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Post by kaima on Dec 2, 2019 7:23:24 GMT -7
www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2019_4dd50c09-enOECD Multilingual Summaries Health at a Glance 2019OECD Indicators Summary in English members, candidate and partner countries. Gains in longevity are stalling; chronic diseases and mental ill health affect more and more peopleOn average across OECD countries, a person born today can expect to live almost 81 years. But life expectancy gains have slowed recently across most OECD countries, especially in the United States, France and the Netherlands. 2015 was a particularly bad year, with life expectancy falling in 19 countries. The causes are multifaceted. Rising levels of obesity and diabetes have made it difficult to maintain previous progress in cutting deaths from heart disease and stroke. Respiratory diseases such as influenza and pneumonia have claimed more lives in recent years, notably amongst older people. In some countries the opioid crisis has caused more working‑age adults to die from drug‑related accidental poisoning. Opioid‑related deaths have increased by about 20% since 2011, and have claimed about 400 000 lives in the United States alone. Opioid‑related deaths are also relatively high in Canada, Estonia and Sweden. Heart attacks, stroke and other circulatory diseases caused about one in three deaths across the OECD; and one in four deaths were related to cancer. Better prevention and health care could have averted almost 3 million premature deaths. Almost one in ten adults consider themselves to be in bad health. This reflects in part the burden of chronic diseases – almost a third of adults live with two or more chronic conditions. Mental ill health also takes its toll, with an estimated one in two people experiencing a mental health problem in their lifetime. Smoking, drinking and obesity continue to cause people to die prematurely and worsen quality of life Unhealthy lifestyles – notably smoking, harmful alcohol use and obesity – are the root cause of many chronic health conditions, cutting lives short and worsening quality of life. Whilst smoking rates are declining, 18% of adults still smoke daily. Alcohol consumption averaged 9 litres of pure alcohol per person per year across OECD countries, equivalent to almost 100 bottles of wine. Nearly 4% of adults were alcohol dependent. Obesity rates continue to rise in most OECD countries, with 56% of adults overweight or obese and almost one‑third of children aged 5‑9 overweight. Air pollution caused about 40 deaths per 100 000 people, across OECD countries. Death rates were much higher in partner countries India and China, at around 140 deaths per 100 000 people. Barriers to access persist, particularly amongst the less well‑off An estimated one in five adults who needed to see a doctor did not do so, with worse access for the less well‑off. Uptake of cancer screening is also lower amongst poorer individuals, even though most OECD countries provide screening programmes at no cost. Direct payments by households (out‑of‑pocket payments) make up just over a fifth of all health spending on average, and over 40% in Latvia and Mexico. Cost concerns lead people to delay or not seek care, with the least well‑off three times more likely than wealthier individuals to have unmet need for financial reasons. Waiting times and transportation difficulties hinder access in some countries. For example, waiting times for a knee replacement were over a year in Chile, Estonia and Poland. Such access constraints occur despite most OECD countries having universal or near‑universal coverage for a core set of services. Parts of the explanation are high cost sharing, exclusion of services from benefit packages or implicit rationing of services. Limitations in health literacy, imperfect communication strategies and low quality of care are also contributing factors. Quality of care is improving in terms of safety and effectiveness, but more attention should be placed on patient‑reported outcomes and experiences Patient safety has improved across many indicators, but more needs to be done. For example, 5% of hospitalised patients had a health‑care associated infection. Strong primary care systems keep people well and can treat most uncomplicated cases. They also relieve pressure on hospitals: avoidable admissions for chronic conditions have fallen in most OECD countries, particularly in Korea, Lithuania, Mexico and Sweden. In terms of acute care, fewer people are dying following a heart attack or stroke, with Norway and Iceland having low case‑fatality rates for both conditions. Alongside adherence to evidence‑based medicine, timely care is critical. Survival rates for a range of cancers have also improved, reflecting better quality preventive and curative care. Across all OECD countries, for example, women diagnosed early for breast cancer have a 90% or higher probability of surviving their cancer for at least five years. A deeper understanding of quality of care requires measuring what matters to people. Yet few health systems routinely ask patients about the outcomes and experiences of their care. Preliminary results show improvements in patient‑reported outcomes. For example, following hip replacement, an individual’s quality of life – in terms of mobility, self‑care, activity, pain and depression – improved on average by around 20%. Countries spend a lot on health, but they do not always spend it as well as they could Spending on health was about USD 4 000 per person (adjusted for