logo
Doctors sound alarm over 1.5m 'missing Americans' killed by silent epidemic

Doctors sound alarm over 1.5m 'missing Americans' killed by silent epidemic

Daily Mail​23-05-2025

Doctors are sounding the alarm after discovering 1.5million Americans died after the Covid pandemic from a 'silent epidemic' gripping the US.
Boston University researchers compared the fatality rate in the US over 2022 and 2023 to that in 21 similar developed countries — including the UK and Australia.
After accounting for population sizes, results showed that an extra 820,000 Americans died in 2022 than would the case if the US had a fatality rate comparable to peer nations.
There were an extra 705,000 'excess deaths' in the US in 2023 when the same logic was applied.
Both totals were roughly 30 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels — when 631,000 excess deaths were logged in 2019.
Excess deaths — the number of fatalities above what's typically expected — surged during Covid due to direct virus deaths, overwhelmed healthcare systems, and economic hardship. But while the pandemic has officially ended, the elevated death toll has persisted.
Researchers blame the ongoing crisis on a combination of drug overdoses, gun violence, traffic accidents, and chronic diseases like heart failure and diabetes, all of which are hitting the US harder than other countries.
They also cited the lack of a robust social safety net — common in many European countries — as a major factor worsening the toll.
Dr Jacob Bor, an epidemiologist who led the research, said: 'The US has been in a protracted health crisis for decades, with health outcomes far worse than other high-income countries.
'This longer-run tragedy continued to unfold in the shadows of the Covid pandemic.'
For the study, published in JAMA Health Forum, the researchers calculated the rate of deaths per year for the US and that in 21 other developed countries.
These were: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
These figures were compared, and analysis was carried out to reveal how many extra deaths the US was recording per year compared to the average for other developed countries.
For the study, researchers used data from the Human Mortality Database, the world's leading scientific data resource on mortality in developed countries covering the years 1980 to 2023.
The analysis included 107million deaths in the US and 230million deaths recorded in the 21 other countries between 1980 and 2023.
Over the 1980 to 2023 period, there were an estimated 14.7million extra deaths in the US compared to other countries.
US excess deaths have been rising slowly since 1980, the report found, and jumped during the Covid pandemic.
They remain high today, with the data showing nearly 23 percent of all US deaths were excess deaths in 2023.
Senior study author and global health expert Dr Andrew Stokes said: 'These deaths reflect not individual choices, but policy neglect and deep-rooted social and health system failures.
'The Covid pandemic exposed structural weaknesses—including gaps in healthcare access and social supports—that have continued to fuel premature deaths even after the acute phase of the pandemic ended.'
Dr Stokes added: 'Other countries show that investing in universal healthcare, strong safety nets, and evidence-based public health policies leads to longer, healthier lives.
'Unfortunately, the US faces unique challenges; public distrust of government and growing political polarization have made it harder to implement policies that have proven successful elsewhere.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Common prescription drug prevents heart attack and stroke WITHOUT deadly risk, scientists discover
Common prescription drug prevents heart attack and stroke WITHOUT deadly risk, scientists discover

The Sun

time11 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Common prescription drug prevents heart attack and stroke WITHOUT deadly risk, scientists discover

