Re: Global mortality rate down dramatically, study of past 40 years shows

[Guest guest]

An interesting post, Francesca.

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> By Brown

> Washington Post Staff Writer

> Friday, April 30, 2010; 8:59 AM

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snip

> The analysis, published online Friday in the journal Lancet, is the most

> detailed study to date of nation-by-nation trends in adult mortality.

>

> Child mortality -- deaths before the fifth birthday -- and maternal

> mortality are the main focus of global mortality studies. That's because

> those demographic groups are the target of many interventions and their

> mortality was thought to be a gauge of an entire population's health.

>

> The new analysis, however, suggests that's not true now.

>

> " It's no longer the case that what's happening to kids is what's happening

> to adults, " said J.L. Murray, the University of Washington

> physician and epidemiologist who led the study. " In many places, child

> mortality is getting better and adult mortality is getting worse. "

>

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Does this reflect a scientific trend toward avoiding assumptions prior to making

conclusions? One can hope. :]

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snip

>

> Adult mortality, measured as the probability of dying after the 15th

> birthday but before the 60th, dropped 19 percent for men and 34 percent for

> women over the past 40 years.

>

*** One wonders if, with our aging population, additional mortality curves could

be found for later decades? What defines " premature death " any more?

***

> The country with the lowest adult male mortality was Iceland, with 65

> premature deaths per 1,000 men. The highest was Swaziland, with 765

> premature deaths per 1,000 men. For women, the country with the lowest rate

> was Cyprus (38 deaths per 1,000) and the highest Zambia (606 deaths per

> 1,000).

***

Women consistently have lower mortality rate than men across the board, it would

seem.

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>

snip

>For Mexican men over the same period, premature mortality fell to 158 from 272,

and for women, to 88 from 190.

>

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I'd say something good is happening in Mexico. Bravo!

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> In 1970, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan all >had adult

female mortality rates that were higher than male rates -- >a highly anomalous

situation. Demographers believe that at least >part of the notorious " missing

women " phenomenon in that region was >the premature death of adult women, in

addition to infanticide, >relative neglect of girls and selective abortion.

>

*** I never knew this, how tragic. But I'm happy to see improvement in this

trend. I wonder, while Afghanistan continues to have higher female than male

mortality, if there was any improvement?

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snip

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Thank you, Francesca. Best regards, n