prevalence of chronic conditions and their associated pain and disability. In recent years, progress in some arenas—declines in infant and cause-specific mortality, morbidity from chronic conditions, reduction in prevalence of risk factors including smoking and lack of exercise—has not been as rapid as in earlier years or trends have been moving in the wrong direction. It is equally important to keep in mind that these improvements have not been equally distributed by income, race, ethnicity, education, and geography.”
Health, United States, 2005 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 3. [Accessed February 17, 2006]
“In January 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services launched Healthy People 2010, a comprehensive, nationwide health promotion and disease prevention agenda. Healthy People 2010 contains 467 objectives designed to serve as a road map for improving the health of all people in the United States during the first decade of the 21st century.
“Healthy People 2010 builds on similar initiatives pursued over the past two decades. Two overarching goals—increase quality and years of healthy life, and eliminate health disparities—served as a guide for developing objectives that will actually measure progress. The objectives are organized in 28 focus areas, each representing an important public health area. Each objective has a target for improvements to be achieved by the year 2010. A limited set of the objectives, known as the Leading Health Indicators, are intended to help everyone more easily understand the importance of health promotion and disease prevention and to encourage wide participation in improving health in the next decade. These Indicators were chosen based on their ability to motivate action, the availability of data to measure their progress, and their relevance as broad public health issues.”
About Healthy People 2010 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) [Accessed February 17, 2006]
In a report released in 2005, 84 percent of Americans with diabetes believe they are managing the disease adequately. The reality, however, is that only about 33 percent actually are. And data show that almost 30 percent of Americans who have diabetes are unaware of it. One factor in the lack of awareness on the part of many is that diabetes often does not exhibit easily recognized symptoms—especially type-2 (non-insulin dependent or adult-onset) diabetes.
Diabetes is characterized by high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. The danger is that this excess blood sugar can damage the inside of blood vessels that can lead to restriction in blood flow which, in turn, can lead to a heart attack, stroke, and damage to the eyes and kidneys.
Though medication is often necessary in controlling diabetes—always in type-1 where the body is not able to produce insulin on its own—type-2 can sometimes be controlled with diet and exercise, especially if caught early. But even when medication is required, the amount of medication can usually be reduced by controlling one’s diet and exercising.
Blood screening is necessary in the detection of diabetes and everyone should be tested regularly. It is not just overweight people who become diabetics, though they are certainly the most at risk. A simple blood test is all that is necessary to find out if one has diabetes.
Patients, Doctors Fooling Themselves in Diabetes Management (Laborer’s Health and Safety Fund of North America) [Accessed February 20, 2006]
[Editor’s note: Diabetes is not something to be ignored. As a 30+ year diabetic, I encourage you to know the symptoms and get regular checkups. If you have diabetes, test your blood 3-4 times daily, lower intake of carbohydrates, and get aerobic exercise at least 3-4 times weekly.]
“It used to be that visiting your doctor for an annual medical exam was the responsible thing to do. Good doctors were expected to pepper their patients with postcards reminding them it was checkup time, and good patients were expected to comply.
“Evidence-based healthcare has changed all that. Studies show that the traditional top-to-bottom annual physical for healthy adults is largely a waste of time and healthcare dollars; it is too ‘low yield.’ So now the American Medical Association and other professional groups do not recommend the practice. Instead, they say medical care should be individualized according to a patient’s age, health, and specific risk factors.
“Traditions die hard, as is evident in a recent Gallup Poll that shows 92 percent of Americans think it is important for people to have a routine medical checkup each year. When the question was phrased slightly differently, 95 percent say it is important for people their own age to have such a checkup. Young adults are as likely as seniors to believe this.
“Not only do most people espouse this ideal; they live it. Nearly 8 in 10 Americans (78 percent) report that they personally had a routine exam in the past year . . . But the healthcare train seems to be speeding in a different direction, albeit one that may provide a suitable compromise. The new approach to annual exams is called the ‘periodic health exam’ or ‘PHE.’ The PHE is supposed to be regular (though not necessarily annual) and relies on a detailed family health history to tailor care to a patient’s needs. The U.S. Surgeon General recently designated Thanksgiving 2005 as the second annual ‘National Family History Day’—hoping that people will take advantage of the assembly of relatives to chronicle their families’ health history. Although PHEs appear to be the wave of the near future, it also appears there could be some resistance from patients and doctors who remain attached to the old system.”
