Everybody is aware of that Europeans are likely to stay longer than Individuals. However a brand new examine has a shocking twist: Even the richest Individuals solely stay about so long as the poorest western Europeans. Embargoed till 5 pm April 2.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
There’s extra proof right this moment that the USA lags behind prosperous European nations in enabling folks to stay lengthy, wholesome lives. An enormous new examine out right this moment reveals a shocking new twist on this downside. NPR well being correspondent Rob Stein has the story.
ROB STEIN: Despite the fact that the U.S. spends far more on medical care than different prosperous nations, the life expectations of Individuals have lengthy lagged behind folks in different rich nations. So Irene Papanicolas of the Brown College Faculty of Public Well being and her colleagues determined to take a better have a look at the connection between wealth and well being within the U.S. in comparison with Europe. They adopted greater than 73,000 adults within the U.S. and Europe between 2010 and 2022, and so they have been shocked by what they found. Certain, the richest Individuals are likely to stay longer than the poorest Individuals and Europeans. However even the richest Individuals do not stay so long as the richest Europeans.
IRENE PAPANICOLAS: The survival of the wealthiest in the USA was higher than the poorest in the USA, however akin to the poorest in northern and western Europe. We have been shocked by that end result.
STEIN: About 80% of the wealthiest Individuals have been nonetheless alive by the top of the examine. That is solely about pretty much as good because the poorest northern and western Europeans, and never almost pretty much as good because the richest northern and western Europeans. About 90% of them survived.
PAPANICOLAS: You’ll assume on this grouping that the wealthiest Individuals can afford, you already know, a number of the finest well being care that the world has to supply and the flexibility to entry many different components which are essential in your well being, such pretty much as good meals, stay in a comparatively protected neighborhood. And so you’d anticipate that the wealthiest in the USA have higher, if not equal, mortality to the wealthiest in northern and western Europe.
STEIN: However that is not what the info present. Now, the examine did not clarify why that is the case. However Papanicolas and others say the U.S. in all probability lags due to quite a lot of components, like how badly many Individuals eat, how little train they get, to not point out gun violence and stress and the way arduous it may be to get well being care, even for a lot of prosperous folks. The brand new examine printed within the New England Journal of Drugs comes as President Trump and his new well being secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are promising to make Individuals more healthy by specializing in combating power illnesses. Different specialists say that would assist, however some steps the administration is taking may make issues worse. Ellen Meara is a professor of well being economics and coverage on the Harvard T.H. Chan Faculty of Public Well being.
ELLEN MEARA: Something that is attempting to decrease power sickness appears like a very good factor. However to do this by dismantling the establishments that analysis these items looks like an odd option to go about it.
STEIN: Secretary Kennedy posted on social media that the U.S. well being care system wants an overhaul as a result of, quote, “what we have been doing is not working.”
Rob Stein, NPR Information.
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