Posted on 04/22/2006 9:38:28 PM PDT by Lunatic Fringe
ATLANTA -- In what appears to be an amazing success for American medicine, preliminary government figures released Wednesday showed that the annual number of deaths in the U.S. dropped by nearly 50,000 in 2004 -- the biggest decline in nearly 70 years.
The 2 percent decrease, reported by the National Center for Health Statistics, came as a shock to many, because the U.S. is aging, growing in population and getting fatter.
In fact, some experts said they suspect the numbers may not hold up when a final report is released later this year.
Nevertheless, center officials said the statistics, based on a review of about 90 percent of death records reported in all 50 states in 2004, were consistent across the country and were deemed solid enough to report.
The center said drops in the death rates for heart disease, cancer and stroke accounted for most of the decline.
''We were surprised by the sharpness of the decrease. It's kind of historical,'' said statistician Arialdi Minino, lead author of the report.
The government also said that U.S. life expectancy has inched up again to 77.9 years, a record high but still behind that of about two dozen other countries.
The preliminary number of U.S. deaths recorded for 2004 was 2,398,343. That represents a decline of 49,945 from the 2,448,288 recorded in 2003.
U.S. deaths ordinarily rise slightly each year. The last decline in annual deaths occurred in 1997, a modest drop of 445 deaths from 1996, Minino said.
The number of deaths has not dropped this steeply since 1938, when there were about 69,000 fewer than in 1937. A drop in 1944 came close -- about 48,000 fewer deaths than the previous year. Health officials could not immediately say why the number of deaths fell so sharply in either of those years.
''These are preliminary data,'' said Paul Terry, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Atlanta's Emory University. ''But if it holds up, it's obviously very good news.''
My guess is the only thing keeping the liberals alive is their hatred of Bush.
I am outraged the Bush administration is depriving Americans of their deathday. Obviously the increased retirement payments are causing terrible harm to the Social Security trust fund. Where are the Democrats who can set this right?
But we're all as fat as Michael Moore and eating McDonald's like Morgan Spurlock did. How come????
Does this statistics include the number of unborn babies that were killed in the womb but were never given funerals, coffins, or a decent burial? If so, this would account for huge decrease because abortions in America has decreased because of increased awareness of what abortion really is. If not, maybe the wrath of God has decreased with the number of His unborn babies being murdered in the womb by their mothers. I have noticed a huge increase in cancer among women since abortions on demand became legal in America in 1973.
"...women and minorities hardest hit."
Nah what it is is the gov't spent all their effort killing abroad they had to cut back on their murdering of US citizens.
AP's lead tomorrow:
"Social Security and entitlement funds threatened by Bush Administration demographic failure"
Why, oh why, couldn't the news be that fewer Republicans are dying?
The stats don't show increased disease rates and elderly people waiting out their deathday in nursing homes, feeble and medicated, due to the conditions you mentioned.
Bush health care bump?
I wonder if the numbers came from Democratic voting patterns where the dead just keep on voting, and voting, and voting.
that sound you are hearing is my bitter laughter at the accuracy of your quip
"that's just not possible"
too many liberals with their heads spinning round
me thinks
Thank you, Pat Robertson.
;-)
BTTT
No, I'm pretty sure these figures don't include abortions.
And remember, the article states that some believe the so called "slump" will go away when final numbers are reported, so I don't think your idea of God giving people cancer because he's upset about somebody else's abortion will hold up.
DAMN BUSH!
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