British adults in their 30s and 40s have lower rates of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol than adults in the US, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.
However, people in the UK are more likely to smoke regularly and are more likely to judge their health to be poor.
The study, published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology, also found surprising evidence that American university graduates are more likely to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol than British adults without a degree. Furthermore, the study reveals that socio-economic inequalities in health, particularly in relation to diabetes and smoking, are greater in the US than in the UK.
Lead author Dr Charis Bridger Staatz (UCL Center for Longitudinal Research) said: ‘Our new research shows that although British adults are more likely to believe that their health is poor, by midlife US adults are more likely to believe that their health is poor. “This suggests that people tend to have better cardiovascular health.” Although we were unable to directly investigate the causes of this, given the political and social similarities in the United States, we believe that differences in exercise, diet, levels of poverty, and limited access to free health care may affect physical health in the United States. It can be assumed that this may be causing the deterioration of The US is serving as a warning to Britain and the United Kingdom about what health conditions will be like in the UK without an NHS safety net and a strong welfare system. ”
Researchers from the UCL Longitudinal Research Center, the University of Oxford, Syracuse University and the University of North Carolina analyzed information from around 10,000 Britons born in 1970 who were taking part in the British 1970 Cohort Study (BCS70). They compared this data with information from 5,000 American adults born between 1976 and 1983 who were included in the Add Health study. In both nationally representative studies, trained nurses measured blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, and blood sugar levels to determine whether they were indicative of diabetes. Study participants reported how good they considered their health to be and how regularly they smoked cigarettes.
Middle-aged adults in the United States were more likely to have high blood pressure (22.5% vs. 19%) and high cholesterol (11% vs. 8%) compared to middle-aged adults in the United Kingdom. Additionally, they were more likely to be obese (40% vs. 34.5%). However, UK adults were more likely to smoke daily (28% vs. 21%) and more likely to report poor health (18% vs. 12%).
In a separate analysis, the study authors looked at whether the health status of people in each country varied by socio-economic background, such as income and education level. They found that in both the UK and the US, advantaged adults tend to have better physical health and develop healthy habits than disadvantaged adults. But for most health conditions, the United States had far greater inequality than the United Kingdom.
In the United States, the poorest adults were about eight times more likely to have diabetes and seven times more likely to smoke than the wealthiest adults. In the UK, the poorest adults were twice as likely to have both diabetes and smoking. In the United States, even greater inequalities were found regarding obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Researchers looked at people’s health status by their own and their parents’ level of education and found that American graduates were more likely to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol than British adults without a degree. . They also found that American adults with parents with college degrees were just as likely to be obese as British adults whose parents did not have a degree.
In some ways, these findings may paint a positive picture for the country, as adults in the UK are in better health than in the US. Nevertheless, this study should not distract us from the fact that more than a third of British adults are obese and a fifth have high blood pressure in midlife. The new government’s pledge to reduce NHS waiting times will be severely tested if current and future generations continue to age in poor health. ”
George Pourvidis, Senior Author, Professor, UCL Center for Longitudinal Research
Dr Bridger Staats added: “Our findings support previous research showing that health problems and inequalities in later life tend to have their origins early in life. “In both the UK and the US, public health policy tends to focus on improving health awareness and behavior in early childhood.” However, intervening during midlife offers a great opportunity to promote healthier aging.
“Following Lord Darge’s report on the state of the NHS, it is heartening to hear that the new Prime Minister is prioritizing a 10-year program of health service reform. Long-term planning and investment in the NHS is likely to help improve it.”UK Reducing the health disparities seen in the United States and preventing the emergence of inequalities on the same scale as seen in the United States would not only improve the health of the population over the lifespan but also create a happier and more prosperous society. is also connected. ”
Research limitations
This study is based on data from two observational studies. In BCS70, individuals are followed from birth through life, and in Add Health, from early adolescence. This rich data allowed researchers to use detailed information on socio-economic position to examine the association between socio-economic background and midlife health.
However, despite using these rich data, the authors are unable to rule out the possibility that there are other unexplained, unobserved factors that could explain the cause-effect relationship. pointed out that this makes it difficult to establish a causal relationship. Socioeconomic background and midlife health.
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Reference magazines:
Staats, C.B., et al. (2024). Midlife health in the UK and the US: A comparison of two nationally representative cohorts. International Journal of Epidemiology. doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyae127.
