A comprehensive long-term population study reveals that while almost everyone could improve their health, the relationship between risk factors and mortality changes over time.
This study highlights a paradox where, even though the overall prevalence of certain health issues has increased, the associated mortality risk may have decreased due to improvements in treatment and awareness.
Jennifer Kuk, an Associate Professor at the School of Kinesiology and Health Science and lead author of the study, elaborated on their findings, “What we discovered is that the relationship with risk factors and mortality changes over time, which could be explained by factors such as evolution in treatments and changes in social stigma.
Overall, most of us have something wrong with us, and we’re more likely to have a lifestyle health-risk factor now than in the ’80s and that’s actually associated with even greater mortality risk now than before.”
Studying Trends in Health Risk Factors
Published in PLOS One, the study employed United States survey data from 1988 to 1994 and 1999 to 2014 to evaluate the five-year mortality odds for individuals aged 20 and older.
The team analyzed 19 different risk factors, accounting for variables such as age, sex, obesity category, and ethnicity. The analysis revealed that less than 3% of individuals exhibited none of the risk factors.
Surprisingly, while rates of harmful practices like smoking have decreased due to robust public health campaigns, the overall risk associated with being a smoker has increased over time.
Kuk suggested this could be due to increased stigma as awareness of the risks grew and smoking became less common.
Similarly, while obesity prevalence has risen, its associated mortality risks have diminished, indicating effective treatments for obesity-related conditions.
Paradoxes and Changes in Health Trends
Other intriguing trends discovered in the data include:
- Increases in diabetes and hypertension rates over time, but decreases in their associated mortality risks.
- More people aren’t exercising, and lack of physical activity now relates to worse outcomes than before.
- The use of mental-health medications, insignificant as a risk factor in the 1980s, was associated with increased mortality in the later dataset.
- Not finishing high school, which wasn’t a health risk in the 1980s, is now associated with health risks.
Kuk urges sensitivity when interpreting these findings, as some risk factors, like food insecurity and low education, aren’t easily controllable by individuals.
She emphasized the need for societal efforts to create environments where healthful choices are easier to make.
If you care about wellness, please read studies about exercise that are vital to improving longevity in older people, and this dieting method could help increase longevity.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies about vaccines that can block COVID-19 and variants, plus other coronaviruses, and results showing this type of exercise may slow down bone aging.
The study was published in PLOS ONE. Follow us on Twitter for more articles about this topic.
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