What happens in the USA to disabled people reverberates in Canadian policies and classrooms (Part 2 – Rise in Chronic Illnesses?)

I began the first post in this series with the assertion that misinformation spread from the highest levels of governmental power in the USA is impacting disability communities all over the world, including in Canada. However, I also explained that at this point, this assertion is based on observational evidence rather than on any rigorous, peer-reviewed study I have conducted. On the other hand, I believe the evidence is abundant. I will continue to expand upon this topic in this post.

In the first post, I focused on providing a brief window into how Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s background informs the policies he implements in his role as Chief of Health and Human Services in the U.S. federal government, as established during Trump’s second term. My intention is to expand on this topic by discussing how the policies RFK Jr. is implementing (or attempting to implement) are expanding disabled communities not only in the USA but also in other countries, including Canada.

To summarize what I stated in the Part 1 post, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a history of being an anti-vaxxer. An anti-vaxxer is an individual who is part of a larger movement that expresses opposition to vaccination, often spreading misinformation to increase vaccine hesitancy. They may promote refusing or delaying vaccinations for children. They doubt the safety and efficacy of vaccines, often focusing on childhood vaccines and citing concerns over civil liberties, pharmaceutical profiteering, parental rights, or religious concerns. As demonstrated by RFK Jr’s conspiracy-driven campaign platform during his run for president opposite Donald Trump (in his third campaign), anti-vaccine activism often stems from distrust in scientific consensus, conspiracy theories, or concerns over vaccine safety, despite widespread evidence supporting their benefits. As RFK Jr.”s sphere of influence expanded once he abandoned his campaign to become president of the USA and joined Donald Trump’s team, his ability to promote misinformation, campaign against mandatory vaccination laws, and influence public opinion became more significant.

In RFK Jr.’s early statements as the Chief of Health and Human Services, he announced a primary mission to end the chronic disease epidemic by fostering “radical transparency” within federal health agencies, aiming to restore public trust, and move away from industry-captured, “dysfunctional” systems. In a similar fashion to Autism Speaks stating the existence of an “Autism Epidemic,” RFK Jr. stated the existence of a chronic disease epidemic as an indisputable fact. It would be like if I were to state a connection between misinformation spread from the highest offices of power in the federal government of the USA and negative impacts upon disability communities as indisputable facts. I do not have peer-reviewed evidence to support this statement. I may offer convincing observational evidence, but I certainly cannot state it as rigorously demonstrated. RFK Jr. began to promo the slogan “Make America Healthy Again.” Like the statement that the USA is experiencing a chronic disease epidemic, this slogan asserts the factualness of the assumption that the people of the USA are less healthy than in the past. Neither statement was supported by peer-reviewed evidence, leaving them as assumptions.

This leaves us with some questions: Are the people of the USA less healthy than in the past? Is there a chronic disease epidemic in the USA today, especially in comparison to the past?

The question of whether Autism Speaks was correct in asserting the existence of an autism epidemic fits in well with these questions. However, I will leave this question out and focus on the inital two.

Without conducting a deep dive into these questions, the following are some of my initial results, summarizing the research other scholars have done on them.

While the people of USA live longer and survive many diseases better than in the past, overall health has improved only modestly and is increasingly burdened by chronic illness, disability, and inequality. This statement would seem to support RFK Jr.’s assertions. However, this statement is more complicated than it appears. It starts by stating that the people of the USA live longer and survive many diseases better. However, it follows up by saying that the people of the USA are experiencing an increase in chronic illness and disability, but also suggests it is the result of inequality. What kind of inequality could cause an increase in chronic illness and disease? The easiest answer here is “Income Inequality.” When so many people work jobs that don’t even have a minimum wage, nevermind a minimum liveable wage, and do not include health benefits, the lack of access to a socialized medical care system becomes even more detrimental. Thus, when RFK Jr. suggests there is an increase in chronic diseases and disability, it would be easier to addendum this statement by saying that this is particularly true in comparison to their directly neighbouring country of Canada, or to other countries with socialized medical care systems.

Life expectancy in the USA rose from 1990 to 2010 from 75.2 to 78.2. Healthy life expectancy in the USA rose in the same time period from 65.8 to 68.1 years (1, 2, `10, 14, 20). From the years of 1950 to 2015, the long-term life expectancy of people in the USA increased from 69.7 to 78.2 years (4). However, gains in the USA have lagged behind other rich countries. . Their ranking for overall life expectancy in comparison with other countries fell sharply between 1990 and 2021 (1, 4, 14, 20).

The majority of health outcome losses in the USA appear to be the result of chronic illness and disability, as suggested by RFK Jr. These factors make up nearly half of the total health losses in the USA in the time period mentioned above (1, 14, 20). Leading health-related issues contributing to these numbers include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, COPD, musculoskeletal pain, depression and anxiety, and substance use disorders. Several of these have risen or stayed high even as overall mortality rates have fallen. (1, 2, 4, 10, 14, 20). Obesity and multimorbidity have increased and are projected to keep rising in adults in the USA ≥50 through 2050 (2, 10, 12, 20).

The following image shows key trends in the USA.

Although health has improved for more well-educated and advantaged people in the USA, many lower-educated and disadvantaged and marginalized people in the USA have seen stagnant or worsening outcomes, including in life expectancy (3, 4, 6, 8). Some indicators, such as smoking, motor-vehicle deaths, teen births, and infant mortality, have improved while others, such as obesity, drug overdose, suicide and mental illness, have worsened (2, 4, 10, 14, 16, 20).

I stated that I was not going to be doing a deep-dive scientifically to answer these questions. Rather, I was going to summarize some of the findings of people who have been asking and answering these questions. However, this already would appear to be more evidence and context than the Chief of Health and Human Services for the USA federal government, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been prepared to offer.

Citations:

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