Post by Admin on Feb 13, 2022 18:39:17 GMT
'Deaths of despair' on the rise in the US: Why here and not in other nations?
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/deaths-of-despair-on-the-rise-in-the-us-why-here-and-not-in-other-nations
Mortality rates in the United States have increased, with suicide and poisoning by alcohol and drugs significantly contributing to the increase, alongside the cardiovascular effects of rising obesity.
The causes of despair-related deaths involve factors such as increased isolation and people’s attempts to use substances to satisfy a lack of dopamine in the brain.
Some experts suggest that the United States should look at how other countries support the human life cycle and adopt these policies to help prevent despair-related deaths.
A recent paper in JAMA PsychiatryTrusted Source notes the upward trend in despair-related deaths in the U.S. These include deaths by suicide and poisoning from drugs or alcohol.
This increase is higher than it is among the control group of 16 other nations. The paper’s authors recommend that the U.S. adopt the practices that these nations use to support their citizens to help decrease despair-related deaths.
Increases in mortality in the US
The paper in question examines the National Academy of Science’s (NAS’s) report about mortality rates in the U.S. Currently, the U.S. has higher mortality rates than 16 other industrial nations.
The other industrial nations that the researchers used as a control group are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The increase in mortality in the U.S. is most significant among white adults in rural areas with low education levels and low income. In contrast, the mortality rates among Black and Hispanic adults have declined.
The increased mortality is related to a few different factors, including metabolic and cardiac diseases. These disorders are associated with obesity, which has dramatically increased among all racial and ethnic groups.
However, deaths of despair make a significant contribution to increased U.S. mortality rates. The study authors note that “The largest contributors to rising mortality include deaths of despair, or deaths from suicide and drug poisoning related to addictions to opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, and tobacco.”
Reasons for rises in despair
Study authors Peter Sterling, Ph.D., and Michael Platt, Ph.D., both based at the University of Pennsylvania, speculate about the reasons for the increase in despair-related deaths. They note that humans are wired to seek certain things, such as food, comfort, mates, and companionship, and that the brain reinforces these behaviors through dopamine release.
They also note how society has shifted away from the hunter-gatherer model. Those societies had strong companionship ties, good overall health, high levels of cooperation, and plenty of surprises to generate dopamine rushes.
Sterling explained to Medical News Today, “The field of anthropology has confirmed the basic picture of life in small-scale societies on all continents. Far from living a ‘nasty, brutish, and short’ life [as Thomas Hobbes described life outside society], they tend to be highly cooperative and nonhierarchical with low levels of inequality and essentially zero obesity or cardiovascular disease. Many individuals live into their 70s.”
The paper notes that current life in the U.S. is highly predictable and that people have become more isolated. These factors can cause individuals to seek dopamine rushes from other sources, such as drugs and alcohol.
In addition, humans have long-term needs that require satisfying throughout the life cycle.
For example, children have emotional and nutritional demands that parents, grandparents, and other caregivers can meet. People also need to learn essential survival skills and have adequate time to process their emotions.
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/deaths-of-despair-on-the-rise-in-the-us-why-here-and-not-in-other-nations
Mortality rates in the United States have increased, with suicide and poisoning by alcohol and drugs significantly contributing to the increase, alongside the cardiovascular effects of rising obesity.
The causes of despair-related deaths involve factors such as increased isolation and people’s attempts to use substances to satisfy a lack of dopamine in the brain.
Some experts suggest that the United States should look at how other countries support the human life cycle and adopt these policies to help prevent despair-related deaths.
A recent paper in JAMA PsychiatryTrusted Source notes the upward trend in despair-related deaths in the U.S. These include deaths by suicide and poisoning from drugs or alcohol.
This increase is higher than it is among the control group of 16 other nations. The paper’s authors recommend that the U.S. adopt the practices that these nations use to support their citizens to help decrease despair-related deaths.
Increases in mortality in the US
The paper in question examines the National Academy of Science’s (NAS’s) report about mortality rates in the U.S. Currently, the U.S. has higher mortality rates than 16 other industrial nations.
The other industrial nations that the researchers used as a control group are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The increase in mortality in the U.S. is most significant among white adults in rural areas with low education levels and low income. In contrast, the mortality rates among Black and Hispanic adults have declined.
The increased mortality is related to a few different factors, including metabolic and cardiac diseases. These disorders are associated with obesity, which has dramatically increased among all racial and ethnic groups.
However, deaths of despair make a significant contribution to increased U.S. mortality rates. The study authors note that “The largest contributors to rising mortality include deaths of despair, or deaths from suicide and drug poisoning related to addictions to opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, and tobacco.”
Reasons for rises in despair
Study authors Peter Sterling, Ph.D., and Michael Platt, Ph.D., both based at the University of Pennsylvania, speculate about the reasons for the increase in despair-related deaths. They note that humans are wired to seek certain things, such as food, comfort, mates, and companionship, and that the brain reinforces these behaviors through dopamine release.
They also note how society has shifted away from the hunter-gatherer model. Those societies had strong companionship ties, good overall health, high levels of cooperation, and plenty of surprises to generate dopamine rushes.
Sterling explained to Medical News Today, “The field of anthropology has confirmed the basic picture of life in small-scale societies on all continents. Far from living a ‘nasty, brutish, and short’ life [as Thomas Hobbes described life outside society], they tend to be highly cooperative and nonhierarchical with low levels of inequality and essentially zero obesity or cardiovascular disease. Many individuals live into their 70s.”
The paper notes that current life in the U.S. is highly predictable and that people have become more isolated. These factors can cause individuals to seek dopamine rushes from other sources, such as drugs and alcohol.
In addition, humans have long-term needs that require satisfying throughout the life cycle.
For example, children have emotional and nutritional demands that parents, grandparents, and other caregivers can meet. People also need to learn essential survival skills and have adequate time to process their emotions.