New York, March 20 (IANS) There has been a worrying decline in the mental and physical health of recent generations compared to their parents and grandparents when they were of the same age, a new national study reveals.
The researchers showed that compared to previous generations, members of Generation X and Generation Y showed poorer physical health, higher levels of unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol use and smoking, and increased depression and anxiety.
According to lead researcher Hui Zheng of Ohio State University, the findings show the likelihood of higher rates of disease and more deaths in younger generations than previously seen.
“The deteriorating health profiles we found in Gen X and Gen Y are appalling,” Zheng said.
“If we do not find a way to slow this trend, we are going to see an increase in morbidity and mortality rates in the United States as these generations get older,” Zheng said. .
For the study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the team examined data used from the 1988-2016 Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (62,833 respondents) and the 1997-2018 National Health Interview Survey (625,221 respondent), both produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.
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).
“The declining health trends in recent generations is an alarming finding. It shows that we could have a challenging health expectation in the U.S. in the years to come,” Zheng said.
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.
–IANS
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