Government induced ADE!
(Because a sickly and dependent population is an obedient one.)
The first thing I thought about when I read this line was the scene in the book (not the movie) "Battlefield Earth" where the tribe lived close to a radiated site and were all sickly and died early. They were all dependent on the tribal leaders for just about everything. Once the hero convinced them to move, they all became healthier and recovered. The leaders did not last long after that.