Iceland has longest-lived men, U.S. scores poorly

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Iceland has longest-lived men, U.S. scores poorly

By Maggie Fox, Health And Science Editor – Thu Apr 29, 6:58

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AIDS, smoking and obesity are reversing progress made in

helping people live longer around the world, with mortality rates worsening over

the past 20 years in 37 countries, researchers reported on Thursday.

They found Icelandic men have the lowest risk of premature death, while Cypriot

women do. Some rich countries such as the United States and Britain scored

relatively poorly, the survey found.

In most places, men have twice the relative mortality rate of women, Dr.

Murray of the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues

reported in the Lancet medical journal.

" Worldwide, the 1990s reversal in the trend in adult mortality is probably a

result of the HIV pandemic and the sharp rise in adult mortality in countries of

the former Soviet Union, " the researchers wrote.

" One of the most striking patterns is the rapid decline in adult female

mortality in south Asia; in 1970 this was the region with the highest risk of

female mortality and by 2010, (the risk of dying before age 60) had fallen by 56

percent. "

Murray and colleagues used a complex formula to calculate the probability that

someone aged 15 will die before they reach 60. They believe their method paints

a more accurate picture than methods used by the United Nations, and can be used

to compare countries with populations of different ages.

In the 40 years since 1970, they found, adult mortality risk fell by 34 percent

among women and 19 percent in men globally.

REVERSING PROGRESS

But some places had notable reversals in rank, including the former Soviet

Union. Russia has fallen from 43rd place for female mortality in 1970 to 121st.

" Research shows that across countries, inequality in adult mortality has grown

to the point where adult men in Swaziland -- the country with the worst

mortality rate -- now have a probability of premature death that is nine times

the mortality rate of the best country, Cyprus, " Murray's team wrote.

The United States, where 60 percent of adults are overweight or obese, fell in

overall rankings, from 34th in the world in female mortality and 41st in male

mortality in 1990 to 49th for women and 45th for men in 2010 -- behind Chile,

Tunisia, and Albania.

But mortality rates fell 50 percent over the same time in South Korea.

Murray said he wanted to study adult mortality globally because so much emphasis

goes into helping very young children survive.

" Every year, more than 7.7 million children die before their fifth birthday;

however, over three times that number of adults -- nearly 24 million -- die

under the age of 60 years, " his team wrote.

" The prevention of premature adult death is just as important for global health

policy as the improvement of child survival. "

According to the United Nations, 8.8 million children under the age of 5 died in

2008.

http://news./s/nm/20100429/hl_nm/us_deaths_world