Life of Brian

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE AND IT SUCKS . . .US Live Expectancy Going Up and Down at the Same Time . . .. . . the healthcae gap is getting wider and it's killing women

Common understanding is that due to advanced in healthcare and technology and nuitrition, life expectancy has been rising.  Women tend to have a longer life expectancy than men.  A recent study on mortality rates by counties in the United States paints a very different - and rather depressing - picture.

The study by Majid Ezzati, Ari B. Friedman, Sandeep C. Kulkarni,  and Christopher J. L. Murray takes a hard look at actual county-by-county mortality data to uncover some disconcerting trends.  The PLos Medicine paper is The Reversal of Fortunes: Trends in County Mortality and Cross-County Mortality Disparities in the United States.  In the map above, you can compare mortality rates for men and women for the periods of 1961-1983 to those of 1983-1999.  The dark red areas are decreasing life expectancy while dark green areas are growing life expectancy.  Light red is below average but not decreasing and light green is above average but not increasing.  White areas are average.  Note the strong regional differences but also the nosedive in life expectancy for women.

The US is one of the most advanced nations on the planet but access to quality care is becoming limited  The cyberpunk dystopia is unfortunately becoming more and more increasingly accurate as a model for American society when it comes to access to healthcare.  Wealthier areas have always had more access to superior care and the gap between wealthy and the poor is widening as the middle class shrinks but also as many find their insurance  - if they can afford it - costs more and covers less.

The gap between male and female life expectancy is frightening as women naturally have higher expectancy but we are seeing a reveral.

What is causing the downturn?  For men, increased murder rates and HIV infections have has a real effect on life expectancy (but not for women).  Other culprits are factors for men and for women:

The researchers looked at differences in death rates between all counties in US states plus the District of Columbia over four decades, from 1961 to 1999. They obtained the data on number of deaths from the National Center for Health Statistics, and they obtained data on the number of people living in each county from the US Census. The NCHS did not provide death data after 2001. They broke the death rates down by sex and by disease to assess trends over time for women and men, and for different causes of death.

Over these four decades, the researchers found that the overall US life expectancy increased from 67 to 74 years of age for men and from 74 to 80 years for women. Between 1961 and 1983 the death rate fell in both men and women, largely due to reductions in deaths from cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke). During this same period, 1961-1983, the differences in death rates among/across different counties fell. However, beginning in the early 1980s the differences in death rates among/across different counties began to increase. The worst-off counties no longer experienced a fall in death rates, and in a substantial number of counties, mortality actually increased, especially for women, a shift that the researchers call "the reversal of fortunes." This stagnation in the worst-off counties was primarily caused by a slowdown or halt in the reduction of deaths from cardiovascular disease coupled with a moderate rise in a number of other diseases, such as lung cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, in both men and women, and a rise in HIV/AIDS and homicide in men. The researchers' key finding, therefore, was that the differences in life expectancy across different counties initially narrowed and then widened.

This is scary stuff as the trends increase.  The folks at io9 offered their own take on the results:  So basically there is a growing health gap in the United States. Despite its status as a developed nation, the country is likely to harbor more and more communities where life expectancy is more like a developing nation. We're looking at a future where it's going to be increasingly difficult to say whether a country is "developing" or "developed" since it will exhibit characteristics of both.

Welcome to the future and it sucks.

All the best,
Brian

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An Engineer's Guide to Cats

Tricia Walsh Smith

Listening . . .

No Pants

Sometimes you just have to go without the ol' pants . . . No Pants 2k8 at Improv Everywhere. Notice how the event is getting bigger every year. This time it's begun to spread into more cities too.

How It All Ends

Watch more of Greg's videos on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/wonderingmind42 - and notice how he uses influence masterfully.

All the best,
Brian

I Have A Cold . . .

NOYB . . .. . . what's your religion?

