Evening star., 1915-04-09
Preventable or Postponable.


because pneumonia caused tmrty-two
deaths in a single week. the public de-
mauds action to prevent it's rayages. said
DR. Woodrow ''PueumouI;. however. is a
relatively uniiuporJant factor iii the NOR
tality Of the community when compared
with a group of Diseases frequently spoken
of simply as dcgcneratiye diseases, and
comprising alyopleNy. arterio- scierosis.
chronic Brigllt's diease and certain forms
of heart disease These diseases are. how
ever, SO common and SO continuously pres
ent that the community takes no notice
of the suffering. disability and deaths that
they cause Yet they are as preventable
or postpouable as is pneumonia
Prom these degeuerative diseases
there occurred iast week fortJ-nine
deaths. while pneumonia only causea
thirty-two.' And while the mortality
from pneumonia viii largely diminish
aud possibly even disappear az sum
mer approa chcs, deaths from apoplexy.
arterio- Sclerosis, chronic Erights dis
ease and heart disease Viii not IN"
teriaIly abate Deaths from these dis
eases last week were about equally
distributed between tnc bite aud col
ored populations. thirty four OF the
decedeutS being white and fifteen col
ored. Women contributed twenty -fcut
| of the fatal cases and men tn entH-
| five. although the female population ts
I somewhat the ltTReT- hluulc .t1h dt
1 vauced life. as is usually the case
! showed he heaviest Incidence of these
degenerative diseases. only seven o.
the fortynine who died having heen
/ below forty years.
| THE increasing prevalence Of app
pleNy. arter!o- sclerosis. chronic Bright
| disease and the heart diseases. VIII ch
! has been noted not only in this pist {.
/ but throughout the entire country. la"
! been sufficient to cause grave concern
Increase in Death Rate.
/ Between 1900 and 1914. IN the p's-
trict of Columbia. the death rate from
apoplexy rose from IS to lis Der 100
! 900 From arterio- -sclerosis. there was
an increase from . to 40: from dis
eases of the heart from 1873 to ia. and
the death rate from chronic Bright :
disease increased from t13 ta lo6. The
combined death rate from all of these
diseases increa sed. therefore, from 3st
to 53S since the beginning OF the cur
rent century, and there is no evidence
1 that the maximum height OF the rise
! has been reached.
"All of the diseases named Kill by
! their attack on the circulatory system
| but what the causes are OF the in-
1 creased frequency and severity or these
! attacks cannot be authoritatively stat
! ed The commonly accepted belief. how
! ever. is that overeatlns. particularly
/ the excessive use Of meats: indulgence
/ in alcoholic liquors. failure to take sur
! fcient muscular exercise and life un-
I der nerve tension beyond the capacity
of the individual to endure are the
prime causes
THE best medical opinion today is
therefore. that the prevention OF these
diseases lies in the avoidance of HE
conditions named Avoidance. there
/ fore nanifestly depends upon the COZ
duct of the individual ami not upo1
action by public authority, except as
public authority may use its positioo
/ to teach the coming generation AUD.
! in so far as is possible. the press IT
generation the necessity for ratiS al
living"