According to a new study, Americans reportedly to have the worst health conditions when compared to residents of other high income countries.
A study conducted by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine found that Americans experience a higher level of health problems and die sooner than residents of other high-income countries. According to the study, Americans are at a health disadvantage right from childbirth to the age of 75 in spite of health insurance, college educations, higher incomes and healthy behaviors when compared to their peers of other rich-income countries.
"We were struck by the gravity of these findings," said Steven H. Woolf, professor of family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and chair of the panel that wrote the report."Americans are dying and suffering at rates that we know are unnecessary because people in other high-income countries are living longer lives and enjoying better health. What concerns our panel is why, for decades, we have been slipping behind."
The study looked into factors including multiple diseases, injuries, and behaviors across the country and compared their findings with similar findings from countries like Australia, Canada, Japan, and many western European countries.
U.S was found to be at the bottom of nine key factors of health. They included:
* Infant mortality and low birth weight
* Injuries and homicides
* Teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections
* Prevalence of HIV and AIDS
* Drug-related deaths
* Obesity and diabetes
* Heart disease
* Chronic lung disease]
* Disability
The statistics, along with a 2011 Research Council report, showed an increasing mortality gap among Americans over age 50.
"It's a tragedy. Our report found that an equally large, if not larger, disadvantage exists among younger Americans," Woolf said."I don't think most parents know that, on average, infants, children, and adolescents in the U.S. die younger and have greater rates of illness and injury than youth in other countries."
