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The July issue of the Annals of Epidemiology reports the results of a study about the mortality rate of men incarcerated in prison. From 1995 to 2005 an in-depth study was done of both black and white men, between the ages of 20 and 79, who were incarcerated in North Carolina prisons. The statistics were then compared with an identical study done of black and white men who were not incarcerated in the state during the same 10-year period. The results showed that black men who were incarcerated had a 30-to-40% chance of surviving longer than their black counterparts...

What happens when you die? The Bible uses the word death in different senses. Jesus said: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). Also in Revelation 20:6, John speaks of a “second death,” apparently distinguishing it from the first death or the usual understanding of death. It is important to note that the only way to escape the second death and Hell is through the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn 11:26). Make sure to be in on that one! Now...

Long before the age of gene therapy and miracle medical treatments, the secrets of long life were being gathered and revealed in a unique study of 1,500 children born about 1910. By studying these people throughout their lives, successive generations of researchers collected nearly 10 million pieces of observable data and have been able to produce solid insights into human longevity. "Most people who live to an old age do so not because they have beaten cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or lung disease; rather, the long-lived have mostly avoided serious ailments altogether," according to Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R....

The first-ever national study of Latino life expectancy reveals that Latinos in the United States live 2.5 years longer than their white counterparts -- a poor-in-wealth, rich-in-health paradox that mystifies doctors. A Latino baby in the U.S. will live to the average age of 80.6 years, compared with 78.1 years for a white baby, according to the new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, released Wednesday. "This is surprising because of low social status," said Elizabeth Arias, of the CDC. Based on rates of poverty, education and access to care -- factors long known to be linked to...

The primary reason Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate than the United States is that the United States is a world leader in an odd category — the percentage of infants who die on their birthday. Why? Because the United States also easily has the most intensive system of emergency intervention to keep low birth weight and premature infants alive in the world. The United States is, for example, one of only a handful countries that keeps detailed statistics on early fetal mortality — the survival rate of infants who are born as early as the 20th week of...

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama got heckled at a fundraiser Wednesday night by protesters pushing for more funding for AIDS programs and quicker action to allow gays to serve openly in the military. Activists yelled slogans and held signs aloft reading "Obama broken promises KILL." Supporters of the president tried to drown them out with shouts of "O-bam-a! O-bam-a!" The hecklers were so raucous Obama went off-script several times to address them, insisting he's increased AIDS funding and is working to overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Everyone knows that people without health insurance are more likely to die. But are they?Outside of the few states where it is illegal to deny coverage based on medical history, I am probably uninsurable. Though I’m in pretty good health, I have several latent conditions, including an autoimmune disease. If I lost the generous insurance that I have through The Atlantic, even the most charitable insurer might hesitate to take me on. So I took a keen interest when, at the fervid climax of the health-care debate in mid-December, a Washington Post blogger, Ezra Klein, declared that Senator Joseph Lieberman,...

Immortality! It has been “brought to light” by Jesus Christ and his gospel (2 Tim. 1:10). Eternal life — an immortal existence — is offered freely to the lowest of sinners who reach out and take hold of the Savior by faith. Christ himself said, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day”(John 6:40). This must be underscored in the Church today; it is a point at which multitudes stumble. The eternal life given by our Lord is...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the most systematic looks yet at the swine flu pandemic confirms that it is at worst only a little more serious than an average flu season and could well be a good deal milder, researchers said on Monday. ... Lipsitch's team calculated a potential range of 7,800 to 29,000 deaths. This compares to seasonal flu, which kills 36,000 people a year and puts 200,000 into the hospital.

Researchers Say More Cancers Are Being Detected Early or Prevented Through Screening WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Dec. 7, 2009 -- New cancer cases and the cancer death rate continue to fall in the U.S., driven largely by declines in lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers in men and breast and colorectal cancers in women. For all types of cancer, new cases declined by nearly 1% a year between 1999 and 2006. During much of the 1990s cancer incidence rates were stable, after increasing steadily from the mid-1970s. The cancer death rate -- the best predictor of progress...

A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking. Utilising a unique link between a survey of over 60,000 people and a comprehensive mortality database, the researchers found that over the four years following the survey, the mortality risk was increased to a similar extent in people who were depressed as in people who were smokers...

