3 ms·

I agree mental health should be allocated higher priority than it is. I can't find a great source, but this listicle[0] claims the top categories of conditions

I agree mental health should be allocated higher priority than it is. I can't find a great source, but this listicle[0] claims the top categories of conditions in terms of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost are: 1. Arthritis. 2. Heart disease. 3. Stroke. 4. Cancer. 5. Mental health conditions. 6. Diabetes. 7. Nervous system disorders. 8. Pregnancy. 9. Accident. 10. Developmental disorders. Whereas the top causes of death in the US[1] are: 1. Heart disease. 2. Cancer. 3. Accident. 4. Chronic lower respiratory disease. 5. Stroke. 6. Alzheimer's. 7. Diabetes. 8. Influenza and pneumonia. 9. Kidney disease. 10. Suicide. Given that heart disease, stroke, and cancer top both lists, IMO, it makes sense from a pragmatic POV to focus on those two. Side note: I was surprised to see arthritis at #1 on the DALYs list. Seems like more research is needed here, as well. --- [0]: https://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/this-awful-disease-is-the-no-1-cause-of-disability-in-the-u-s.html/ https://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/this-awful-disease... [1]: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929.php https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929.php

1_over_n 7y ago
I think one thing that's overlooked in Cancer research is how much ground has been, and will continue to be broken in terms of basic biological research to solve the problems required. To even define and understand the problem properly we have to solve a bunch of things. Then to get to a solution a bunch of other things need to be figured out and can be integrated into humanities knowledge base. On top of that things can be dragged in from other fields to get a sense of how biology responds at various scales: genetic, tissue, organ, system, whole person. It's a perplexing and fascinating disease to grapple with.
sajforbes 7y ago
It's worth mentioning that just because something tops a list of conditions, doesn't mean money/effort is best spent there. The true measure is expected benefit per $ spent. Some conditions prove particularly resistant to research efforts, while others might be comparatively cheap to cure or alleviate. In those cases you are better off focusing on the 'easy wins' and moving to the more difficult problems once the biggest and fastest gains have been made with the comparatively easier conditions.

1_over_n 7y ago

I think one thing that's overlooked in Cancer research is how much ground has been, and will continue to be broken in terms of basic biological research to solve the problems required. To even define and understand the problem properly we have to solve a bunch of things. Then to get to a solution a bunch of other things need to be figured out and can be integrated into humanities knowledge base. On top of that things can be dragged in from other fields to get a sense of how biology responds at various scales: genetic, tissue, organ, system, whole person. It's a perplexing and fascinating disease to grapple with.

sajforbes 7y ago

It's worth mentioning that just because something tops a list of conditions, doesn't mean money/effort is best spent there. The true measure is expected benefit per $ spent. Some conditions prove particularly resistant to research efforts, while others might be comparatively cheap to cure or alleviate. In those cases you are better off focusing on the 'easy wins' and moving to the more difficult problems once the biggest and fastest gains have been made with the comparatively easier conditions.