The Topeka state journal., 1922-01-04
THE PUBLIC HEALTH MOVEMENT

Probably few persons aside from
those engaged in the care and treat
ment of the sick or in the public
health service realize what is being
accomplished IN the prolongation of
human life.
The expectation of life in 1910. ac-
cording to the life tables for the reg
istration states, was fifty-one and one
half years. A great many people die
in infancy some live to be octoge-
narians, and others exceed even this
advanced age. But, the duration of
human life, on the average, from
birth to death, under conditions pre-
yailing in 1910 was fifty-one and one
half years. The average has been
very much increased during the last
half century, period which has seen
health movement. In fact, when the
life tables for Massachusetts, were pre-
pared in 1855, the expectation was
eleven years less than in 1910. These
eleven years may be credited to the
improvement in conditions of life in
the fifty-five years intervening be-
tween the two sets of tables.
There is evidence on all sides, says
bulletin issued by the Metropolitan
Life Insurance company, that the ex-
pectation of life can be still further
increased by extending the work
which has resulted in the gain of
eleven years. 1t is obvious that at
~ %
cur every year may be prevented or
postponed. In some communities, the
proportion of such deaths may reach
even one-half.
Diphtheria deaths are preventable,
for the use of toxin-antitoxn will
, prevent many cases from occurring
and the early use of antitoxin in cases
which do occur will, in most instances,
prevent death from this disease. There
are other diseases which are 'pre-
ventable' in this sense. Many deaths
from tuberculosis are preventable, for,
thru the agency of tuberculosis elm
les, cases of tuberculosis may be dis
covered in the incipient stage when
the progress of the disease can be ar
| rested. These and other health meas
ures can. in like manner, postpone
death for many years in cases of tu-
berculosis which are discovered even
in advanced stages. Many deaths from
cancer, from heart disease and from
Bright's disease can be postponed for
longer or shorter periods thru discov-
cry of the cases in the early stages
and thru the application of surgical,
medical and nursing care. This is
not speculation" says the bulletin,
but a fact which is being demon
strated every day in every large COM
munity of the country where good
public health work is being done"
| Facts such as these raise the ques-
ton as to how far life may be pro-
| longed. We cannot today say what
are the possibilities of life extension
There are too many unknown factors
involved; but it is entirely consistent
i with the known facts to assert that
the duration of human life may be ex-
tended considerably more than ten
years and the expectation raised from
fifty-one and ohe-half to sixty-five
years by the application of conserva-
ton measures very well known to the
medical and public health profession
Nor shall we need to wait fifty years
for this achievement. 1t is only a
question of developing sufficient and
persistent popular understanding and
support for those measures which
have already demonstrated their
worth in the health campaign
Not only are years being added to
the span of human life, but the years
of usefulness are being heightened
A generation or two ago, it was quite
the usual thing for a man to give VI
active work at so or thereabouts. Now
the man of so feels that he has fif eer
or twenty good years before him, and
a great majority of these old fellows
die in the harness.
The result of an economic question
naire sent to 5000 business and agri-