Study: Americans sicker than English

CNN.com ^ | Tuesday, May 2, 2006

[A. Pole]

CHICAGO (AP) -- Middle-aged, white Americans are much sicker than their counterparts in England, startling new research shows, despite U.S. health care spending per person that's more than double what England spends.

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer.

The gap between the countries holds true for educated and uneducated, rich and poor.

"At every point in the social hierarchy there is more illness in the United States than in England and the differences are really dramatic," said study co-author Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London in England.

The study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, adds context to the already-known fact that the United States spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation, yet trails in rankings of life expectancy.

The United States spends about $5,200 per person on health care while England spends about half that in adjusted dollars.

[...]

Some have believed the U.S. has lagged because it has a more ethnically diverse population than some of the higher-ranking countries, said Suzman, who heads the National Institute on Aging's Behavioral and Social Research Program. "Minority health in general is worse than white health," he said.

But the new study showed that when minorities are removed from the equation, and adjustments are made to control for education and income, white people in England are still healthier than white people in the United States.

[...]

[A. Pole]

Health care bump

[dead]

Our teeth still kick English ass though.

[AnAmericanMother]

Nice try, but this study is skewed by two factors.

1. Limited diagnosis in England. When you have to wait to see a specialist to get a diagnosis, a lot of folks just say "the heck with it." A friend of mine posted to Scotland got so tired of waiting for health care, he would fly home to his own doctor and dentist (especially his dentist.)

2. "Self-reporting". Totally unreliable.

[Snickersnee]

Doesn't pass the smell test.

[freeplancer]

Yah, it must be all their good food (NOT).

[Hi Heels]

Yep, AND we work more hours than anyone else.

http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/workhours.html

Takes maintenance to keep a machine working properly.

[claudiustg]

---Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London in England.---

I wonder if he also holds forth on a Queen being infinetly superior to a President, like English Bob?

[ElkGroveDan]

Boiled mutton and blood pudding for dinner would certainly keep your weight down.

[Muleteam1]

>>The United States spends about $5,200 per person on health care while England spends<<about $2.00 per year on dental care.

[ChiMark]

I heard that people over 65 have little chance of receiving heart bypass operations etc.

What is the average life expectancy in merry old England?

[JRjr]

Traveling man's definition of heaven and hell:
In heaven, the French do the cooking, the Italians are the lovers, the Swiss run the hotels, The Germans are the mechanics, and the Brits are the policemen.

Hell:
Germans are the police, Italians are the mechanics, French run the hotels, Swiss are the lovers, and the Brits do the cooking.

Been there, and its all true.

[opinionator]

white people in England are still healthier than white people in the United States.

Just because people are white does not make them the same. The incidence of a disease among Italian-Americans and German-Americans may differ.

[A. Pole]

Life expectancy at birth, selected countries, 2003

	Males		Females
Rank	Country	Life expectancy	Country	Life expectancy
1	Japan	78	Japan	85
2	Iceland	78	France	84
3	Sweden	78	Switzerland	83
4	Australia	78	Spain	83
5	Switzerland	78	Australia	83
6	Israel	78	Sweden	83
7	Singapore	78	Italy	82
8	Canada	78	Canada	82
9	Italy	78	Austria	82
10	New Zealand	77	Iceland	82
11	Norway	77	Norway	82
12	Austria	76	Singapore	82
13	Spain	76	Germany	82
14	Netherlands	76	Finland	82
15	Malta	76	Belgium	82
16	France	76	Israel	82
17	Greece	76	New Zealand	82
18	United Kingdom	76	Netherlands	81
19	Germany	76	Greece	81
20	Ireland	76	United Kingdom	81
21	Denmark	75	Portugal	81
22	Finland	75	Malta	81
23	USA	75	Denmark	81
24	Belgium	75	Ireland	81
25	Portugal	74	USA	80
26	Poland	71	Poland	79
27	China	70	China	73
28	Indonesia	65	Indonesia	68
29	South Africa	48	South Africa	50

(Mortality FAQs)

[Young Scholar]

Observation: Americans fatter than English

[opinionator]

and adjustments are made to control for education and income

Aha! We're actually healthier, but after erroneous adjustments we are not.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English.

Wonder if it's due to greater consumption of food with partially hydrogenated oil and corn syrup in the US? Availability of cheap, good food is a great thing - the quest to give it longer shelf life might have led to some not so great things, such as an increase in heart disease and diabetes.

[ansel12]

"Wonder if it's due to greater consumption of food with partially hydrogenated oil and corn syrup in the US? Availability of cheap, good food is a great thing -"




It surely is, I think it may take humans a couple of generations to adapt to it though.

In time I believe we will adjust to our new wealth, and dietary abundance.

[opinionator]

Who is this guy?

[wildwood]

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer.

did it occur to anyone that the middle-aged white english, waiting for specialists and tests, have already DIED, thus removing their statistic from the equation?