'Diseases of despair' have soared over past decade in US

This is surely connected to why Trump was able to get so many votes.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/b-od110620.php

 

News Release 9-Nov-2020
BMJ

 

'Diseases of despair', such as substance abuse, alcohol dependency, and suicidal thoughts and behaviours, have soared in the US over the past decade, reveals an analysis of health insurance claims data published in the online journal BMJ Open.

And they now affect all ages, with suicidal thoughts and behaviours among the under 18s rocketing by 287% between 2009 and 2018, and by 210% among 18-34 year olds, the analysis shows.

Between 2015 and 2017, life expectancy fell year on year in the USA, the longest sustained decline since 1915-18. And deaths among middle-aged white non-Hispanic men and women rose sharply between 1999 and 2015.

These premature deaths are largely attributable to accidental overdose, alcohol-related disease, and suicide.

Such 'deaths of despair' have coincided with decades of economic decline for workers, particularly those with low levels of educational attainment; loss of social safety nets; and stagnant or falling wages and family incomes in the US, all of which are thought to have contributed to growing feelings of despair.

Despair may in turn trigger emotional, behavioural and even biological changes, increasing the likelihood of diseases that can progress and ultimately culminate in deaths of despair, say the researchers.


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