Evening star., 1935-10-06
UNCLE SAM TO GET FIRST
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
Survey to Show State of Health Of
Entire Population and Reveal
Prevalence of Its Ills.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

a Of men, women and children
comprising the American population
could be combined into one average
person-would that person be an
invalid or a husky athlete2
These are questions to be answered
by the biggest health survey ever
undertaken. 1t will take the pulse"
Of $50 1000 families. It will cost So
100000. 1t will require a small army
of 5000 white collar workers, mostly
on relief rolls at present. 1t is ex-
pected to provide answers for ques-
tions which have remained unan-
swered up to the present
There have been fairly reliable
mortality statistics for most parts Of
the United States. Public Health
Service statisticians know how many
persons die of some heart ailment or
Of tuberculosis every year and whether
the rates are increasing or decreasing.
They have reported to them, with
fair reliability, how many children
have measles during Spring epi-
demic or how many are victims of q
poliomyelitis outbreak in Virginia.
Such information is important, but it
cannot be patched together into an
intimate picture of the health condi-
tions Of the average American family.
Sickness Kills Time.
Angina pectoris only kills a man
once and the great majority of per-
sons, Of course, never are troubled with
it. Infantile paralysis, smallpox or
leprosy never enter into the lives Of
most Americans. The health pic
ture of the average American which
would be built up from most avail
able statistics would be one in which
few could recognize themselves. The
fact remains, however, that most per-
sons are sick now and then. They
have TO pay doctor bills. They miss
time from school. Office or factory.
Their income declines and their ex-
penses mount.
1t is picture Of the general, not
the exceptional, health conditions
which the great survey to start this
month Is expected to furnish. 1t will
be the picture in the mind of the
family physician, rather than that
which would normally be drawn by
the medical specialist or the statis-
tician.
The survey will be conducted by a
house toulouse Canvass A check will
be made on the actual sickness record
Of each family. How many colds have
there been this year? What are the
minor, as well as the serious ailments
from which the family has suffered?
What has been the economic effect
1t will be carried on in the States OF
Massachusetts,, New York, New Jersey
Maryland. Virginia, Pennsylvania
Ohio. Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana
Texas. Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois
Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon
and Washington. There will be in
tensive surveys in several cities, among
which will be Birmingham, Chicago,
Baltimore, Detroit, st. Louis. Trenton
New York City, Dallas and Richmond
It was not possible to include the en-
tire 48 States due to the difficulty OF
finding enough trained workers to take
care Of a project Of such magnitude,
The 19 States selected, it is believed
constitute fair representation of the
entire country. Moreover. they include
most of the large cities where unem-
ployed clerical and professional work
ers needed for the undertaking are tc
be found.
Data for Future.
The area will provide certainly, Pub
lie Health Service officials believe, the
most representative picture of the
health condition Of a people ever OBJ
tanned in the world. 1t is expected tc
provide a chart for future objecttves
of medical research. 1t is a fact thai
very little is known regarding the
prevalence of most ailments. Family
| doctors know. as regards their owr
patients. But they Go not turn theil
cards over to the public or, even wher
they do, the records never are CO.
ordinated except on a small scale.
For example. one of the most fire.
quent causes of temporary disability
in the household accident-the finger
cut In opening a can, the fall In
bath tub with resulting broken ribs
etc. Actually such accidents may cost
the American people, in time ano
money lost, about as much as diph-
liberia. But there is no satisfactory
comprehensive record Of them. Per-
haps most important of all is the COM
mon cold. Most persons have several
attacks a year. Each one is more ol
less disabling, and hence significant ir
the life of the individual. But there
Is little reliable information on the
actual prevalence of colds.
The plain fact is that Uncle Sam
and Mrs. Uncle Sam are getting along
In years. They are in their early 40:
now, with q few gray hairs showing
around the edges.
Here Is how 1t comes about. Thirty
] years or more ago the effects OF sclen-
| tific medicine, which had been gath
ering momentum for a half century
| began to make themselves evident II
| a longer average length OF life. NAL
aides which before had been almost
invariably fatal were cured. Better
sanitation reduced the risk OF sick
ness. Epidemics were forestalled. But
generally speaking, this advantage was
not very pronounced for the middle
aged and the elderly. 1t was chiefly
for childhood and adolescence. Thse
extra decade of the average life was
due to the fact that more children
survived to become men and women
Fewer babies succumbed in the first
two years of life. There were fewer
victims of such scourges as dysentery
and diphtheria. The white plague
which had taken such a terrible toll
of boys and girls just entering adult
life, was checked.
| Optimists Rebuffed.
The life span still is increasing. 1t
is a clear gain-perhaps, when every
thing is taken into account, the most
notable advance made by the human
race in any direction for q thousand
years. But it has not been so much
of a gain as optimistic statisticians at
first predicted. With the notable de-
cline in the death rates from child
| bood and infectlolls diseases there has