The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-06-08
MUCH ILLNESS NEEDLESS.

MUCH ILLNESS NEEDLES.
On the ground that illness In this
country IL causing huge economic
losses, mounting every year into hum
dreds of millions Of dollars, the Asso-
citation of Life Insurance Presidents
at its recent meeting was urged to aid
in a movement for comprehensive
system Of reporting cases Of sickness
throughout the different statess along
the lines that deaths are now re-
ported. It was declared that much
Of the Illness OF today is needless and
that the first step In prevention must
be accurate knowledge as to the oc-
currences of sickness. The recon-
mendation was made by DR.. Louis I.
Dublin, a life insurance statistician of
New York City.
A model law to provide for such
reports has been prepared by the con-
ference Of state and territorial health
authorities in conjunction with the
United States public health service. An
effort is being made to interest large
business and Industrial concerns in the
movement, principally on the ground
of the resulting economic benefit to
them. Besides. it is pointed out that
any reduction of economic loss will,
without additional effort, or expense,
bring concurrently a vast reduction in
social loss, including physical suffer-
ing, dependency, lack of education
and training and other results Of ILL
ness that lower the standard of fam
lily and community life.
THE life saving campaigns of the
last few decades have borne fruit"
said DR.. Dublin in his recommended
ton. THE death rate has been low
respondingly heightened. Deaths from
certain causes, especially typhoid
fever, smallpox. the infectious dis
eases of childhood, and tuberculosis
have been reduced. The amount of
sickness, on the other hand, has not
been controlled to any appreciable de-
gree There is still too much sick
ness among us. Indeed, there are
those who, with some authority, MAIN
tain that illness has actually in
creased in spite Of all the saving in
mortality. The next twenty years
must. therefore. see our activities in
health work directed specially to the
control of disease. If we avail our
selves of our present knowledge of
sanitary science, we can reduce the
as we have already cut down our
death rates.
THE basis for any campaign against
sickness must be an accurate knowl-
edge OF its prevalence. Just as the
reduction of mortality is furthered by
a complete registration Of deaths and
their causes, so our efforts to reduce
the frequency of deaths depend upon
machinery for reporting the cases Of
sickness, their causes, and their dura-
ton. for each group in the communi-
ty. For this purpose, it Is not suff-
Gent to know only, as we do now,
the number who have died from any
particular cause. We must hence
forth place our emphasis upon the
cases OF sickness themsAly66- They
are socially more important than
deaths and our program must more
and more prevent their occurrence
and effect their control The state
must. therefore. in the first instance,
see that all preventable diseases are
recorded that we may lay our founda-
ton, for efficient and sanitary admin
istration.
Health, departments have long
realized the Importance of registering
disease At first they required the re-
porting Of the plaques, such as small
pox. yellow fever. cholera, etc. Later,
the list was extended to include the
acute Infections, especially those of
childhood, like diphtheria, scarlet
fever and measles. With the devel-
opment of the germ theory Of disease,
the reporting of tuberculosis was in
cluded; first on a voluntary, and later
on q compulsory basis. Finally, in
some of the more advanced states,
certain non-infectious diseases, such
as cancer, pellagra, and even q few
of the occupational diseases have been
made reportable- At the present time,
nearly all states Of the Union have
laws requiring tho reporting Of one
or more OF the preventable diseases
mo important aspect of our state
health work shows up to such poor
advantage as does the registration and
control of. the preventable diseases.
We are here concerned with conditions
which are responsible from year to
year for large economic and social
losses and yet we have only the crud-
est machinery for checking them.
Professor Irving Fisher of Yale has
estimated that about three million
people are seriously Ill at any one
time in the United States. of whom
about a half are suffering from pre-
ventable causes. The economic losses
from such illness he declares to be
no less than five hundred million dol
lars annually in wages and an equal