purchasing powers), on average across OECD countries. The United States spent more than all other countries by a considerable margin, at over USD 10 000 per resident. Mexico spent the least, at around USD 1 150 per resident. Health expenditure has largely outpaced economic growth in the past, and despite a slowdown in recent years, is expected to do so in the future. New estimates point to health spending reaching 10.2% of GDP by 2030 across OECD countries, up from 8.8% in 2018. This raises sustainability concerns, particularly as most countries draw funding largely from public sources. Reforms to improve economic efficiency are critical. Increased use of generics has generated cost‑savings, though generics only represent around half of the volume of pharmaceuticals sold across OECD countries. Increases in day surgery, lower hospitalisation rates and shorter stays may also indicate a more efficient use of expensive hospital resources. In OECD countries, health and social systems employ more workers now than at any other time in history, with about one in every ten jobs found in health or social care. Shifting tasks from doctors to nurses and other health professionals can alleviate cost pressures and improve efficiency. Population ageing increases demand for health services, particularly for long‑term care. This places more pressure on family members, particularly women, with around 13% of people aged 50 and over providing informal care at least once a week for a dependent relative or friend. By 2050, the share of the population aged 80 and over will more than double. © OECD Reproduction of this summary is allowed provided the OECD copyright and the title of the original publication are mentioned.
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Post by pieter on Dec 2, 2019 13:35:17 GMT -7
Kaima,
Although my county is a rather rich Western-European country in the Capitalist and democratic European continent, chronic diseases and mental ill health affect more and more people in the Netherlands too. I do believe that your article is accurate in many perspectives as a research report of the OECD. I like the fact that you post articles based on statistics, research, facts and describing developments.
The Netherlands is located in a very densely populated area of Europe in which the collective pollution of Scandinavia in the North, the United Kingdom in the West, France and Belgium in the South and Germany in the East together with the Dutch industry, huge traffic of vehicles on our roads and highways, and the commercial transportation or exchange of goods, or the movement of passengers or people and the polluting Dutch agricultural sector causes health problems. The Netherlands and the Benelux in general are situated in a cloud of pollution which lies over various countries and partly over the North sea. Arnhem despite laying under the largest Dutch forest area is a very polluted dirty city, because of the enormous stream of Diesel consuming transport trucks that pass Arnhem 24 hours a day, 7 days in the week (Transport route from South to the North and West to the East and vice versa) and the fact that in a densely populated country many homes also create pollution, due to our gas use, our toilets and our sewer systems and our waste (garbage) problem (the burning of our garbage) and our energy production (polluting) and our power plants based on wood burning, coal, gas and other commodities (resources).
Next to that people eat too much, drink to much alcohol and yes, some people still smoke a lot and ruin their health by that. And the fact that some people are to less active in moving (sport/health activities like walking, running/jogging, sporting and using the bicycle in staid of their car. In contrast to the popular image of Dutch people not all Dutch people cycle. Some people love and use their car too much and therefor develop overweight Obesity problems as a cause of that. Some Dutch people work too hard and have limited free time, limited relaxation and limited spare time. Some of these people die early due to lack of care for them self. Having to little rest and too much work and pressure. These folks are workaholics or have to work hard to keep their family home running. The latter is of course a general Western problem. The same phenomenon exist in the USA.
Population ageing in the Netherlands for sure increases demand for health services, particularly for long‑term care. My parents are a good example of that.
Fact is though that the highest levels of air pollution is present in Central- and Eastern-Europe today.
Cheers, Pieterwww.dw.com/en/where-is-europes-air-safe-to-breathe/a-46189571
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Post by pieter on Dec 2, 2019 13:39:46 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Dec 2, 2019 13:42:09 GMT -7
Light pollution in EuropeLooks like the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, West-Germany and Paris are the most light polluted area's in Europe. This shows also the most densely populated area's in Europe. Light pollution has also it's affect on the amount and the quality of sleep people get. Sleeplessness is a modern disease that also harms the health situation of people. Darkness is good for people and animals at night.Westland (region), NetherlandsWestland is a region of the Netherlands and lies in the western part of the Province of South Holland. It consists of the municipalities of Westland and Midden-Delfland, and also of the town of Hook of Holland (which is a part of the municipality of Rotterdam).
