NEWS > HEALTH > NEW STUDY NARROWS ODDS OF DYING TO 1 IN 2

NEW STUDY NARROWS ODDS OF DYING TO 1 IN 2

June 26 2009

Washington, DC – Death has long been a mystery of enduring interest to the human race. Scientists, theologians, artists, and philosophers have long explored the mysteries of what -- if anything-- lies beyond the borders of our existence. For many that very exploration has come to define the human experience spawning many of the
essential institutions of human society and defining our personal existence on a fundamental level. Despite that importance to our very existence, the fear of death is something that looms over many and even the most positive of people can be struck by the panic that accompanies the end of life.

Now a new study is sparking that fear in many more people than ever with new data suggesting that more people are dying than ever before. Conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, the new study has compiled data from more than eighty countries and shows a startling increase in the number and rate of deaths the world over. The data suggests that the global death rate is approaching epidemic standards with almost fifty percent of the world’s population at serious risk of dying sometime in the future.

“We were all surprised at the results of the data, frankly. We speculated that it would be somewhere around 15-20 percent but when it came back at 50 we were taken aback to be sure. That said we do want people to remain calm. This is the first study with this large a sample and certain data may be skewing the results,” said Dr. Maria Calas of the DHHS. “We took into account deaths in countries from across the globe and so those countries subject to war or natural disaster are naturally going to skew the results. What we don’t want is people in the west to begin to panic and to start worrying about suddenly dying. This study gives us the best picture we have ever had of the actual global mortality rate and we don’t want people starting to get overly concerned.”

Calas also went on to say that Africa, the second most populated continent, has one of the highest per capita mortality rates in the world due in large part to continued conflict and extremely low standards of living across the continent.

“I don’t think there is a person alive today that hasn’t been touched by death in some way but even with loved ones passing away it has always seemed like a far off concept. This confirms that not only is it more common than previously thought, it is also a lot more likely to happen to more people that you know, but perhaps even yourself,” said Scrape TV Health analyst Rebecca Phelps. “I mean many people take their lives into their hands every day. They are almost cavalier about their body and physical existence but perhaps now some will take what time they have a little more seriously. Sometimes it’s only when people realize how much they have to lose do they realize how much they have to gain.”

Previous thinking had put the mortality rate at 100 per cent given enough time. That thinking though is now
been called into question due to the authority presented by the study.

“We’ve always been told that everyone dies and most people have just taken that at
face value though rarely if ever applying that to their own lives. Not only does this study provide a sense of finality to some, it also gives a sense of hope to others who have been told over and over again that they were going to die. Maybe now we can stop with that morbidity and doom saying and just get on with things,” continued Phelps. “Sure the odds aren’t nearly as good as 15 or 20 per cent but they are way better than 100. I mean 100 per cent is nearly everyone.”

The DHHS did not disclose how much the study cost nor how many died in its production.

Lauren Hebert, Health Correspondent

NEWS > HEALTH > NEW STUDY NARROWS ODDS OF DYING TO 1 IN 2