A COMMON prescription drug has been linked to lower rates of heart attack and stroke - with no increased risk of major bleeding, say scientists. Low-dose aspirin is recommended by the NHS to prevent heart attacks and strokes in people who are at high risk of them. 1 Because aspirin helps to stop your blood from clotting, it can sometimes make you bleed more easily. For example, you may get nosebleeds and bruise more easily, and if you cut yourself, the bleeding may take longer than normal to stop. Now, a study published by The BMJ supports the use of P2Y12 therapy instead of aspirin for long term prevention. Giving the anti-clotting drug to patients with coronary artery disease was associated with lower rates of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke compared with traditional aspirin, with no increased risk of major bleeding. P2Y12 inhibitors are usually given to patients alongside aspirin after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) - a procedure to widen or unblock a coronary artery to help prevent cardiovascular events. After several months, patients are usually switched from dual therapy (both drugs) to lifelong aspirin, but some trials have suggested a P2Y12 inhibitor may be more effective for long term prevention than aspirin. So in the new study, researchers analysed individual patient data from five randomised clinical trials involving 16,117 patients who were assigned to either a P2Y12 inhibitor or aspirin after completing dual therapy. When they were followed up four years later, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy was associated with a 23 per cent lower risk of an outcome that combined cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke, compared with aspirin - with no significance different in major bleeding. When considering outcomes individually, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy reduced heart attacks and stroke compared with aspirin. The researchers said: "Overall, this study supports preferential P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy prescription over aspirin due to reductions in major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events without increasing major bleeding in the medium term." Women vs. Men Heart Attack Symptoms But, they note "medium term efficacy does not necessarily extend lifelong, which is the duration we advise patients to continue these medications". To prevent heart attacks and strokes in patients with coronary artery disease, it's crucial to make lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and following a balanced diet. Smoking significantly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, so quitting is recommended. People should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week and choose a diet low in saturated and trans fats, high in fibre, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in salt. If you drink alcohol, you should do so in moderation. And practice relaxation techniques, like deep breathing or yoga, and find healthy ways to copy with stress. Seeing your doctor regularly for screenings and to monitor your heart health. And making sure you get enough sleep (seven to nine hours per night) is important. Various symptoms and warning signs can indicate heart disease, and being aware of them can help in early detection and treatment...

I'm a tracker sceptic. Would these cutting-edge devices convert me?
I'm a tracker sceptic. Would these cutting-edge devices convert me?

Times

time23 minutes ago

  • Times

I'm a tracker sceptic. Would these cutting-edge devices convert me?