Statistics, even at their best, don't tell a whole story. A variety of people employ medical statistics dubiously to push pet causes. A perfect example: infant mortality statistics. The officially reported U.S. infant mortality rate has been indisputably high compared with similarly industrialized countries since at least the 1920s. That fact has led to public health officials in the U.S. to conclude the rates are "caused" by poorly distributed health care resources and can be "solved" with a socialized, government-run health care system. However, there's a basic problem with the numbers: Different countries count differently. According to the World Health...

From Fox: Though the United States has by far the highest level of health care spending per capita in the world, we have one of the lowest life expectancies among developed nations Everybody else skews their data. It's not a reflection on our system. Here: "Doctors told me it was against the rules to save my premature baby" Instead, doctors told her to treat the labour as a miscarriage, not a birth, and to expect her baby to be born with serious deformities or even to be still-born. The doctor didn't just come up with that out of thin air,...

On September 22, 1993, President Clinton, in an impassioned address to a joint session of Congress, unveiled his Health Security Act to the American people. He laid out six principles: security, simplicity, savings, choice, quality and responsibility, and explained in unambiguous language how each of these principles were embodied in the Health Security Act. Clinton, despite his failings, which were only human failings, had something that Obama didn’t have although he thought he did and many in the media gave him credit for having. Clinton truly had a transformational vision for health care and that vision was masterfully expressed in...

Could a pill one day slow ageing in humans?Punchstock Rapamycin, a drug commonly used in humans to prevent transplanted organs from being rejected, has been found to extend the lives of mice by up to 14% — even when given to the mice late in life. In flies and worms, drug treatments have been shown to prolong lifespan, but until now, the only robust way to extend life in mammals has been to heavily restrict diet. The researchers caution, however, that using this drug to extend the lifespan of humans might be problematic because it suppresses the immune system —...

"How fevered is the man who cannot look Upon his mortal days with temperate blood, Who vexes all the leaves of his life's book, And robs his fair name of its maidenhood..."; So wrote English poet John Keats in "On Fame." It's worth re-reading as we overindulge in the recent deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Ed McMahon's death the same week received somewhat less coverage because he was neither beautiful, nor weird, though he qualified as a celebrity. At least McMahon served in two wars as a Marine, which was a real accomplishment. What is it about celebrity...

WEDNESDAY, May 27, 2009 (Health.com) — The death rate due to cancer has declined in the United States in recent years, largely due to better prevention and treatment. In fact, 650,000 lives were spared from cancer between 1990 to 2005, according to new statistics from the American Cancer Society. During the 15-year period, the cancer death rate among men dropped by 19.2%, mainly due to decreases in lung, prostate, and colon cancer deaths. In women, the cancer death rate fell by 11.4%, largely due to a drop in breast and colorectal cancer deaths. “This is good news because cancer death...

Watch Video Poem. (Short parody about atheists' "transhumanism" movement.) Doctor came in sad faced Said he had bad news for me "Cancer's spread throughout you It's metastasized, you see?" "Doc, I got it covered I don't need this old body. Know a friend on Venus Who can make a trade with me. I'll have a new body And outlive my grand baby. Don't you call it crazy. Call it transhumanity." Tell me would you want to Live beyond two hundred years? Still feel like you're twenty And escape an old man's fears? You'll stay young and happy And forget all...

CHICAGO – The largest study of its kind finds that older Americans who eat large amounts of red meat and processed meats face a greater risk of death from heart disease and cancer. The federal study of more than half a million men and women bolsters prior evidence of the health risks of diets laden with red meat like hamburger and processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts. Calling the increased risk modest, lead author Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute said the findings support the advice of several health groups to limit red and processed meat...

Last week, the National Center for Health Statistics announced that the average life expectancy for Americans has risen to an all-time high of 78 years. In addition, record high life expectancy was recorded for both white males and black males (76 years and 70 years, respectively) as well as for white females and black females (81 years and 76.9 years). This is obviously good news. But a question nags—why are people in other countries living longer on average than Americans? After all, we are the country that spends the most money per capita on health care. For example, according to...