Since I was the one who put the statistics on the Net from
the "Vital Statistics of the United States, Mortality"
I feel I should make this statement.
The only thing I could see which consistently followed a
pattern, was that Male deaths with PD, outnumbered
Female death with PD. Of course, there are more male
deaths each year from all causes, than female deaths.
Yes, it seems that there are less Black Race deaths
with PD, but if you consider that only 13% of the population of the
United States is Black, (World Almanac 1995)
then they would seem to be as susceptible
as everyone else.
The 10 leading causes of Death in 1995 according to
the National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Dept. of
Health and Human Services are as follows:
1. Heart Disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Chronic obstructive lung diseases and allied conditions
5. Accidents and adverse effects
Motor Vehicle accidents
All other accidents and adverse effects
6. Pneumonia and influenza
7. Diabetes Mellitus
8. Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
9. Suicide
10. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
We have an elderly patron at the library who comes in several
times a week. A very friendly and polite man but you can tell
walking is really a problem for him. I always inquire as to how
he is feeling today, and he tells me he starts the day by reading
the obituaries, and if he does't find his name there, he figures
God is granting him another day, so he tries to make the most
of it.
As Ever,
Marjorie Moorefield
just another librarian
with PD.
64/9