In fitness terms, I am what might be termed an anti-tracker. I ditched most wearable devices a couple of years ago and, aside from my daily steps, I don't monitor my activity or any of the data related to it, including my heart rate, stride length, cadence, breathing efficiency, relative effort and elevation gains. I don't upload my runs or workouts to Strava, Runkeeper or Apple Fitness, so I don't receive likes or 'kudos' — and yet I feel better for it. My body is sufficiently attuned to my state of fitness or fatigue to let me know when I should push or ease off. I don't need a wristband to tell me. However, when it comes to general health and medical issues, I'll reluctantly concede that I might benefit from more of a regular insight. At 56, I am at the prime age for things to start falling apart and for early signs of age-related decline to set in. As yet I have no problems to report but am surrounded by apparently fit and healthy friends who thought the same until midlife got the better of them and their heart, blood sugar, sleep or joints took a turn for the worse. While it pains me to consider daily tracking, I am prepared to give it a go, albeit in the knowledge that continuous monitoring and feedback from such devices can, ironically, bring its own health issues. • Why we don't need to fear AI — and how to use it for your mental health In the most recent wearable technology report by Mintel, the market research company, a survey of more than 2,000 smart watch owners found that 48 per cent confirmed tracking health data made them more stressed about their health, rising to 57 per cent of people who own smartwatches. Other researchers have blamed sleep trackers for causing 'orthosomnia', defined as the obsessive pursuit of perfect sleep and cited as a reason why sleep might get worse rather than better when wearing one. I have friends who can't seem to function without a health prompt or update from their phones. The last thing I want is to become one of the worried well. As a sceptic, what would a week of tracking my health teach me, if anything at all? Here's what I discovered:F Tracker Lingo (from £59 for a two-week starter plan including two sensors; How it works A continuous blood glucose monitor (CGM) is a plastic disc that attaches to the back of your upper arm and measures how much sugar is in the fluid surrounding your cells every few minutes via tiny needle-like sensors that sit beneath the skin. Data is sent to an app on your phone in real-time and you get alerted if your glucose levels are too high, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, or too low. The idea is that you gain a better understanding of how to maintain stable blood glucose levels that might positively impact your mood, sleep and food cravings. Poor blood glucose management has also been linked to weight gain. What it told me According to Lingo, a normal blood glucose range is within 3.9-7.9 millimoles per litre, although it simplifies this with a single target called your Lingo Count. Mine was initially pre-set at a standard 60 — my goal being to stay below that — but after a week Lingo adjusted the target to 50. Following a fasted morning run, my count was low (16) and eating my late morning porridge with berries, my morning staple, didn't raise it out of range. A cocktail at the weekend saw it hit 80 temporarily, but generally, as expected, it peaked after meals. • The glucose gender gap: how would our spikes compare? Verdict I have tried a couple of other CGM devices in the past and found them frustratingly tricky to administer. My first attempts to extract the two Lingo monitors, produced by Abbott, from their containers failed and the tiny needles broke so I had to order more. They are designed to be worn for seven days but, even with adhesive stickers to keep them in place, one of the replacements came off in the shower after 36 hours. Although the app was easy to download and digest, I found some of the advice irrelevant. On an afternoon when I barely had time to eat I was warned my blood sugar count might be escalating. After a morning run and dog walk followed by breakfast I received an alert to do 5-10 minutes of calf raises to mitigate a blood sugar rise. I would be reluctant to continue, particularly after research at the University of Bath published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last month suggested there is not much point as CGMs provide misleading results. In their study, researchers measured blood sugar responses in healthy volunteers (non-diabetic and a healthy weight) using either a CGM (in this case Abbott's Freestyle Libre 2) and the gold standard finger-prick test. The CGMs overestimated the time spent above a normal blood sugar level threshold by nearly 400 per cent, potentially causing unnecessary anxiety. 'CGMs are fantastic tools for people with diabetes because even if a measurement isn't perfectly accurate, it's still better than not having a measurement at all,' says Professor Javier Gonzalez, a nutrition and metabolism researcher who led the study. 'However, for someone with good glucose control they can be misleading based on their current performance.' Relying on CGMs could also lead to unnecessary food restrictions or poor dietary choices, Gonzalez says. In the trial, whole fruit was misclassified as medium or high-GI foods by the CGMs, while a finger-prick test showed they were low-GI with minimal adverse effect on blood sugar. I can see it might become an obsession but I question the purpose — and cost — of doing it long term. • My Oura Ring is now the third person in our marriage Tracker Hilo cuff and wristband (£209.99; How it works Blood pressure is assessed using the Hilo cuff, which is attached to the upper arm via a Velcro strap and inflates to take the average of three separate readings. Continuous daily blood pressure is then calibrated and recorded via the wrist-worn strap with all results downloaded to an accompanying app, which is free for the basic daytime and nighttime monitoring but costs £4.99 per month for added insights, analytics and syncing