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Great read, but I'm wondering why this began in the 1920's? Or was it always an issue for human beings living in Switzerland?

by pkdpic 3y ago

samus 3y ago
The condition has been described since Roman times, but not only in Switzerland. The problem also exists in other regions in the Alps and other mountain chains across the world.
- masswerk 3y ago
  Speaking of the Alps and related regions, this was also considered a condition typical for Styrians (inhabitants of the country of Styria) in Austria.
- masklinn 3y ago
  > The problem also exists in other regions in the Alps and other mountain chains across the world. As well as in the lowlands, far enough away from the sea to not have easy access to produces or sea salt through trade. It used to be common in the english midlands and the US midwest (as well as the appalachia and rockies).
dougmwne 3y ago
The Victor Hugo quote in the article was from 1839. Biologically speaking, this must have always been an issue. The iodine had washed away from the area long before human settlement. Before modern medicine, it would have been difficult to collect the data and even establish the pattern. People did not travel much in pre-modern times and many of these mountain villages would receive highly educated visitors very infrequently. They may have been barely aware that their situation was anything other than normal. The world was beset with maladies and this was just one medical mystery among all the others. In 1875, life expectancy in Switzerland was just 38, so life must have been harsher than any modern person can imagine.
- margalabargala 3y ago
  > In 1875, life expectancy in Switzerland was just 38 As is usually the case with numbers like this from the past, this is a mean value, not a median value, that is massively skewed downwards by having upwards of 50% child mortality by age 4. A typical Swiss person in 1875 who had already turned 30 could be expected to live to be 70. Here's an article talking about this phenomenon [0]. They term it "adult modal age at death", i.e. at what age do people tend to die once they have survived childhood? In Sweden, in 1875 an adult woman could be expected to live to be 72, and an adult man to be 69. But the average life expectancy in Sweden in 1875 was only 44. Per the same article, the modal age at death for adults in Switzerland in 1875 was 70 for both men and women. [0] https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_POPU_1204_0683--the-most-frequent-adult-length-of-life-i.htm https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_POPU_1204_0683--the-mos...

Great read, but I'm wondering why this began in the 1920's? Or was it always an issue for human beings living in Switzerland?

by pkdpic 3y ago

Great read, but I'm wondering why this began in the 1920's? Or was it always an issue for human beings living in Switzerland?

samus 3y ago

The condition has been described since Roman times, but not only in Switzerland. The problem also exists in other regions in the Alps and other mountain chains across the world.

masswerk 3y ago
Speaking of the Alps and related regions, this was also considered a condition typical for Styrians (inhabitants of the country of Styria) in Austria.
masklinn 3y ago
> The problem also exists in other regions in the Alps and other mountain chains across the world. As well as in the lowlands, far enough away from the sea to not have easy access to produces or sea salt through trade. It used to be common in the english midlands and the US midwest (as well as the appalachia and rockies).

dougmwne 3y ago

The Victor Hugo quote in the article was from 1839. Biologically speaking, this must have always been an issue. The iodine had washed away from the area long before human settlement. Before modern medicine, it would have been difficult to collect the data and even establish the pattern. People did not travel much in pre-modern times and many of these mountain villages would receive highly educated visitors very infrequently. They may have been barely aware that their situation was anything other than normal. The world was beset with maladies and this was just one medical mystery among all the others. In 1875, life expectancy in Switzerland was just 38, so life must have been harsher than any modern person can imagine.

margalabargala 3y ago
> In 1875, life expectancy in Switzerland was just 38 As is usually the case with numbers like this from the past, this is a mean value, not a median value, that is massively skewed downwards by having upwards of 50% child mortality by age 4. A typical Swiss person in 1875 who had already turned 30 could be expected to live to be 70. Here's an article talking about this phenomenon [0]. They term it "adult modal age at death", i.e. at what age do people tend to die once they have survived childhood? In Sweden, in 1875 an adult woman could be expected to live to be 72, and an adult man to be 69. But the average life expectancy in Sweden in 1875 was only 44. Per the same article, the modal age at death for adults in Switzerland in 1875 was 70 for both men and women. [0] https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_POPU_1204_0683--the-most-frequent-adult-length-of-life-i.htm https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_POPU_1204_0683--the-mos...