| Americans sicker than brits with more on health care { May 3 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.suntimes.com/output/health/cst-nws-sick03.htmlhttp://www.suntimes.com/output/health/cst-nws-sick03.html
Rich or poor, Americans sicker than the English
May 3, 2006
BY CARLA K. JOHNSON AND MIKE STOBBE
Middle-age, white Americans are much sicker than their counterparts in England, new research shows, despite U.S. health care spending per person that's more than double what England spends.
A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans had more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer.
The gap between the countries holds true for educated and uneducated, rich and poor, according to the study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.
''At every point in the social hierarchy there is more illness in the United States than in England and the differences are really dramatic,'' said study co-author Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London in England.
'Something of a mystery'
The United States spends about $5,200 per person on health care; England spends about half that.
''It's something of a mystery,'' said Richard Suzman of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which helped fund the study.
Researchers made a hypothetical statistical world in which the English had U.S. lifestyle risk factors, including being as fat as Americans. In that model, the study found Americans still would be sicker.
Experts know the U.S. population is less healthy than other industrialized nations in statistics like life expectancy. Some think the United States lags because it has a more diverse population, Suzman said.
But the study says when minorities are removed from the data, and adjustments are made for education and income, whites in England are still healthier than U.S. whites.
Some experts said England and other countries simply do a better job of providing primary care.
AP
|
|