At the end of one of my lectures at the university, a student came up to me to ask if I wouldn't mind taking a survey on the campus radio station.  I told her to go ahead and fire away and ask her questions.  Well, at the end of the survey, she said she had one final question and that was "What is your religion?"  I looked her straight in the eye and said, "put down NOYB . . . None Of Your Business."  She was taken a bit aback by this as the idea of privacy in terms of religious practice was a bit alien to her.  I then told her that for me my religious beliefs are a private matter and that even if I told her what they were the list of possible choices on her survey didn't have the "correct" choice for me as I'm not Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Agnostic, Athiest, Muslim, Satanist, or any of the other -ists usually listed for such things.  Most folks here assume that I must be Christian as the default assumption is that any random white person living in this country is probably Christian and that Americans are extremely likely to be Christian and if they are not then they're probably Budhists studying Chinese.  Since I teach a university course in Bible & Literature which I pursued with zeal, the assumption is even more so that I must be Christian (after all, I did attend a church-affiliated university and earned a minor in religion as an undergraduate and I guarantee that I know more about scripture than most of the folks walking around claiming to be Christian).  However, while I was indeed a Christian during most of my formative years and my first vocational choice as a boy was a dream to one day become a preacher and I certainly would have made a pretty damned good one . . . today, I am most definately no longer a Christian . . . that monkey sailed long ago.  I enjoy religious studies, particularly comparative religion.  However, I don't put my relgious views out there when I teach the material nor do I wish others to make assumptions that are erroneous.  So . . . when the question comes up, and it does, quite often, my response is usually NOYB . . . although, once in awhile, I will indeed be honest and open and tell some folks what my views really are . . . but those are usually the folks who don't push it and who are naturally within my comfort zone.  Hint . . . there are no ritual chicken sacrifices but there is a great deal of personal experiential bliss and communion involved (no, not that communion, no flesh-eating cannibalism or blood thirst satiation) . . . n . . . o . . . y . . . b.

Abstinence Programs Face Rejection

More states have seen the light . . . Abstinence Programs Face Rejection. Despite the federal theocracy, er, federal government earmarking much more money to fund programs for states that teach abstinence only, more states have refused the money . . . not because they don't want money for worthwhile and effective sex education programs designed to lower the number of teenage pregnancies and halt the spread of sexually transmitted diseases . . . no, the states actually want effective programs but they have found - and studies continue to back this up - that programs that push abstinence as the only option are much less likely to be effective (in fact, they are abyssmally horrid at achieving any positive trends in this regard). Since the federal government's money mandates that states that accept the money must ONLY teach abstinence, states are beginning to refuse the money and are opting to go it alone with tighter budgets but much more effective programs.

All the best,
Brian

Sex . . . it does a body good. . . health reasons to indulge in sensual pleasure

From Newsweek, a number of studies have shown that regular sex has various health benefits . . . I can think of many non-health benefits as well as a few more health benefits not listed in their Health Benefits of Weekly Sex article . . . regular sex (at least once a week, but the more the better) has a number of health benefits, especially for women.  The top six health reasons they give to encourage folks to have regular sex include:

1. It Fights Colds and Flu. Sexual intercourse once or twice a week raises the body's level of the immune-boosting antibody immunoglobin A by a third, according to research at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.

2. It's a Beauty Treatment. In a study at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland, a panel of judges viewed participants through a one-way mirror and guessed their ages. Those who looked seven to 12 years younger than their age (labeled "superyoung") were also enjoying lots of sex—four times a week, on average. OK, maybe they were having so much fun because they looked young. But it's likely the sex was helping, researchers say. One reason is that it raises a woman's estrogen level, which helps make hair shiny and skin supple.

3. It Burns Calories. A little over four calories a minute, or the equivalent of four Hershey's kisses in a half hour of love. Think of it as part of your weekly exercise regime, and burn, baby, burn.

4. Yes, Honey, I Have a Headache. For a woman a migraine might actually be a reason for making love rather than avoiding intercourse: the increase in endorphins and corticosteroids during arousal and orgasm is analgesic.

5. It Promotes Regular Menstrual Cycles. A series of studies by behavioral endocrinologist Winnifred Cutler and colleagues at Columbia and Stanford universities found that women who have intercourse at least weekly (except during their period) cycle more regularly than abstainers or the sporadically active. (Related research found that lesbian lovemaking also smoothes out menstrual cycles.) Cutler argues that intimacy is essential, not orgasms: "Regular exposure to a loving partner has extraordinary effects on health and well-being."

6. It Can Prevent Accidents. Women use the muscles of the pelvic floor to stem the flow of urine. As they age, they need to keep these strong to avoid peeing accidentally. The same muscles are exercised during intercourse, and as with all muscle-building programs, the benefits require consistency.

Of course, a major benefit for regular sex . . . it certainly is an enjoyable experience.  We'll save the social and bonding and other benefits for another post sometime.  In the meantime, go get healthy!

All the best,
Brian

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Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com