5 ms·

I 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 ago
Antibiotics were a major factor, along with vaccines and clean water.
Consultant32452 6y ago
Anything 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 ago
  What number of those would've died without care?
  - Consultant32452 6y ago
    What 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 ago
      Sure, 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 ago
        Every 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 ago
I'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.

azinman2 6y ago

Antibiotics were a major factor, along with vaccines and clean water.

Consultant32452 6y ago

Anything 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 ago
What number of those would've died without care?
- Consultant32452 6y ago
  What 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 ago
    Sure, 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 ago
      Every 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 ago

I'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.