January 2,2013___________________________
:}J O t t l a t t ò
O D l t t ä e r t t e r ________ _____________ [________________ Page 7
Living Longer, but with Disabilities
Modem life
takes toll in
chronic illnesses
(AP) — Nearly everywhere around the
world, people are living longer and fewer
children are dying. But increasingly, people
are grappling with the diseases and disabili­
ties of modem life, according to the most
expansive global look so far at life expect­
ancy and the biggest health threats.
The last comprehensive study was in 1990
and the top health problem then was the
death of children under 5 — more than 10
million each year. Since then, campaigns to
vaccinate kids against diseases like polio
and measles have reduced the number of
children dying to about 7 million.
Malnutrition was once the main health
threat for children. Now, everywhere except
Africa, they are much more likely to overeat
than to starve.
With more children surviving, chronic
illnesses and disabilities that strike later in
life are taking a bigger toll, the research said.
High blood pressure has become the leading
health risk worldwide, followed by smoking
and alcohol.
"The biggest contributor to the global
health burden isn't premature (deaths), but
chronic diseases, injuries, mental health con­
ditions and all the bone and joint diseases,"
said one of the study leaders, Christopher
Murray, director of the Institute of Health
Metrics and Evaluation at the University of
W ashington.
In developed countries, such conditions
now account for more than half of the health
problems, fueled by an aging population.
While life expectancy is climbing nearly ev­
erywhere, so too are the number of years
people will live with things like vision or
hearing loss and mental health issues like
depression.
A doctor measures the blood pressure o f a patient. Nearly everywhere around the world, more people are living longer and
fewer children are dying. But more and more the world is grappling with the diseases and disabilities o f modern life, accord-
ing to a new report. (AP photo)
The research appears in seven papers
published online Thursday by the journal
Lancet. M ore than 480 researchers in 50
countries gathered data up to 2010 from
surveys, censuses and past studies. They
used statistical m odeling to fill in the gaps
for countries with little inform ation. The
series was mainly paid for by the Bill &
M elinda Gates Foundation.
As in 1990, Japan topped the life expect­
ancy list in 2010, with 79 for men and 86 for
women. In the U.S. that year, life expect­
ancy for men was 76 and for women, 81.
The research found wide variations in
what's killing people around the world.
Some o f the most striking findings high­
lighted by the researchers: — Homicide is
the No. 3 killer of men in Latin America; it
ranks 20th worldwide. In the U.S., it is the
21 st cause of death in men, and in W estern
Europe, 57th.
G lobally, heart disease and stroke re­
main the top killers. Reflecting an older
population, lung cancer moved to the 5th
cause of death globally, while other can­
cers including those of the liver, stomach
and colon are also in the top 20. AIDS
jum ped from the 35th cause of death in
1990 to the sixth leading cause two de­
cades later.
THE
SPINACOLUMN
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Americas natural healing profession
Thank you: A Happy and healthy
New Year to our great patients.
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
Now is the season to reflect on the
events of the past year and look ahead
to all the New Year has to offer. This
past year has certainly been a happy
one for all of us. W e’ve had so many
kind and wonderful patients.
To all of you, “thank you.” We
appreciate your courtesy and your zeal
to share w ith frien d s how
C hiropractic’s natural healing has
helped you. It is really exciting to have
more and more people aware of the
healing power o f nature. Only nature
creates and only nature can truly heal.
We look forward to continue serving
those of you who’ve made the natural
selection: Chiropractic. The only major
health science whose only side effects
are improved health and greater sense of
well-being. If you ever have any ques­
tions about your health or about any
of our many services, we’ll always be
happy to help.
Again, we wish you a Happy
H o lid ay and c o n tin u e d h e alth
through-out the com ing New Year.
flowers' Chiropractic Office
2124 NE Hancock, Portland Oregon 97212
Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 -5 5 0 4