Westland is well known for its horticulture in glasshouses, hence its nickname the glass city. It is one of the lightest places in Europe at night, but also a huge polluter.The light of Westland glasshouses at night. A lot of Polish guestworkers work for Dutch horticulture companies in the WestlandLight pollution drives out darkness in the NetherlandsThe Pink dots in the West point at the Westland horticulture in glasshouses in the South-Holland Western part of the NetherlandsTourists, sentimental Dutch expats and migrants abroad (Dutch Americans) who visit the largest flower auction in the world is in Aalsmeer in North Holland or the Keukenhof flower gardens in the South-Holland town of Lisse, in the Netherlands don't realise that the flower bussiness is a very polluting sector. Not only the light pollution but also the gass burning pollution.
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Post by pieter on Dec 2, 2019 13:46:53 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Dec 2, 2019 14:45:18 GMT -7
Kaima,
I wonder why I have met so much people with mental illnesses in my life in Amsterdam, The Hague and Arnhem. In the less densly populated Zeeland where I grew up I witnessed less mentallly ill people. But starting in Amsterdam, I experienced the modern illnesses of a modern, secular, Western, Capitalist, Neo-liberal and democratic society, economy and country. I lived in Amsterdam during the Heroine wave. 7 thousand junkies were in Amsterdam in the early nineties. I witnessed them, but I (of course) studied, lived and worked (student spare time jobs) in different circles. I saw however the down side of the Modern Western European individualistic, anonymous, Capitalist and indifferent materialistic society. Tourists see the romantic, sentimental, historical layers of the historical city of Amsterdam. I saw the other grim side. Young people who couldn't find a student apartment to rent, or working young people who couldn't find a house to buy.
I saw the transformation of the rather, leftwing, social democratic, communist/marxist, Amsterdam anarchist, social liberal progressive Amsterdam which was always Red (in Europe in contrast to the USA Red is the color of Socialism and communism), a leftist working class city, turned to become a Neo-Liberal, corporate, financial market (Amsterdam stock market, Euronext Amsterdam and the commercial Schiphol Airport, and the Amsterdam Banking, insurance companies sectors) and more classical liberal, neo-liberal, market oriented, libertarian city. Mass tourism grew, the business world grew, the amount of Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals), marketeers, accountants, lawjers, bankers, stock brokers, horeca, real estate agents, hotels, Airbnb places, tourist shops and shops focussed on rich foreign visitors grew.
Lower income Amsterdam people slowly began to be driven out of the city making place for rich peoples apartments, corporate buildings, law firms, institutions, multi national chains, and many Amsterdam people became alienated from their own city they saw as a city of new comers (non-Amsterdam people from the rest of the Netherlands who moved into Amsterdam, making Amsterdam less Amsterdam in their point of view -you hear less Amsterdam dialect on the streets and more general Dutch or other Dutch accents-) . Some cheap tourists or less desirable expats stay for a long time in cheap Airbnb apartments making noise by using drugs and to much alcohol and non-stop partying. Some Amsterdam people therefor became allergic too these cheap tourists, mass tourism and annoying expats. I have to say you have some crazy stupid loud and vulgar Brits, Swedes, Italians, Spanish people, and probably some Americans, Canadians, Australians, Russians, Poles and migrants amongst these annoying people.
