Recent generations are showing a worrying decline in health compared to their parents and grandparents when they were the same age, a new national study reveals.
The researchers found that, compared to previous generations, members of Generation X and Generation Y showed worse physical health, higher levels of unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol use and smoking, and increased depression and anxiety.
The results reflect the likelihood of higher rates of disease and more deaths in younger generations than we’ve seen before, said Hui Zheng, lead author of the study and professor of sociology at Ohio State University.
The deteriorating health profiles we found in Gen X and Gen Y are frightening. If we do not find a way to slow this trend, we may see an increase in morbidity and mortality rates in the United States as these generations get older. “
Hui Zheng, Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Sociology, Ohio State University
Zheng conducted the study with Paola Echave, a graduate student in sociology at Ohio State. The results were published yesterday (March 18, 2021) in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The researchers used data from the 1988-2016 Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (62,833 respondents) and the 1997-2018 National Health Interview Survey (625,221 respondents), both produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.
To measure physical health, the researchers used eight indicators of a condition called metabolic syndrome, a constellation of risk factors for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes. Some of the symptoms include waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol level and body mass index (BMI). They also used one sign of persistent swelling, low urinary albumin, and one more sign of renal function, creatinine cleansing.
The researchers found that physical health measures have deteriorated from the Baby Boomer generation through Gen X (born 1965-80) and Gen Y (born 1981-99). For insects, an increase in metabolic syndrome was the main culprit, and an increase in chronic inflammation was seen mainly in Black Americans, especially men.
“The declining health trends in recent generations is a terrible discovery,” Zheng said. “It suggests we may have a challenging health expectation in the United States in the years to come.”
Zheng said it is outside the scope of the study to explain in detail the reasons behind health decline. But the researchers studied two factors. They found that smoking could not explain the decline. Obesity may help explain the increase in metabolic syndrome, but not the increases seen in chronic inflammation.
It wasn’t just the overall health symptoms that worried some members of the younger generation, Zheng said.
Results showed that levels of anxiety and depression have risen for each generation of white people from the War Babies generation (born 1943-45) through Gen Y.
While levels of both of these mental health indicators for Blacks grew up through the early Baby Boomers, the level has been flat since then.
Health behaviors also reflect worrying trends.
The likelihood of heavy drinking has steadily increased over generations for whites and black males, especially after the end of Gen-X (born 1973-80).
For midges and Blacks, the likelihood of using street drugs decreased at the end of Boomers (born 1956-64), after which it rose again for late-Gen X. For Hispanics, it has going up continuously from early boomers.
Surprisingly, the results show that the likelihood of ever smoking has gone up over generations for each group.
How can this be true with other research showing a decline in total cigarette consumption since the 1970s?
“One chance is that people in the older generations are quitting smoking in larger numbers while younger generations are more likely to start smoking,” Zheng said. “But we need more research to see is that right. “
Zheng said these results may be just an early warning of the future.
“People in Gen X and Gen Y are still relatively young, so we may be disregarding their health problems,” he said. “As they get older and harmful illnesses become more common, we have a better view of their health status.”
Zheng noted that the United States has already seen a decline in life expectancy and an increase in disability and morbidity.
“Our findings suggest that, without effective policy interventions, these worrying moves will not be temporary, but a battle we must continue to fight.”
Source:
Magazine Reference:
Zheng, H & Echave, P (2021) Are recent vehicles getting worse? Trends in U.S. Adult Physiological Status, Mental Health, and Health Behavior over a Century of Birth Cohort. American Journal of Epidemiology. doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwab076.