Death, disability rates in U.S. increase for age-related disease over two decades

The rate of
diseases and injuries has changed over the past two decades in terms of toll
they take on Americans’ health, according the U.S. Burden of Disease
Collaborators in a recent report on the state of U.S. health from 1990 to 2010.

That toll is
measured in a term called disability-adjusted life years, which is the sum of
years of life lost due to premature death and years lived with disability

The United
States has made progress in some areas, such as infectious diseases. For
example, HIV/AIDS fell from a #11 ranking to #33 – showing the success of drug
treatments, the National Institutes of Health said in a blog post.

For many
other diseases, especially those related to aging, the burden is increasing.
For example, Alzheimer’s disease jumped from #25 to #12 and is likely to
continue rising as the Baby Boomer generation grows older – unless new
strategies for treatment and prevention are found, the NIH said

The rates also increased for drug use disorders, chronic kidney disease, kidney cancer, and
falls during the two-decade period.

The leading risk factors related to disabilities were dietary risks, tobacco smoking, high body mass index,
high blood pressure, high fasting plasma glucose, physical inactivity, and
alcohol use.

The report also shows that U.S. life
expectancy for both sexes combined increased from 75.2 years in 1990 to 78.2
years in 2010. During the same period, the healthy life expectancy – a measure
taking into account length of life and level of health – increased from 65.8
years to 68.1 years.

However, among 34 countries that
belong to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development between
1990 and 2010, the U.S. rankings dropped for:

• The death rate, from 18^th to 27^th.

• The years of life lost due to
  premature deaths, from 23^rd to 28^th.

• The years lived with disability, from
  5^th to 6^th.

• The life expectancy at birth, from 20^th
  to 27^th.

• The years lived with disability, from
  14^th to 26^th.

This means improvements in the health
of Americans in the U.S. haven’t kept pace with advances in health in other
wealthy nations, The Journal of the American Medical Association said in a
summary of the report.