To my surprise some hard core Amsterdam lovers amongst my friends, older and younger people complained about Amsterdam. Too overcrowded, too stressful, to much traffic and too much people day and night. They see it is a foreign invasion, but are less tolerant towards compatriots too, due to experiences with aggressive drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. That is the stress of living and working in an overcrowded city in a overcrowded country. When I travel by train it is also full always. That is why I love traveling by train extremely early or late in the evening. Dutch highways aren't fun to drive like German or French highways. The traffic jams are killing, and I hate slow driving, so it isn't much fun for me to drive over here. Count air pollution, to much alcoholic beverages (people drink to relax, to forget, to become light), smoking, Dutch snack bar, Mc Donalds, Burger King or Kentucky Fried Chicken food and microwave ready-to-serve dinners with a lot of salt in it and to less sleep and you get an image of peoples lives and the diseases they get.Dutch Snack barTo close this text, I want to state that I am not anti-capitalist per se, but have problems with every extreme. In the past the Netherlands and Amsterdam were to Nordic Scandinavian (close to the Swedish model) in the Social democratic, social capitalist ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_market_economy ), social welfare social security etatist state sense. Today in my opinion the Netherlands moved to much in the US and British direction, with a dominance of the Financial markets and the stock holders. We are a continental European country and our model should be more stake holders value oriented and a mixed economy. The German Rhineland model is not such a bad idea. I wonder if that Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-American model works on the long term for the Netherlands. The USA is a country on another continent with a different historical development, different ethnic mix of the popultion, different culture, different traditions, different customs, different ethnics, different values, different rules, different legislation, different monetary policies, different financial markets, a different central bank (the Federal Reserve), a different political system, different financial markets and a different economy. You can't copy or integrate or implement the American or Anglo-American model in the Netherlands. Even when Dutch CEO's, Bankers, accountants, lawjers, stock brokers, and rightwing politicians love that and try to do that. The Netherlands is Europe and the USA is North America. Each has it's own financial-economical system.
But fact is that as Western nations the USA and the Democratic and Capitalist market oriented, liberal or moderate conservative European states face the same problems.
Cheers, Pieter
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Post by pieter on Dec 2, 2019 15:15:27 GMT -7
Kaima,
I think that I have met so much people with mental illnesses in my life in Amsterdam, The Hague and Arnhem, because I made a radical change in my life moving from a rural area to a large city. I was confronted in the Dutch context with a large city culture and complex society. In the context of the larger USA, the UK, Germany or France, Amsterdam is a rather small city. And Arnhem, my present city a small town or tiny city. But the mental and physical problems are comparable with larger cities. People struggle with uncertainty of their future, with raising housing costs (rents and mortgages), raising health care costs, raising education costs for their children and increasing problems in the Dutch education system. Too less teachers, teachers that get paid to less, teachers that are burdened with bureaucracy, schools that are struggling to maintain continuity. Schools that struggle with pupils and student with behavioral problems.
I contrast to early this century and the late nineties I see more people with mental problems (depression, manic depression, bi-polar disorders, psychoses, clinical depression, schizophrenia, borderline and Schizoid personality disorders), physical health problems, worries and anxiety disorders. The society became more complex, more complicated and for some people too diverse. They can't coop with the fast modern society and see the gap growing with people who can adapt to the new time and who are successful. The gap between the successful and the unsuccessful is growing. The gap between rich and poor is growing and our egalitarian society which existed during the seventies, eighties and nineties is disappearing and a new class society is developing itself.
A lot of people are crushed today between the corporate capitalist market society and the new demanding government with it's higher taxes, higher health care costs, and the banks who give less and less interest to saving accounts. So people nearly can't save money anymore. In the same time people have to work longer before they can stop working and enjoy their pension. Still the Netherlands is one of the wealthiest and safest places on earth, but things are beginning to change. Solidarity between people and the Polder model ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_model ) are slowly disappearing. For the lower incomes it is a struggle to survive today. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. And especially on the poor side the chronic diseases and mental ill health affect more and more people.
Cheers, Pieter
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Post by kaima on Dec 3, 2019 11:40:05 GMT -7
Pieter,
It is interesting to observe the health systems and health practices of the people we are acquainted with around the world. It is astounding to think that life span in the USA is decreasing at the same time so much pessimism has entered our lives politically and socially. There is the Trumpism in the US, where this dog of a man is revered as a god by so many, a god in the sense that they grant him faith in his utterances and destructive activities, as "it is all for the best" and will clean out the devils who mess up our daily life, and after Him, all will be right with the world, as long as we follow this divinely gifted Leader (Fuhrer in German, yes?) who has insights and abilities far surpassing the mere mortals we have otherwise elected in the past. And the Europeans all seem to be searching for their own Divine Leaders.
