Heart, Diabetes, Cancer Groups Join Forces to
Increase U.S. Life Expectancy
Could add 220 million life-years over next 30 years
or 1.3 years of life expectancy for every adult
See
Below in story:
> How Americans Die
> Link to WHO video on
chronic disease
> Link to research on
benefits of preventive services
July 9, 2008 - Aggressive use of nationally
recommended clinical prevention activities, such as smoking cessation
programs, controlling pre-diabetes or lowering cholesterol, could
increase life expectancy for U.S. adults by reducing cardiovascular
disease (CVD), according to a joint report of three major national
healthcare organizations.
“The Impact of Prevention on Reducing the Burden of
Cardiovascular Disease” was published online Monday, and will appear in
the July 29 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart
Association and the August issue of Diabetes Care. The study was
conducted by researchers from the American Heart Association, the
American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society.
Using a sophisticated mathematical model called
Archimedes, senior scientists from the organizations evaluated the
impact of 11 widely recognized, tailored clinical preventive services
for reducing cardiovascular disease, such as smoking cessation,
preventive aspirin therapy, cholesterol-lowering medications and weight
reduction.
A similar analysis is being conducted that includes
preventive measures for cancer.
The scientists found that using these CVD clinical
preventive measures to their fullest potential could add about 220
million life-years over the next 30 years, or an average of 1.3 years of
life expectancy for each adult in the United States.
About 78 percent of U.S. adults ages 20 to 80 are
candidates for at least one of these clinical prevention activities, and
the report notes a number of ways prevention could bring benefits.
● There are large gaps in the application of
prevention, thus large opportunities to reduce morbidity and mortality
from CVD.
● If every individual achieved 100 percent
adherence with all the clinical prevention activities for which they are
candidates, then heart attacks would decrease about 63 percent and
strokes about 31 percent in the next three decades.
● Since it is unrealistic to expect that these
clinical prevention activities will be 100 percent effective in all
cases, the authors assessed their impact using more “feasible” success
levels that have actually been achieved in clinical practice. Under
those conditions, heart attacks would drop by 36 percent and strokes by
20 percent in the same period.
“Face to Face with Chronic Disease”
A 7 minute video by the
World Health Organization of people living with chronic
diseases. It tackles some of the misunderstandings surrounding
chronic disease. Hear patients from different countries telling
their stories.
>>
Click here to start video
“The American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes
Association, and the American Heart Association have joined forces to
look at clinical prevention and its impact because, although we
represent different health conditions, the same prevention strategies
that can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases,
including heart disease and stroke, also could reduce the risk of
diabetes and cancer,” said Rose Marie Robertson, M.D., chief science
officer of the American Heart Association and co-author of the report.
“However, our current healthcare system is not
optimally designed to promote health or prevent illness,” Robertson
said. “The lesson from these findings is that we need a system in which
we can apply these interventions in a way that is efficient and cost
effective. The benefits are too important to be ignored. A healthier,
more productive society is good for us all.”
“People with diabetes are among those who would
benefit the most from these prevention strategies,” said Richard Kahn,
Ph.D., chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes
Association and co-author of the report.
“Of the specific clinical prevention activities,
the greatest benefits to the U.S. population in terms of reducing
cardiovascular disease come from providing aspirin to high-risk
individuals, controlling pre-diabetes, weight reduction in obese
individuals, lowering blood pressure in people with diabetes, and
lowering LDL cholesterol in people with existing coronary artery disease
(CAD).”
“If you have diabetes, you need to know that you
are at high risk for having a heart attack or stroke, so taking action
to prevent diabetes and its complications – which include heart attack
and stroke – is very important,” Kahn said. “This report spotlights how
great an impact we can make in this population simply by employing
common clinical prevention strategies.”
The
report is the first of two joint reports that will focus on
cardiovascular disease, which is the overall leading cause of death for
people in the U.S. and for people with diabetes. Future reports will
broaden the focus to look at the impact of these same strategies along
with primary prevention strategies and cancer screening, on reducing the
risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and cancer.
“This research has important implications for the
work our three organizations are doing to broaden access to care,
including preventive services, and to promote the role of prevention in
the national debate on healthcare reform.,” said Otis W. Brawley, M.D.,
chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
“We expect that these impressive findings will only
grow stronger when we’re able to show the additional impact on reducing
the risk of developing and dying from cancer.”
As part of their analysis, the authors also modeled
the impact of these clinical prevention strategies on direct medical
costs based on an assumption that current patterns of delivery and
treatment remain the same over the next 30 years.
The 11 activities varied widely in terms of their
impact on CVD health outcomes and their overall cost. The results
suggest that some clinical strategies are “better buys” than others in
terms of cost effectiveness vis-à-vis other prevention strategies for
CVD employed routinely by the current system.
