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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Philosopher who wrote (64783)	10/30/2002 5:27:10 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 82486

There is a large difficulty in such comparisons. They do not control for issues like immigration, ethnic diversity, personal habits, and the like, nor are there adequate comparisons of issues like palliative medicine, "quality of life", and anomalies of care. For example, a lot of countries do not count unwanted miscarriages as "infant mortality", but some do, so there is no uniform standard. Additionally, improvements in pre-natal and neonatal care means that we are bringing an unusual number of births to term, and also that we are delivering an unusual number of viable premies. I have not yet seen a comparison which attempted to untangle the affects of these things on infant mortality rates. Again, we appear to have better access to palliative care, both self- administered and physician directed, than countries with socialized medicine, and we also, by several measures, have a better average quality of life---- more living space per capita, more income per capita, more pervasive amenities (like air- conditioning), a greater degree of "consumer sovereignty", and the like. In relation to longevity, it appears that some ethnic groups, notably the Japanese, have a natural advantage over others in that respect. There are also ethnic differences which are cultural, and may change. For example, blacks underutilize prenatal care, even controlling for income and access. Then there are personal issues, like how much exercise does one get. In many countries, a fair amount of aerobic exercise is still built into one's normal workday, due to reliance on public transportation, the percentage of the population in physically demanding tasks, and the like. In the United States, our very wealth makes it a lifestyle option to get enough exercise to remain fit, for many people. Finally, the highest rates of infant mortality and early death are generally found among immigrants, especially illegals. But few other countries have immigration on the scale that we do, or the number of illegals that we do, or the comparative lack of selectivity that we do......