The Link Between Population Growth And World Health

The Link between Population Growth and World Health Raphael R. Arriola Argosy University, Orange County The Global Environment and Public Health | SOC260 BLW Module 2, Assignment 2 Dr. Douglas Roberts Wednesday, October 14, 2015 The Link between Population Growth and World Health It is estimated that between the year 2014 and 2060, the U.S. population is going to increase from 319 million to 417 million, reaching 400 million in 2051. The population in the U.S. is projected to grow slower in the future decades, than in the recent past; assuming that fertility rates will continue to decline and that there will be a modest decline in the overall rate of net international migration. One in five Americans is projected to be 65 years of†¦show more content†¦The misuse of antibiotics is to blame, especially Beta-lactam antibiotics, vitamin supplementation, is also to blame including folic acid; vitamin D especially. Also to blame are novel vectors for sharing pathogens including blood donation, and lastly the widespread adoption of compulsory mass vaccinations. During the beginning of the twentieth century, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death worldwide. Three dis eases in particular in the United States caused 30% of deaths; tuberculosis, pneumonia, and diarrhoeal diseases. However, by the end of the twentieth century, in most of the developed world, the mortality from infectious diseases had been replaced by mortality from chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke. In 2000, approximately 125 million Americans, or 45% of the population, had chronic conditions and 61 million, or 21% of the population, had multiple chronic conditions. According to a report in 2004, almost half of all Americans, or 133 million people, live with a chronic condition. People with chronic conditions account for 83 percent of health care spending and those with five or more chronic conditions have an average of almost fifteen physician visits and fill over 50 prescriptions in a year according to Partnership for Solutions National Program Office, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The lives of many people in the world are being blighted and cut short b y