Further on the mental health, it seems there is more than a tension between generations today, almost to a degree of hatred with the "OK Boomer" attitude of younger generations toward the Baby Boomer generation. Certainly I have to agree with the argument that we have thoroughly screwed things up, tearing the fabric of American values, government and social values, and the false prosperity we have insisted upon is based on NOT paying as we go for services demanded, but passing all of the debt we have irresponsibly built up on to the grandchildren. Happily they are bright and recognize that the poisoned environment, the ignoring of science that demands action on out part, the abuse of the economic system, and the distortion of the political system are legacies that we are passing on to them, and we should be soundly condemned for our profligate ways. I must thoroughly agree with their disgust and dissatisfaction with the world we have built to hand over to them. The idealism and the values of tolerating the beliefs and practices of others, and of living together and not insisting the other conform to our thoughts and way of life, these values have been abandoned and distorted by us in the older generations.
So I can see where the discontent arises, and the general mental health problems given the stresses we are passing on to younger peoples with our selfishness and refusal to face our reality and take action to mitigate the problems that are so obvious to see. It will take the dying off of a generation to allow the younger perspective to take the reins of power and start to steer us in more moderate and healthy directions, if the poisoning of values and acceptance of double speak can be overcome and not institutionalized to the point where it will lead to collapse of our 'civilization'.
Locally in Alaska we don't have industry, so our environment is quite pure by world standards. We do get air pollution from the polar winds and Siberia / Russia, debris from Japan and the Pacific currents. We suffer from "End of the Roaders", semi-social and anti-social people fleeing normal society and its standards, so we suffer high crimes against women of every category (appropriately with a high degree of political and un-moral support for our Abuser in Chief, Trump). We have a reputation for having the highest proportion of men to women in America, but as I am forced to admit so reluctantly, for women "the odds are good, but the goods are odd". That is in the face of having to say the people and atmosphere are magnificent, and the tolerance to allow others to lead their lives as they wish is high. We do elect Carpet Bagger Senators and governors who spent their lives in the teaching profession and then gain office only to cut education to crippling levels. So we share the same blind spots as our nation as a whole, but with many fewer resources to handle these problems, and a population insistent on living on borrowed money or the light taxes we have imposed on the oil industry,refusing to recognize reality of income and outgo, and pay as we go. All must be free. Certainly we are afflicted with rather grave mental deficiencies, according to these actions. We face a grave refusal to give reality recognition and take logical steps to mitigate and improve on our circumstances.
Physical health of our nations I will leave for another time.
Kai
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Post by kaima on Dec 3, 2019 20:51:06 GMT -7
www.nytimes.com/newsletters/paul-krugman?te=1&nl=tbd&emc=edit_pk_20190618&te=1&nl=paul-krugman&emc=edit_pk_20191203?campaign_id=116&instance_id=14237&segment_id=19247&user_id=aeedb5eab46ff7275a38df5b049bd0fe®i_id=94799984emc=edit_pk_20191203You can sign up for regular (weekly ?) emails from Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman at the link above. The blog article presented here seems to fit in with the health issue, particularly the mental health issues facing Europe and America. The New York Times Opinion Dec. 3, 2019 The Family Values Time WarpA family gathered in their living room circa 1950s.Bettmann/Corbis, via Getty ImagesBy Paul Krugman Opinion Columnist Regular readers know that I’m somewhat obsessed with the economic contrast between U.S. regions, which were becoming more similar for most of the 20th century, but have been diverging again since around 1980. Partly that’s because I have some intellectual capital invested in the subject: Academic papers I wrote about economic geography some three decades ago are my most cited work, and seem more relevant than ever. But regional divergence has been getting attention from many people, because of its social and political importance. Today’s column delved into a somewhat different aspect of regional divergence: growing disparities in life expectancy. But it also ended up being in part about the remarkable fact that conservatives are still placing blame for all our social ills on the decline of religiosity and its supposed destruction of traditional family values, despite decades of evidence that this whole line of argument was and is totally wrong. There were several striking things about William Barr’s October speech denouncing “militant secularists” for destroying American society. It was much more partisan than we used to expect from the attorney general, who is after all supposed to serve the nation, not just the president and his party. It also seemed well over the line in violating the separation between church and state. What really struck me, however, was that Barr seems to be stuck in a time warp, repeating claims about family values and social order that were standard right-wing fare a generation ago but