What are the nonmedical factors most closely linked to death risk?
ISLAMABAD, July 7 (online): A new study has recently identified the top 10 social and behavioral traits associated with mortality.
Although there has been plenty of research linking mortality to various habits and lifestyle factors, scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada — in collaboration with colleagues from other institutions — have identified the 10 factors most likely to lead to death.
The research aimed to better understand the stagnation in life expectancy occurring in the United States over the past 3 decades compared with other industrialized countries.
According to the study, the top three factors most closely connected to death are smoking, experiencing divorce, and having engaged in alcohol misuse.
The full list of the top 10 factors that most strongly predict death is as follows:
- smoking (currently)
- history of divorce
- history of alcohol misuse
- recent financial difficulties
- history of unemployment
- smoking (previously)
- lower life satisfaction
- never having been married
- history of using food stamps
- negative affectivity
A recent estimate of U.S. life expectancy stood at 78.6 years, while 11 other industrialized nations averaged about 82.3 years. This represented a gain of just 4.9 years for the U.S. between 1980 and 2017, while other nations added an average of 7.8 years.
Biological and medical factors are likely part of the reason, and advances in medicine that aim to address these factors continue. The roles of social, psychological, economic, and behavioral factors in life expectancy are less well understood, and researchers often study them in isolation.
This means that it is unclear which of these nonmedical factors are the strongest predictors of mortality risk — a knowledge gap the new study hoped to fill.
Stay tuned to BAAGHI TV for latest news and updates!
