ECON 440 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Pasteurization, Cardiovascular Disease, Hand Washing
13 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Roles of public health, medical care, and economic growth
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(A short) history of human health and major influences on health over time
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Invest in health care resources?
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Invest in other determinants of health (income, education, housing)?
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Try to improve individual's health behaviors?
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If our goal is to improve the health of individuals and populations today, what's the most effective way to do this?
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Outline
Infant mortality dropped from 1 in 7 to 1 in 100
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Age 85+ from 26 in 100 to 15 in 100
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Over the course of the 20th c., US mortality rates dropped sharply
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Life expectant has risen from age 47 to 77
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Definitive - easy to measure, understood across countries
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Physical health indicator
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Easy to compare across cultures, time periods, etc.
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Why focus on mortality as a measure of health?
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Vaccines/modern medicine
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Public policy changes
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Increased education on sources (germs)
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Sharp decrease in infectious disease mortality after 1920 due to:
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History of Human Health
Sciences of epidemiology and public health were key contributors
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1880s: The Germ Theory of Disease
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Bathing, hand washing, pasteurized milk, sanitation
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Modern health practices date from the early 20th c.
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Public Health (before ~1940)
Antibiotics helped with infectious diseases like TB and influenza, but their widespread use came relatively late in the mortality
decline
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Medical advances for cardiovascular disease have been much more important in affecting the decline in CVD mortality (1970s and
later)
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Behavior changes (smoking diet) combine efforts of public health and medical care
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The Role of Medical Care (~1940 - present)
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Curve shows a positive relationship between per capita GDP and life expectancy
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As per capita GDP goes up, life expectancy goes up faster
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Higher levels -> don’t appear to improve
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See a shift to the left of the curve…
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Hypothesis: per capita GDP is causing longer life expectancy
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GDP per capita's effect on life-expectancy/mortality
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The Preston Curve: Relating Life Expectancy at Birth and National Income per Capita
The Preston Curve Updated
Lecture 4 - Determinants of Health: Socioeconomic
Status, Individual Behavior, and Medical Care
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
7:10 PM
ECON 440 Page 1
Document Summary
Outline (a short) history of human health and major influences on health over time. Roles of public health, medical care, and economic growth. Over the course of the 20th c. , us mortality rates dropped sharply. Infant mortality dropped from 1 in 7 to 1 in 100. Age 85+ from 26 in 100 to 15 in 100. Life expectant has risen from age 47 to 77. Definitive - easy to measure, understood across countries. Easy to compare across cultures, time periods, etc. Sharp decrease in infectious disease mortality after 1920 due to: Sciences of epidemiology and public health were key contributors. Modern health practices date from the early 20th c. The role of medical care (~1940 - present) Antibiotics helped with infectious diseases like tb and influenza, but their widespread use came relatively late in the mortality decline. Medical advances for cardiovascular disease have been much more important in affecting the decline in cvd mortality (1970s and later)
