Statistics for Sociology: Demography - Death Rates

-These degenerative diseases affect the middle-aged and old more than the young.

-However, after the 1950s, improved medical knowledge, techniques and organisation did help to reduce death rates.

-Advances included the introduction of antibiotics, immunisation, blood transfusion, improved maternity services, as well as the setting up of the National Health Service in 1948.

-More recently, improved medication, by-pass surgery and other developments have reduced deaths from heart disease by 1/3.

-Diphtheria

-Measles

-Smallpox

-Typhoid

-Tuberculosis (TB)

Deaths from infectious diseases were most common in the young and most of the decline in the death rate was among infants, children and young adults.

-There was a decline in dangerous manual occupations such as mining.

-Smaller families reduced the rate of transmission of infection.

-There became a greater public knowledge of the causes of illness.

-There were lifestyle changes, especially in the reduction in the number of men who smoke.

-People began to earn higher incomes, allowing for a healthier lifestyle.

-These included improvements in housing (producing drier, better-ventilated, less overcrowded accommodation), purer drinking water, laws to combat the adulteration of food and drink, the pasteurisation of milk, and improved sewage disposal methods.

-Similarly, the Clean Air Acts reduced air pollution, such as that from the smog that led to 4000 deaths in 5 days in 1952.

-However, in the 21st century, obesity has replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic.

-For example, in 2012, 1/4 of all UK adults were obese.

-Although obesity has increased dramatically, deaths from obesity have been kept low as a result of drug therapies.

-She suggests that we may be moving to an 'American' health culture where lifestyles are unhealthy but where a long lifespan is achieved by the use of costly medication.

-Better nutrition increased resistance to infection and increased the survival chances of those who did become infected.

-However, he doesn't explain why females, who receive a smaller share of the food supply, lived longer than males.

-Similarly, he fails to explain why deaths from some infectious diseases, such as measles and infant diarrhoea, rose at a time of improving nutrition.