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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday November 04 2015, @07:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the time-to-skip-middle-age dept.

Gina Kolata reports at The New York Times that something startling is happening to middle-aged white Americans. Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic group, unlike their counterparts in other rich countries, death rates in this group have been rising, not falling, primarily because of the declining health and fortunes of poorly educated American whites who are dying at such a high rate that they are increasing the death rate for the entire group of middle-aged white Americans. "It is difficult to find modern settings with survival losses of this magnitude," say Ellen Meara and Jonathan S. Skinner.

Though not fully understood, the increased deaths are largely thought to be a result of more suicides and the misuse of drugs and alcohol, driven by easier access to powerful prescription painkillers, cheaper high quality heroin and greater financial stresses. Death rates for people with a high school education or less rose by 22 percent while they actually fell for those with a college education. The rise in death rates among middle-aged white Americans means half a million more people have died in the US since 1998 than if the previous trend had continued. The death toll is comparable to the 650,000 Americans who lost their lives during the Aids epidemic from 1981 to the middle of this year, the researchers say. Anne Case and Angus Deaton warn that middle-aged Americans who are turning to drink and drugs are set to suffer more health problems than their elders unless the downwards trend can be halted. "This is not automatic. If the epidemic is brought under control, its survivors may have a healthy old age. However, addictions are hard to treat and pain is hard to control, so those currently in midlife may be a 'lost generation' whose future is less bright than those who preceded them."


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 05 2015, @01:17AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 05 2015, @01:17AM (#258607)

    That's why I've suggested that Japan's "make work" programs may be better than having cheaper trinkets. A dude without a job is a pariah in our society (whether fair or not). That he can buy $8 plastic lawn-chairs matters to him much less than having a job. Plus, idle people are more likely to get into mayhem.

    (True, Japan has a high suicide rate, but it may be more of a cultural thing than due to the economy. It's more or less a "solution" accepted throughout their history.)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 05 2015, @02:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 05 2015, @02:48AM (#258647)

    It could also be related to their insane working conditions.