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HUMANS ARE NOTORIOUSLY bad at assessing risk. It’s why someone might light up a cigarette while talking about how worried they are about a terrorist attack.
And why so many of us drive to work every day but feel nervous getting on a plane.
To help make sense of all of this and put it into perspective, the UK’s National Health Service put together the Atlas of Risk.
So, here are the leading causes of death in the UK, with larger circles representing more common causes:
And the top risks leading to death:
The charts above are averaged among the population but on the NHS site you can tailor these charts to your sex and group. The main idea is to visually show that our fears are often misplaced and that most of us should worry more about quitting smoking and eating vegetables than dying in a murder freak accident.
“It’s easy to lose perspective and worry about small or insignificant risks while ignoring, or being unaware, of the major threats,” the NHS explains on its site. “The NHS Choices Atlas of Risk has been designed to help put health threats into perspective”.
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It would be very bad luck to have a heart attack on the battlefield.
No smoking, plenty of exercise, eat well, Don’t go to war, we’ll all die young as late as possible.
Especially if you were very nervous and overweight
Gotta watch out for those undetermined events
As its in a UK perspective, I’d like to see the position of suicide and cause on an Irish version. Especially in the last 10 years.
Jesus – i had an undetermined event there last night – counting my blessings now
Undetermined events, Well that clears that up.
Where’s cannabis? Oh wait…
Cannibals?!?
Are there still areas into that madness?
Extreme munchies?
Well we all have to die of something. You would feel an awful eejit lying in a hospital bed dying of nothing!
What’s surprising is if you but mental health issues and suicide together, it’s a significant cause of death. .Internationally 12% is i the standard spend on mental health services in OECD countries,in Ireland it’s around 6%
Therefore one must conclude that the death rate from mental health issues and suicide is far higher in Ireland.
Well that’s depressing reading after a day at work….
The journal accounts for half of them
I’m still convinced a shark will get me some day
I gave you a red thumb because your comment was the only one with out one.
Hmm any chance the HSE could produce something like this or would they not be able to get past the trolleys in A&E?
My biggest risk there is a non transport accident.
Statistically though 97.8% of victims have absolutely no prior warning of their murder…..
The third leading cause of death in the Western world. according to Peter Gøtzsche, co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration are pharmaceutical drugs ~
The Cochrane Collaboration ~ http://www.cochrane.org/
“Cochrane contributors from more than 120 countries work together to produce credible, accessible health information that is free from commercial sponsorship and other conflicts of interest. Many of our contributors are world leaders in their fields – medicine, health policy, research methodology, or consumer advocacy – and our groups are situated in some of the world’s most respected academic and medical institutions. Contact us for more information.
Our work is recognized as representing an international gold standard for high quality, trusted information”
Thanks for that link Aine. Was interested to see top of the current research list on the site is inherited bleeding disorders. Coming from such a family which was decimated by infected blood products in Ireland when it comes to pharmaceutical companies and their drugs one should always remember their most basic marketing strategy…a global settlement is cheaper than a product recall.
The anti-inflammatory Vioxx ~ “When half a million died in US and nobody noticed” is a headline I’ve read about this drug ! it disabled other people by causing heart attacks. The drug maker knew Vioxx was deadly for years before risk was made public !
Not sure why suicide is separate from deaths because of “mental disorders”. Not forgetting that prescribed psychoactive drugs increases the risk of suicide in some eg “anti-depressants”.
And to pick a major tranquilizer ~ Zyprexa / Olanzapine ~ 20 people died in the trials for this drug (according to medical journalist Robert Whitaker in ‘Anatomy of an Epidemic’), it can cause rapid weight gain and diabetes (hence the big lawsuits in the US) and Danish Dr Peter Gotzsche estimates how many people this drug has killed in this interview. A staggering number ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIIQVll7DYY (4 mins in)
{ If on it do not stop or change this drug without talking to your doctor, due to the dangers of withdrawal }
@Linda ~ If some of your family were affected by the infected blood products in this country and that scandal sorry to hear that.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/anti-d-scandal-was-a-bloody-disgrace-259488.html
I know that a lot of people work directly or indirectly for pharma in this country so my comments and the truth may not go down so well. Such is life ! While some drugs may help or even have saved some people, overall there are far too many deaths from adverse reaction, overuse of painkillers etc
High cholesterol fits in nicely with the biggest blockbuster of them all ~ statins. There are other ways of managing or reducing cholesterol. Statin use has risks ~
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20140818/statins-side-effects-news
It reduces coenzyme Q10 which our body needs.
We all have to go at some stage. No point in dwelling on it too much.
I can’t belief how large a spot digestive disorders take in mortality rates. What kind of digestive disorders surely not heartburn or coeliac disease..
Reading articles like this.
Jesus killed for lack of an apple and a few spuds tough way to go!!
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