have since been utterly refuted by experience. Back in the mid-1990s, conservatives pointed to two trends — the decline of traditional families and rising crime — and insisted that the first had caused the second. For example, The Heritage Foundation put out a report titled “The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: The Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community.” The report ridiculed claims that rising crime and social breakdown had something to do with declining economic opportunity, and suggested among other things that the reduced influence of organized religion was one of the causes of declining family values. Some people on the right went even further, arguing, for example, that mass shootings were happening because we were teaching children the theory of evolution — a claim you still see sometimes. Since then, however, a few things have happened. Traditional families have continued to decline in relative importance: fewer than half of American children now live with two parents in their first marriage. But violent crime has plunged. And while new social problems have emerged, above all the surge in deaths of despair, they have mainly manifested not among inner-city blacks but among rural and small-town whites — and are heavily concentrated in places that have suffered, yes, a decline in economic opportunity. Oh, and some of the worst-hit states happen to be among the states where an unusually large number of people say that they are “highly religious.” We might also note that other advanced countries are, without exception, less religious than America, and some places have gone even further than we have in moving away from traditional family structure — but crime is far lower, and there’s nothing like our surge in deaths of despair. Overall, experience since the 1990s has completely refuted the God-and-family-values theory of American social problems, and confirmed the view — associated in particular with the sociologist William Julius Wilson — that family collapse is mainly a consequence of lost economic opportunity, and that social ills are caused largely by economic forces, not mysterious changes in values. But here we have the nation’s chief law enforcement officer talking as if none of that had happened, and basically declaring both that faith in God is the answer to our problems and that sinister secularists are our mortal enemies. Then again, why should we be surprised? Facts have a well-known secularist bias. Quick HitsIn Sweden, traditional marriage is clearly in decline: Young adults there are more likely than Americans to be living with a partner, but are much less likely to be married. Society doesn’t seem to be collapsing. The Swedes are also only about a sixth as likely as Americans to regularly attend religious services. Again, society doesn’t seem to be collapsing. States of despair.Barr’s boss is also living in a time warp; his “American carnage” speech was basically a vision of a country that went away decades ago, where inner-city violence was the big issue. FeedbackIf you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to friends. They can sign up here. If you want to share your thoughts on an item in this week’s newsletter or on the newsletter in general, please email me at krugman-newsletter@nytimes.com.
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Post by kaima on Dec 3, 2019 20:57:09 GMT -7
Some more links from the bottom of Paul Krugman's article: www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/well/mind/the-crisis-in-youth-suicide.html?te=1&nl=paul-krugman&emc=edit_pk_20191203?campaign_id=116&instance_id=14237&segment_id=19247&user_id=aeedb5eab46ff7275a38df5b049bd0fe®i_id=9479998420191203PERSONAL HEALTH The Crisis in Youth SuicideToo often, suicide attempts and deaths by suicide, especially among the young, become family secrets that are not investigated and dealt with in ways that might protect others from a similar fate. Credit...Gracia Lam Jane E. Brody By Jane E. Brody Dec. 2, 2019 The death of a child is most parents’ worst nightmare, one made even worse when it is self-inflicted. This very tragedy has become increasingly common among young people in recent years. And adults — parents, teachers, clinicians and politicians — should be asking why and what they can do to prevent it. SIGN UP Log in or create a free New York Times account to continue reading in private mode. Create a free account and IN THE TIMES Watch 4 Decades of Inequality Drive American Cities ApartThe biggest metropolitan areas are now the most unequal. By Emily Badger And Kevin Quealy
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Post by Jaga on Dec 4, 2019 23:32:17 GMT -7
Kai,
referring to the incidence versus mortality in cancer. I think that the statistics do not reflect the reality or maybe they show another story. for instance why in Turkey there is such a low mortality of cancer? I wonder whether there are just not enough people surviving until their 60s or maybe many people die undiagnosed. I guess, Hungary is a different problem - or maybe statistics lie. Referring to Poland, I did not like that the incidence and mortality were almost the same, scary..... or bad treatment or who knows. Maybe people are overdiagnozed as dying of cancer although there might be other factors also.
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Post by Jaga on Dec 4, 2019 23:35:36 GMT -7
Pieter, the map of pollution is probably right. I did not realize that almost all Poland is polluted but we did not give up on carbon. There is a famous pollution triangle in Southwestern Poland embracing Sudeten mountains in Czech Republic and Eastern Germany.
