Scientists from Boston University School of Public Health [Wyższa Szkoła Zdrowia Publicznego w Bostonie] conducted an analysis in “JAMA Network Open” of data on causes of death in the USA and in 17 other highly developed countries, including: Canada, France, Japan and Great Britain, covering the years 1999–2022.
It turned out that during the period under study, there were approximately 12.7 million excess deaths in the USA, and a in 2022 alone, the overall mortality rate was 38%. higher than in other countries with similar income levels.
As researchers calculated, the main reason for this difference was cardiovascular diseasessuch as coronary heart disease, hypertension or stroke. After a period of decline, mortality from these conditions began to increase again after 2010.
Why are more people dying in the US?
They were next among the causes of high American mortality metabolic diseases, mainly diabetes and kidney diseases, as well as various types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Cardiac and metabolic diseases were jointly responsible more than half of all excess deaths in the United States in 2022
The study also showed a sharp increase in use-related deaths psychoactive substances. This applies primarily to drug overdoses, alcohol-related diseases and suicides. Particularly strong growth was recorded after 2013, when it became widespread in the US drug market fentanyl.
In 2022, the number drug-related deaths exceeded 130 thousand As the scientists pointed out, this value many times exceeds the rates in other countries highly developed.
Poverty and social inequality
The authors also pointed out that the problem of excess deaths among US residents does not result solely from the quality of medical care. In their opinion, they also play an important role social and economic factors affecting healthamong others lifestyle, poverty, chronic stress and social inequality.
— Countries with similar or even worse access to advanced medical technologies achieve much better health outcomes than the United States. We need to consider what solutions these countries have implemented and whether they could also be applied to us, said the lead author of the study, Dr. Jacob Bor.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further deepened pre-existing disparities. In 2020–2022, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was one of the main causes of excess deaths, accounting for approximately one fifth of such cases.
The authors concluded that More research is needed on the causes of the sharp increase in mortality among the United States population after 2010. In their opinion, limiting this disturbing trend requires not only new therapies, but also social and political actions to improve the health of the population and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