Excerpted from Lydia Saad, What’s the Prognosis for Annual Medical Ceckups? (Gallup Poll), November 29, 2005 [Subscription required]
Who is covered by health insurance? “Gallup’s annual survey on Health and Healthcare, conducted this past November, asked Americans to describe the type of health insurance they currently have. The Nov. 7-10, 2005, survey finds that 57 percent Americans say they have private health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid covers 30 percent of adults nationwide, and 13 percent do not have health insurance coverage. Two-thirds of those with private health insurance now share the costs with their employers, up significantly over the last four years. One in five 18- to 29-year olds are uninsured; those with low incomes are also less likely to be insured than those with high incomes.”
Gallup also combined the figures from surveys over the last three years to determine, on average, who has health insurance. Several factors were found to impact the answer:
- Age – most elderly Americans are covered by Medicare or Medicaid: younger Americans are slightly more likely than those in other age groups to have no health insurance.
- Gender – 62 percent of men vs. 58 percent of women have private health insurance: women are slightly more likely to be covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
- Household income – “Half of adults living in households with annual incomes of less than $30,000 tell Gallup they are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, while 29 percent have private insurance and 20 percent have no insurance. Nearly two in three adults with household incomes between $30,000 and $74,999 per year are covered by private health insurance, while 25 percent are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and 10 percent have no coverage. Among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more per year, 87 percent have private health insurance, 9 percent are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and 4 percent have no insurance coverage.”
- Employment status – Adults who are employed full-time are much more likely to be covered by private healthcare insurance than those who are employed part-time or not at all.
- Marital status – “The data also show some variations by marital status, with married adults much more likely to be covered by private insurance. Seventy-one percent of married adults are covered by private health insurance, while 22 percent are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and 7 percent have no coverage. Fewer than half of non-married adults, 47 percent, have private health insurance. Thirty-seven percent of non-married adults are covered by Medicare or Medicaid and 16 percent report no health insurance coverage.”
Joseph Carroll, One in Five Young Adults Have No Health Insurance (Gallup Poll), February 2, 2006 [Subscription required]
“Gallup’s annual survey about health and healthcare in the United States finds that about half of Americans report that they are currently taking prescription medication. Americans are much more likely to take medication for a long-term rather than short-term medical condition, and to take it for a physical rather than psychological or emotional condition . . . Perhaps not surprisingly, senior citizens are more likely than any other group in the country to take prescription drugs. Only about one in four adults aged 18 to 29 (27 percent) currently take prescription medication. This percentage increases to 40 percent among 30- to 49-year-olds, 61 percent among 50- to 64-year-olds, and to an overwhelming 88 percent among adults aged 65 and older . . . One in three Americans (34 percent) say they take prescription drugs to treat a long-term illness or condition only, while 7 percent use them for a short-term condition only, and 9 percent use them for both. (Among those Americans currently taking prescription medication, 66 percent use it for a long-term condition, 13 percent for a short-term condition, and 18 percent for both.)
Joseph Carroll, Half of Americans Currently Taking Prescription Medication (Gallup Poll), December 9, 2005 [Subscription required]
How has the prevalence of excess weight, or overweight, and obesity in adults changed over the years?
“The prevalence has steadily increased over the years among both genders, all ages, all racial/ethnic groups, all educational levels, and all smoking levels. From 1960 to 2000, the prevalence of overweight (BMI greater than or equal to 25 to less than 30) increased from 31.5 to 33.6 percent in U.S. adults aged 20 to 74. The prevalence of obesity (BMI greater than or equal to 30) during this same time period more than doubled from 13.3 to 30.9 percent, with most of this rise occurring in the past 20 years. From 1988 to 2000, the prevalence of extreme obesity (BMI greater than or equal to 40) increased from 2.9 to 4.7 percent, up from 0.8 percent in 1960. In 1991, four states had obesity rates of 15 percent or higher, and none had obesity rates above 16 percent. By 2000, every state except Colorado had obesity rates of 15 percent or more, and 22 states had obesity rates of 20 percent or more. The prevalence of overweight and obesity generally increases with advancing age, then starts to decline among people over 60.”
Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity (Weight-control Information Network) [Accessed February 21, 2006]
How physically active is the U.S. population?
“Less than one-third (31.8 percent) of U.S. adults get regular leisure-time physical activity (defined as light or moderate activity five times or more per week for 30 minutes or more each time and/or vigorous activity three times or more per week for 20 minutes or more each time). About 10 percent of adults do no physical activity at all in their leisure time.
“About 25 percent of young people (ages 12-21 years) participate in light to moderate activity (e.g., walking, bicycling) nearly every day. About 50 percent regularly engage in vigorous physical activity. Approximately 25 percent report no vigorous physical activity, and 14 percent report no recent vigorous or light to moderate physical activity.”
Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity (Weight-control Information Network) [Accessed February 21, 2006]
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