Westland is beautiful although polluted.... still beautiful pictures
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Post by kaima on Dec 5, 2019 11:41:33 GMT -7
Kai, referring to the incidence versus mortality in cancer. I think that the statistics do not reflect the reality or maybe they show another story. for instance why in Turkey there is such a low mortality of cancer? I wonder whether there are just not enough people surviving until their 60s or maybe many people die undiagnosed. I guess, Hungary is a different problem - or maybe statistics lie. Referring to Poland, I did not like that the incidence and mortality were almost the same, scary..... or bad treatment or who knows. Maybe people are overdiagnozed as dying of cancer although there might be other factors also. Jaga, Yes, you point out anomalies that deserve more attention and analysis to be properly understood. For Turkey, I just assumed that most of the country is non-industrial, thus does not expose the residents to the cancer causing chemicals of more highly industrialized states. (I like the German, where instead of saying "Cancer causing" you can say "cancer exciting", as in "cancer enhancing, encouraging"; something, a catalyst that encourages whatever the root cause of the cancer may be.) Must run.
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Post by Jaga on Dec 6, 2019 7:54:26 GMT -7
Kai,
thanks for noticing. As far as I know cancer is an old age disease in many cases, which is helped by genetics.
Lung cancer is definitively "helped" by smoking or working in the mine, but I don't thing each cancer. Probably folks in the countryside in Turkey don't go to the doctor too often, their cancer is not diagnosed or are dying younger. Pollution is really low in western Europe, in Turkey where they still use coal for cooking, it might be actually worse.
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Post by pieter on Dec 6, 2019 19:12:20 GMT -7
Kai,
The health systems and health practices of the people we are acquainted with around the world are very different if you look at continents and if you look at different parts of continents. In Europe there is a huge difference between North-Western-Europe on one side and for instance the largest parts of Central-, Eastern- and Southern-Europe. Western-Europe still being rich and social with good health care systems and that other parts of Europe with problematic health care, social security and financial-economical systems. The same huge social-economical, financial and health care differences you see in Asia, Africa and Southern-America between richer countries and poorer countries, richer regions and poorer regions. The level of health care for instance in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany one one side is extremely different than the health care in Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The health care in the first 3 countries is excellent and in the last three countries in a deplorable and worrisome state. There are huge wealth differences and gaps within the EU between member states. That's why there is mass migration from countries like Romania and Bulgaria to Western-Europe and the problem of xenophobia and racism against Eastern-Europeans in Western-Europe. Some Western Europeans seeing all Eastern-Europeans as street beggars, pickpockets, thieves, robbers, the stabby kind (knife men), thugs, low lives, murderers and rapists. People distinguish between Western-Europeans and East-European guestworkers, street beggars, street musicians and criminals, because Eastern-Europeans are dressed differently (often shabby and budget clothes) and because they act, walk and talk differently. So after the discrimination of the Black and coloured newcomers and later the Muslim migrants (Moroccans, Tunesians, Algerians and Turks), today the Central-Europeans (the non-German and Non-Austrian Central-Europans) and the Eastern-Europeans are discriminated against. Linguistically, culturally, ethnically and in the social economical and financial sense they are different. Lowest incomes, no ties to the West-European countries they are in and a far distance to the local populations of the native European West-Europeans and the other immigrants who are longer in Western-Europe than they are. These Central- and Eastern-Europeans in Western-Europe live and work often under very poor living and work conditions. Exploitation is unfortunately the rule rather than the exception.
Maybe Kaima you could compare the situation of these Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians, Romanians, Bulgarians and others on the West-European labour markets with that of the Latino newcomers and other non-Western migrants in the USA and Canada?
Do you have scientific proof that life span in the USA is decreasing? Kai, I believe that pessimism has entered our lives politically and socially on both sides of the Atlantic. There is the Trumpism in the US and succesful Rightwing Populist political parties and movements in Europe. Italy was ruled by a coalition of Righwting and Leftwing Populists, in the United Kingdom the Brexiteers are dominant, in France, Belgium and the Netherlands Peoples movements rose against the respective governments. The Yellow vests in France and Belgium, the farmers and construction workers in the Netherlands. The teacher strikes, the climate marches fo the pupils of higschools and students of vocational universities and universities. Civil servants, the public transport sector and health care workers may follow,
That Donald Trump revered as a god by so many is hard to understand for the Europeans. You do have popular leaders, but they are never seen as a god. Their supporters always keep looking at them with a critical eye. The divinely gifted Leader, Duce in Italian, de leider in Dutch, Der Führer in German, is a strange idea, and it is hard for me to understand people who follow such a chap with blind faith and zero criticism and scepticism. But unfortely the Europeans also seem to be searching for their own Divine Leaders. You are right. Our own Dutch Thierry Baudet and Geert Wilders are examples of that. 2 decades ago these scenes would have been impossible.
