Five Ways to Avoid 100,000 American Deaths Each Year

New research by the Partnership for Prevention suggests that over 100,000 Americans lives could be saved each year by increasing five preventive steps. The report claims that there are serious shortcomings in the acceptance of preventive care acrosss the US, especially for racial and ethnic minorities.

The most influencial preventive impact would be 45,000 lives saved from more adults taking a daily low dose of aspirin to prevent heart disease. Smokers receiving professional help and medication to assist in quitting would save another 42,000 lives. Adults having regular cancer screenings would save 14,000 lives a year. For adults aged 50 or over, an annual flu shot would save 12,000 more lives. Additionally, nearly 4,000 lives would be saved by increasing the number of women aged 40 or over who have been screened for breast cancer in the last two years. The report also suggests that 30,000 cases of pelvic inflammatory disease could be prevented if sexually active young women have been screened for chlamydial infection in the past year.

The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Julie Gerberding claims "If more people took preventive actions.. more illnesses would be avoided, fewer lives would be lost, and there would be more efficient use of our limited health care resources" The report also revealed minorities to be at the greatest risk. Hispanic smokers are 55 percent less likely to seek professional help compared to whites, and Asian Americans have the lowest usage rate for the aspirin method of heart disease prevention as well as for breast, cervical and colectoral cancer screenings. President of Partnership for Prevention, John Clymer believes "The bottom line is that we need to strengthen the US health system by investing more in preventing disease."

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