with the Apple Health app on your iPhone. A monthly recalibration using the cuff is required. What it told me A blood pressure reading consists of two numbers: the top number is your systolic pressure, the highest level your blood pressure reaches during a heartbeat; the bottom number is your diastolic reading, the lowest level your blood pressure hits between heartbeats. A normal blood pressure range is between 90/60mmHg (millimetres of mercury, a unit of pressure) and 120/80mmHg. For me, the stats were unchanging and within the normal range day and night with a reading of 118/79. Verdict Advice from the NHS is to get blood pressure tested every five years once you get to 40, and you can get tested for free at a community pharmacy from this age. It is a good idea to check it more frequently once you have had a professional reading, especially if you take HRT or have heart disease in the family (neither for me) in which case you should consult your GP. Dr Nikhil Ahluwalia, a cardiology registrar at Barts Heart Centre in London, says the Hilo cuff is one of the home devices that is accurate and easy to use, but he doesn't recommend continuous screening. Blood pressure ebbs and flows on a daily basis, he says, and if you don't have existing hypertension, then once or twice a month is probably often enough. 'There's no evidence that continuous monitoring of blood pressure offers benefits unless prescribed by your GP,' Ahluwalia says. I did love the strap for its simplicity — it's slimline and has no flashing lights or bright screens so you do forget you are wearing it. However, the NHS recommends measuring blood pressure on the upper arm, not the wrist or finger. Tracker Oura Ring (from £349; How it works A ring containing sensors that is worn on your index or middle finger. Connects to an app that provides a daily range of sleep (and other health) stats and an overall 'sleep efficiency' score. What it told me I am a smug sleeper and have never felt the need to use a tracker to confirm I get enough rest at night or that I might need more after an interrupted night. Results confirmed my status as a sleep queen as I was awarded a crown by the app for 'optimal sleeping' with an efficiency (time asleep versus time awake) score of 89. My total nightly sleep ranged from 7hr 7min (woken by the dog barking at a fox in the garden) and a blissful 7hr 56min over the bank holiday weekend. On average, my sleep latency — the time it takes to drop off — was 12 minutes. My Ring told me I got an average of 1hr 23min each night of deep sleep, the type that leaves you refreshed and alert the next day. It did suggest I fidget a lot — I was advised to 'pay attention' to my restfulness, although I'm not sure how I'd address this when I am sleeping so soundly. • Seven things we get wrong about sleep and how to fix them Verdict I don't like wearing a watch at night and when my partner wears his I swear it lights up the entire room. If I felt the need to monitor my sleep, a ring would be the least invasive means of recording my shut-eye. Results were easy to read and digest — although you can lose yourself if you delve into the endless graphs and charts — and I only needed to recharge it once in seven days. However, studies show that no tracker is a match for gold-standard polysomnography tests that measure brain waves, heart rate, breathing, blood oxygen levels and body movements during sleep through electrodes attached to the skin and scalp. A study by Yale University scientists found sleep trackers to be accurate only 78 per cent of the time, dropping to 38 per cent when it comes to measuring how long it takes people to drop off, so I am taking the results with a pinch of salt. Tracker Apple Watch (from £219; How it works There are dozens of health-tracking options on the Apple Watch, but I used it to gauge my heart health and set it to alert me to very high or low heart rates. There's also an electrocardiogram (ECG) feature, activated by placing an index finger on the digital crown of the watch for 30 seconds, which records heart rhythm via an electrical sensor and detects irregularities. It can be used to determine your risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib), which occurs when electrical impulses that trigger muscle contractions of the heart misfire chaotically. Left undiagnosed or untreated, AFib raises the risk for stroke and heart failure. Results are logged on the Apple Health app and a pdf of ECG readings can be shared with your GP. What it told me I don't routinely track my heart rate, but over the years I have been told my resting heart rate (beats per minute or bpm when sitting or lying down) is lower than the average 60-100bpm, which is probably a hangover from hard endurance training in my teens and twenties. I set the watch to alert me if it dipped below 45bpm but its repeated pinging suggested it wondered if I was alive with my daily average of 39bpm. That got me googling slow heart rates, termed bradycardia, and stressing about whether I needed to see a GP, which the British Heart Foundation suggests might be necessary if it is accompanied by fatigue. • Apple's Siri texts 'Do you have cancer?' to woman awaiting biopsy Am I more tired than normal? That's something even the watch can't tell me, although Ahluwalia says I don't need to worry. 'If your heart rate is suddenly much lower than normal it is a cause for concern,' he says. 'If low is your normal range, then it is OK.' I also did daily ECG readings for the week which confirmed at least I was not in the at-risk range for AFib. Verdict All heart health data (including cardiovascular fitness, walking heart rate, ECGs and cardio recovery) are neatly stored together in the Health app on an iPhone so it is easy to access. It was encouraging that several studies, including a 2023 paper published in the journal Cureus, and cardiologists I spoke to support Apple Watch technology for monitoring heart health. I can see myself checking it periodically — provided I remember to wear my Apple Watch.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store