Calculate the percentage decline in the death rate for all causes. What generalizations can be made about changes in disease rates that have occurred between 1900 and the present?
Contrast the changes in death rates due to cancer, heart disease, and cerebrovascular diseases. What additional information would be useful to better specify the changes in these conditions? Calculate the percentage decline in the death rate for all causes. What generalizations can be made about changes in disease rates that have occurred between 1900 and the present?
Note the decline in mortality for the four communicable diseases (rankings 1, 2, 3, and 10) since 1900. With the exception of pneumonia and influenza, these are no longer among the 10 leading causes of death. Can you speculate regarding how much of each is due to environmental improvements and how much is due to specific preventive and curative practices?
Among the 10 leading causes of death in 2009 were chronic lower respiratory diseases (44.7 per 100,000—rank 3), diabetes (22.3 per 100,000—rank 7), Alzheimer’s disease (25.7 per 100,000—rank 6), and suicide (11.9 per 100,000—rank 10). (Note: Data are not shown in Table 2A–1.) In 1900, these were not among the 10 leading causes of death. How do you account for these changes?
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