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Why we are healthier than Americans but
Nick Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:02 pm
From The Telegraph 11.11.2010
Why we are healthier than Americans but die earlier
English people are far healthier when they retire than their American counterparts but die earlier because of our poorer healthcare, a major new study claims.
Richard Alleyne
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent 5:30AM GMT 04 Nov 2010
People in the US are twice as likely to contract diabetes and a third more likely to develop cancer than those among similar aged people in England.
But despite this, Americans, aged 65, can expect to live on average around three months longer than their equivalent retirees across the Atlantic.
The discrepancies suggests that while English people have healthier lifestyles than Americans, the latter's health care system is better able to patch them up.
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"Americans are so much sicker but they make up for it with much more aggressive and expensive health care," said Jim Smith, senior economist and lead author at the US research think tank the Rand Corporation.
"We are spending twice as much as England on health and we are getting the benefit of the extra years of life.
"If English people spent the same amount I have no doubt people would live a lot longer. That is a choice they will have to make."
The study, co-authored by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London, involved analysing information from two comparable surveys of people aged 50 and over in the United States and England – 20,000 people in the US Health and Retirement Survey and 12,000 people in the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing.
They found huge differences in the prevalence of seven chronic diseases – diabetes, high-blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, chronic lung diseases and cancer.
On average American people aged 55 to 64 were between a third and a half more likely to suffer from one or more of the diseases.
Diabetes rates were more than twice as high in the United States as in England (12.07 per cent versus 5.88 per cent) and cancer prevalence was more than third as high in the United States (9.57 per cent compared to 5.48 per cent) for people aged 55 to 64.
But both sets of pensioners had a similar life expectancy (82 for men, 85 for women) with Americans actually living on average a few months longer.
And the older Americans got the longer they could expect to live compared to similar people in England, according to the findings published in the journal Demography.
Mr Smith said: "If you get sick at older ages, you will die sooner in England than in the United States.
"It appears that at least in terms of survival at older ages with chronic disease, the medical system in the United States may be better than the system in England."
The study expands on an earlier analysis that found that Americans aged 55 to 64 suffered from diseases such as diabetes at rates up to twice those seen among similarly aged people in England.
The trend was observed across all backgrounds.
Mr Smith said that research suggested that "higher-quality medical care in the United States than in England" meant people were less likely to die from chronic illnesses.
Official figures from the OECD show that America spends 16 per cent of its GDP on health care compared with 8.7 per cent in England.
As a result, the American system is much more likely to aggressively screen and treat diseases, no matter how much it costs, said Mr Smith.
"It is hard for Americans to understand because they have an image of English people having a poor lifestyle but ours is much worse," he said.
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Why we are healthier than Americans but die earlier
English people are far healthier when they retire than their American counterparts but die earlier because of our poorer healthcare, a major new study claims.
Richard Alleyne
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent 5:30AM GMT 04 Nov 2010
People in the US are twice as likely to contract diabetes and a third more likely to develop cancer than those among similar aged people in England.
But despite this, Americans, aged 65, can expect to live on average around three months longer than their equivalent retirees across the Atlantic.
The discrepancies suggests that while English people have healthier lifestyles than Americans, the latter's health care system is better able to patch them up.
Related Articles
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04 Nov 2010
*
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04 Nov 2010
*
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04 Nov 2010
*
MPC expected to hold fire on more quantitative easing
04 Nov 2010
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04 Nov 2010
"Americans are so much sicker but they make up for it with much more aggressive and expensive health care," said Jim Smith, senior economist and lead author at the US research think tank the Rand Corporation.
"We are spending twice as much as England on health and we are getting the benefit of the extra years of life.
"If English people spent the same amount I have no doubt people would live a lot longer. That is a choice they will have to make."
The study, co-authored by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London, involved analysing information from two comparable surveys of people aged 50 and over in the United States and England – 20,000 people in the US Health and Retirement Survey and 12,000 people in the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing.
They found huge differences in the prevalence of seven chronic diseases – diabetes, high-blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, chronic lung diseases and cancer.
On average American people aged 55 to 64 were between a third and a half more likely to suffer from one or more of the diseases.
Diabetes rates were more than twice as high in the United States as in England (12.07 per cent versus 5.88 per cent) and cancer prevalence was more than third as high in the United States (9.57 per cent compared to 5.48 per cent) for people aged 55 to 64.
But both sets of pensioners had a similar life expectancy (82 for men, 85 for women) with Americans actually living on average a few months longer.
And the older Americans got the longer they could expect to live compared to similar people in England, according to the findings published in the journal Demography.
Mr Smith said: "If you get sick at older ages, you will die sooner in England than in the United States.
"It appears that at least in terms of survival at older ages with chronic disease, the medical system in the United States may be better than the system in England."
The study expands on an earlier analysis that found that Americans aged 55 to 64 suffered from diseases such as diabetes at rates up to twice those seen among similarly aged people in England.
The trend was observed across all backgrounds.
Mr Smith said that research suggested that "higher-quality medical care in the United States than in England" meant people were less likely to die from chronic illnesses.
Official figures from the OECD show that America spends 16 per cent of its GDP on health care compared with 8.7 per cent in England.
As a result, the American system is much more likely to aggressively screen and treat diseases, no matter how much it costs, said Mr Smith.
"It is hard for Americans to understand because they have an image of English people having a poor lifestyle but ours is much worse," he said.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8108385/Why-we-are-healthier-than-Americans-but-die-earlier.html
Telegraph
Health News
*
News »
*
UK News »
*
Science »
*
Science News »
*
Health »
In health
Some Whitehall departments will escape the comprehensive spending review relatively unscathed while others face swingeing cuts
Spending Review explained
The world's weirdest x-rays
Weird X-rays
A grain of willow pollen wedged between flower petals
Amazing pollen images
Telegraph Medical Insurance
Telegraph Medical Insurance
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