Never say die?

Chapman, Simon

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb00054.x

Topics

Environment and public health

The longest life might not be the best life

An articulate 52-year-old woman recently telephoned me.

School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence:

Competing interests:

None identified.

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australian hospital statistics 2003–2004. Heath Service Series No. 23. Canberra: AIHW, 2004: 151. (AIHW Catalogue No HSE 37.) Available at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/hse/ahs03-04/ahs03-04.pdf (accessed Nov 2005).
2. American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Accomplishments. Available at: http://www.worldhealth.net/p/89.html (accessed Nov 2005).
3. American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Official position statement on the truth about human aging. June 2002. Available at: http://www.worldhealth.net/p/96,333.html (accessed Nov 2005).
4. United Nations Development Program. Human development report 2005. New York: UNDP, 2005.
5. UNAIDS. 2004 report on the global AIDS epidemic. July 2004. Available at: http://www.unaids.org (accessed Nov 2005).
6. von Eschenbach AC. Message from the director. July 2004. Available at: http://nano.cancer.gov/about_alliance/message_director.asp (accessed Nov 2005).
7. Elvik R. Can injury prevention efforts go too far? Reflections on some possible implications of Vision Zero for road accident fatalities. Accid Anal Prev 1999; 31: 265-286.
8. Khamsi R. Cervical cancer vaccine proves effective. News at Nature 2005; 10 Oct. Available at: http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051010/full/051010-4.html (accessed Nov 2005).
9. Health Care Complaints Commission (NSW). Investigation report. Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals, Macarthur Health Service. Sydney: HCCC (NSW), December 2003: Table 5.1, 47-54.
10. Bradley M. Hospitals: now doctors to blame. Sydney Morning Herald 2004; 1 April.
11. McKie J, Richardson J. The rule of rescue. Soc Sci Med 2003; 56: 2407-2419.
12. Productivity Commission. Economic implications of an ageing Australia. Canberra: Productivity Commission, 2005: 148, 155. Available at: http://www.pc.gov.au/study/ageing/finalreport/ (accessed Nov 2005).
13. Coory MD. Ageing and healthcare costs in Australia: a case of policy-based evidence? Med J Aust 2004; 180: 581-583.
14. Van Weel C, Michels J. Dying, not old age, to blame for costs of health care. Lancet 1997; 350: 1159-1160.
15. Callahan D. False hopes: why America’s quest for perfect health is a recipe for failure. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
16. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Life expectancy. Available at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/mortality/data/life_expectancy.cfm (accessed Nov 2005).
17. Fairclough G. Philip Morris apologizes for report touting benefits of smokers’ deaths. Wall Street J 2001; 26 July. Available at: http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/intl-tobacco/2001q3/000560.html (accessed Nov 2005).
18. Mor V. The compression of morbidity hypothesis: a review of research and prospects for the future. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005; 53 (9 Suppl): S308-S309.
19. Rosen M, Haglund B. From healthy survivors to sick survivors — implications for the twenty-first century. Scand J Public Health 2005; 33: 151-155.
20. Thorburn AV. The prevalence of obesity in Australia. Obes Rev 2005; 6: 187-189.
21. Access Economics. The dementia epidemic: economic impact and positive solutions for Australia. Canberra: Access Economics, March 2003. Available at: http://www.alzheimers.org.au/upload/Dementia%20Ful%20Report%20May%202003%20(2)l.pdf (accessed Nov 2005).
22. Anon. A new measure of well-being from a happy little kingdom. New York Times 2005; 4 Oct. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/sci ence/04happ.html?pagewanted=2&ei5088&ena4c0250cf8730dca&ex=1286078400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss (accessed Nov 2005 - requires free registration).

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.