21st Century Economic, Human, and Planetary Health Crises

In The Global Risks Report 2019, the World Economic Forum (WEF) reported, “The world faced a growing number of complex and interconnected challenges in 2018. We will struggle if we do not work together in the face of these simultaneous challenges."

Some of the interconnected health and economic challenges we are facing are highlighted below. 

Let's use them to inspire us to work together to proactively prevent harm, address chronic illness, and create WELLthier Living for ourselves, our families, humanity, and our planet. 

Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change, a yearlong study conducted jointly between The Lancet and University College London Institute for the Global Health Commission, reported that “climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” Climate change is not just an environmental issue.  It has major implications for health, economics, global and local politics, society, culture, education, and security.

We are exceeding Earth's capacities and biodiversity loss is accelerating.

The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations. According to the WWF's Living Planet Report 2016, "The Ecological Footprint represents the human demand on the planet’s ability to provide renewable resources and ecological services. Humanity currently needs the regenerative capacity of 1.6 Earths to provide the goods and services we use each year."

Increased human pressure – such as conversion of natural habitat to agriculture, overexploitation of fisheries, industrial pollution of fresh water, urbanization, and unsustainable farming and fishing practices – endanger key environmental systems and natural resources upon which humanity depends. This is increasing the risk of water and food insecurity and is diminishing natural capital at a faster rate than it can be replenished.

Biodiversity loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. The WWF Living Planet Index shows population declines of vertebrate of 58% and freshwater environment species of 81% in the 42-year period between 1970 and 2012.

Climate change is exacerbating biodiversity loss and the causality goes both ways: Many affected ecosystems—such as oceans and forests—are important for absorbing carbon emissions.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization and  America's leading voice on mental health, reports the following statistics in America:

• 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness
• 10.2 million have mental health and co-occurring addiction disorders
• Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings every year
• 20% of youths between the ages of 13-18 suffer with a mental health condition.

The World Health Organization reports depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. 

Nearly 1 in 2 children in the U.S. have experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE).  ACEs include:

• Economic hardship “somewhat often” or “very often” (i.e., the family found it hard to cover costs of food and housing)
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Physical neglect
• Emotional neglect
• Intimate partner violence
• Mother treated violently
• Substance misuse within household
• Household mental illness
• Parental separation or divorce
• Incarcerated household member

Research demonstrated a strong relationship between the breadth of exposure to ACEs during childhood and multiple health risk factors for adult diseases including ischemic heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, skeletal fractures, liver disease, disability, social problems, substance abuse, as well as premature mortality.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Kaiser ACE Study

Prescription Drug Use in America

Drug Use (in past 30 days)

• Nearly 1 in 2 Americans are on at least one prescription drug
• 23% are on three or more
• 10% are on 5 or more 

Physician Office Visits

• Number of drugs ordered or provided: 3.7 billion
• Percent of visits involving drug therapy: 76.2%

Hospital Emergency Department Visits

• Number of drugs given or prescribed: 359 million
• Percent of visits involving drug therapy: 80.4%

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Therapeutic Drug Use

Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) is a reaction that is identified for a specific drug in the prescription explanation given by the drug manufacturer.  In other words, it is an adverse reaction discovered during the drug's clinical trials.

Adverse Drug Event (ADE) is a side effect revealed after usage of the drug and is reported by the patient or the doctor who personally experienced or treated the event.

A US Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Food and Drug Association training presentation explained: 

• Most new drugs are approved with an average of 1,500 patient exposures and usually for only relatively short periods of time. However, some drugs cause serious ADRs at very low frequencies and would require many more exposures to detect the reaction. 
• There are more than 2 million serious ADRs in hospitalized patients, causing over 100,000 deaths annually
• ADRs are the 4th leading cause of death in the United States—ahead of pulmonary disease, diabetes, AIDS, pneumonia, accidents, and automobile deaths

The CDC reports that adverse drug events (ADEs) cause approximately 1.3 million hospital emergency department visits each year. 

The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that ADEs are increasingly common, in part because of the substantial increase in prescription drug use. 

A  Public Health Emergency was declared by the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the CDC reports 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose (including both prescription and illegal opioids). 

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

The rate of children diagnosed with autism increased 3,300% between the 1970s and 2014  

The CDC reports that in the 1960s and 1970s the prevalence of ASD was approximately 4 to 5 cases per 10,000 children (or approximately 1 in 2,000+ children).

In 2018 the CDC determined that approximately: 

• 1 in 59 children is diagnosed with an ASD
• 1 in 37 boys is diagnosed with an ASD
• 1 in 151 girls is diagnosed with an ASD
• Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls
• 1 in 6 children in the United States had a developmental disability in 2006-2008.