*My own Divine Dutch Leaders
* Cynical, sarcastic, ironical remark
Kai, in the Netherlands and Europe in general there is also a gap between the generations, and a distrust, aversion and nearly clash of identities, mentalities and convictions. The younger populist generation looks down on the 'Generation 68', the Baby Boomer generation. The present day working generation is pragmatic, consumer intelligent, born and raised in the digital age. Solidarity between generations are under strain. Like you stated; "there is more than a tension between generations today". The present generation of let's say people who are born in the late eighties and early nineties, is the generation which is very individualistic, very influenced by the Neo-Liberal nineties. The decade of Internet millionaires and billionaires, influenced by the Yuppies of the Roaring nineties. Children who watched the Spice Girls and Tele Tubbies. We have surely screwed things up, tearing the fabric of European values apart also, government and social values, and the false prosperity we have insisted upon is based on NOT paying as we go for services demanded, but passing all of the debt we have irresponsibly built up on to the grandchildren. The poisoned environment is a problem in Europe too, but the corporate power of the Financial markets, hedge funds, Airport organisations which keep expanding, Airlines, CEO's with unethical extreme high incomes, an increasing and widening gap between the rich and the poor, growing inequality, more and more people with depths, burn outs, mental issues and broken families. Politicians seem to have no answer to questions, seem to have no solutions for the climate change problems we face and the health care risks that are connected to that.
Politicians today lack authenticity, determination and the guts to say the truth, the inconvenient truth, the fact that harsh and radical measures are needed to change policies, government spending, financial markets and economies. Economies must be adapted to ecological demands, standards and scientific proof of what are wrong ways to produce and sell and what are good ways to sell. Fair trade, clean production, production with as less pollution as possible and good labour conditions for the workers and other employees. (No exploitation and no underpayment for labour)
Kaima, I unfortunately believe that greed, lust, decadence, hedonism, selfishness, egocentrism, narcissism, consumption addiction, people that a turned against each other by the powers that be, old conflict lines (class struggle, ethnic struggle between various ethnic groups, and the competition between regions and nations) make it hard to find solutions. Some leaders create circumstances of divide and rule, they use chaos, discord, tension and conflict for their own gain. One leader uses a war abroad to boost Patriotism, nationalism and chauvinism by beating the war drum, other leaders use division in their own country, praising and benefiting one section of their country, their pumpjacks (yes men), their loyalists, brainwashed, their own militants, and cursing, kicking and attacking their opponents.
Thank god for you your Alaska environment is quite pure by world standards. You can't avoid the air pollution from the polar winds and Siberia / Russia, debris from Japan and the Pacific currents, but you can participate in a world movement that tries to change things globally. These "End of the Roaders" are a social disaster for you. We have our own native European thugs, white trash/trailer trash rednecks in Dutch version. And the criminal element in the migrant population (not the majority, but a worrisome minority within the minority communities. They also exist due to decades of neglect of good education, health care and integration in these migrant communities due to the policies of decades of rule of centre right and centre left government coalitions).
These high crimes against women of every category is very sad. We as men must always realise that women are our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, nieces, daughters and our wives and girlfriends. A society which isn't safe or secure for women is a society that dropped on the level of civilization. It is a task for men to say, this is not what we want. We don't want a climate in which a woman or girl is outlawed, an environment in which girls and women are open targets for sexual predators.
Living on borrowed money, the light taxes we have imposed on the oil industry and polluting multi-nationals is a global problem in Northern-America, Europe, China, Japan, South-Korea and other countries and continents.
The new generations are the people who can change things if they manage to ignore and surpass the influence and dominance of the older polluting, corrupted, nepotist, clientelist, fraudulent and old ideas generations.
Cheers, Pieter
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