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One interesting thing to try to find is... during approximately what decade did "modern medicine" become a net benefit to health and longevity? The most common
by Consultant32452 6y ago
One interesting thing to try to find is... during approximately what decade did "modern medicine" become a net benefit to health and longevity? The most common answers I've seen vary from the 1950s to we're not even 100% sure it's a net benefit now.
- AlexTWithBeard 6y agoI think life expectancy started climbing up from 1850s, but it's hard to say which part of that is "medicine" and which is better nutrition and hygiene.
- azinman2 6y agoAntibiotics were a major factor, along with vaccines and clean water.
- Consultant32452 6y agoAnything like that has to be balanced against things like: 250k deaths caused by medical errors in the US each year 7-9k people die from medication errors https://mymedicalscore.com/medical-error-statistics/ https://mymedicalscore.com/medical-error-statistics/
- patagurbon 6y agoWhat number of those would've died without care?
- Consultant32452 6y agoWhat number of people who got medical care would've lived/recovered without it? My point is not that I know the answer to when medical care became a net benefit, my point is that it's an extremely complicated thing that there doesn't seem to be a clear answer to.
- patagurbon 6y agoSure, and I'd love to read good research on the topic. But I think there's a reasonable assumption that our verifiably increased understanding of the human body has led to some net benefit, no? I'll probably look at some reviews on modern medicine statistics, it's an interesting question. While I have no doubt we've made net progress, I wonder if some specific areas of medicine haven't.
- Consultant32452 6y agoEvery generation throughout history believed it was a reasonable assumption that their state-of-the-art medical care was a net benefit. We're no different in that regard. This is a matter of faith, not hard fact. Intuitively this feels like a "simple question of fact" that I should be able to google and find in seconds. But it's a real brain scratcher. I love questions like that.
- ummonk 6y agoI'd still attribute hygiene improvements to medical science though, since it depended on scientific research into improved hygiene practices, as well as the adoption of e.g. germ theory.
- patagurbon 6y agoIs it arguable that it wasn't a net benefit? You can argue specific cases maybe, but survival rates for the vast majority of diseases are better, longevity increased, and outcomes better for chronic illnesses.