The authors also note that these clinical
prevention activities could be achieved at a lower cost by developing
less expensive interventions. Moreover, the analysis didn’t include
important savings from reductions in nonmedical costs, which could be
considerable, but are much more difficult to estimate. These could
include reducing the human and financial burden of caregiving for family
members or for society, and increasing the productive working lifespan
of individuals.
Co-authors are: Robert Smith, Ph.D., of the
American Cancer Society and David Eddy, M.D., Ph.D. of Archimedes, Inc.
Individual author disclosures can be found on the manuscript.
>> The research report is available
online (.pdf).
>> For more information about the Preventive
Health Partnership (PHP), visit the
Everyday Choices Web site.
How
Americans Died in 2006 and 2005
Rank1
Cause of death*
Number
Death rate
2006**
2005**
% Change
All causes
2,425,901
810.3
776.4
798.8
–2.8
1
Diseases of heart
629,191
210.2
199.4
211.1
–5.5
2
Malignant neoplasms
560,102
187.1
180.8
183.8
–1.6
3
Cerebrovascular diseases
137,265
45.8
43.6
46.6
–6.4
4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
124,614
41.6
40.4
43.2
–6.5
5
Accidents (unintentional injuries)
117,748
39.3
38.5
39.1
–1.5
6
Alzheimer’s disease
72,914
24.4
22.7
22.9
–0.9
7
Diabetes mellitus
72,507
24.2
23.3
24.6
–5.3
8
Influenza and pneumonia
56,247
18.8
17.7
20.3
–12.8
9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis
44,791
15.0
14.3
14.3
–
10
Septicemia (toxic microorganisms in the
bloodstream)
34,031
11.4
10.9
11.2
–2.7
11
Intentional self-harm (suicide)
32,185
10.7
10.6
10.9
–2.8
12
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
27,299
9.1
8.7
9.0
–3.3
13
Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal
disease
23,985
8.0
7.6
8.0
–5.0
14
Parkinson’s disease
19,660
6.6
6.3
6.4
–1.6
15
Assault (homicide)
18,029
6.0
6.0
6.1
–1.6
All other causes
455,333
152.1
Deaths and death
rates for 2006 and age-adjusted death rates and percentage changes in
age-adjusted rates from 2005 to 2006 for the 15 leading causes of death:
United States, final 2005 and preliminary 2006
[Data are based on a
continuous file of records received from the states. Rates are per
100,000 population; age-adjusted rates per 100,000 U.S. standard
population are based on the year 2000 standard. Figures for 2006 are
based on weighted data rounded to the nearest individual, so categories
may not add to totals]
1Rank based on number
of deaths.
*Cause of death based
on the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision,
Second Edition, 2004)
**Age-adjusted death
rate
2For unintentional
injuries, homicides, and suicides, preliminary and final data may differ
significantly because of the truncated nature of the preliminary file.
3Cause–of–death title
has been changed in 2006 to reflect the addition of Secondary
Hypertension (ICD–10 code I15).
NOTES: Data are subject
to sampling and random variation. For information regarding the
calculation of standard errors and further discussion of the variability
of the data, see ‘‘Technical Notes.’’
Source: Table B,
National Vital Statistics Reports, Volume 56, Number 16, (06/11/2008),
National Center for Health Statistics
Notes:
American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest
and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building
healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. These diseases,
America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, and all other cardiovascular diseases
claim nearly 870,000 lives a year. In fiscal year 2006–07 the
association invested more than $554 million in research, professional
and public education, advocacy and community service programs to help
all Americans live longer, healthier lives. To learn more, call
1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit
americanheart.org.
The American Heart Association receives funding
primarily from individuals. In addition, foundations and corporations —
including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies —
make donations and fund specific American Heart Association/American
Stroke Association programs and events. Revenues from pharmaceutical and
device corporations are disclosed at
www.americanheart.org/corporatefunding.
American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s premier voluntary
health organization supporting diabetes research, information and
advocacy. Founded in 1940, the Association’s mission is to prevent and
cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by
diabetes. The Association’s commitment to research is reflected through
its scientific meetings; education and provider recognition programs;
and its Research Foundation and Nationwide Research Program, which fund
breakthrough studies looking into the cure, prevention, and treatment of
diabetes and its complications. Visit the American Diabetes Association
at
www.diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).
American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a
major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and
preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.
Founded in 1913 and with national headquarters in Atlanta, the Society
has 13 regional Divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities,
involving millions of volunteers across the United States. For more
information anytime, call toll free 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit
www.cancer.org.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
The
report is the first of two joint reports that will focus on
cardiovascular disease, which is the overall leading cause of death for
people in the U.S. and for people with diabetes. Future reports will
broaden the focus to look at the impact of these same strategies along
with primary prevention strategies and cancer screening, on reducing the
risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and cancer.