Rising wealth in China has brought about benefits to its citizens’ health. While new studies found the average life expectancy has increased in the past few decades, stark discrepancies remain between the different provinces.
The two new studies into China’s state of health were published in the medical journal the Lancet on October 26. The studies looked at life expectancy, causes of death as well as child mortality in the Chinese provinces.
While the study found the average life expectancy to go up by 8.5 years from 1990, some provinces managed to fare better than others. In Shanghai, the average life expectance was 85.2 for women and 80.2 for men. These figures are close to average life expectancies in many rich and healthy countries …show more content…
He also pointed out that economic growth explains the discrepancies between provinces.
“Economic development level remains the most important factor behind health inequalities in China,” Huang said. But while the different growth levels are partly responsible for the inequalities, Huang stressed that local factors are also important to …show more content…
According to Huang, there are two local reasons behind this: the province has a disproportionally high smoking rate and the province’s industrial structure is heavily reliant on coal and non-ferrous metal industries.
On the other hand, northern provinces such as Heilongjiang are known for high-fat and high-sodium diets and therefore experience higher levels of heart disease as a cause of death.
While economic growth has helped increase life expectancy and has had a positive impact on improving health, it’s also brought about new health challenges. Changing lifestyles have meant that non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are now among the biggest health problems in China. Huang explained that these non-communicable diseases are “arising faster than expected, affecting younger population, and, given China’s still underdeveloped healthcare system, causing worse outcomes among the Chinese people than those in the West.”
Tackling regional
The two new studies into China’s state of health were published in the medical journal the Lancet on October 26. The studies looked at life expectancy, causes of death as well as child mortality in the Chinese provinces.
While the study found the average life expectancy to go up by 8.5 years from 1990, some provinces managed to fare better than others. In Shanghai, the average life expectance was 85.2 for women and 80.2 for men. These figures are close to average life expectancies in many rich and healthy countries …show more content…
He also pointed out that economic growth explains the discrepancies between provinces.
“Economic development level remains the most important factor behind health inequalities in China,” Huang said. But while the different growth levels are partly responsible for the inequalities, Huang stressed that local factors are also important to …show more content…
According to Huang, there are two local reasons behind this: the province has a disproportionally high smoking rate and the province’s industrial structure is heavily reliant on coal and non-ferrous metal industries.
On the other hand, northern provinces such as Heilongjiang are known for high-fat and high-sodium diets and therefore experience higher levels of heart disease as a cause of death.
While economic growth has helped increase life expectancy and has had a positive impact on improving health, it’s also brought about new health challenges. Changing lifestyles have meant that non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are now among the biggest health problems in China. Huang explained that these non-communicable diseases are “arising faster than expected, affecting younger population, and, given China’s still underdeveloped healthcare system, causing worse outcomes among the Chinese people than those in the West.”
Tackling regional