by Ben Best

Please take the short   Life Extension Values Clarification Survey

CONTENTS: LINKS TO SECTIONS BY TOPIC

1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
2. CAUSES OF DEATH (USA, MAINLY)
3. SYMPTOMS OF IMPENDING DEATH
4. INTERNATIONAL CAUSES OF DEATH
5. COUNTRY-SPECIFIC CAUSES OF DEATH FOR 38 COUNTRIES
6. DEATH RATES IN SELECTED DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DUE TO TOBACCO SMOKING
7. APPENDIX: LIST OF 38 COUNTRIES FOR DATA
8. LINKS

I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Life-extension requires not only an awareness of mechanisms of aging, but an awareness of the most common conventional causes of death -- and appropriate countermeasures.

Because the United States is representative of most developed (industrialized) countries, and since so much data is available for the United States, I will begin by detailing information available from that country. Truly international statistics on causes of death — especially rates of death — is not easy to come by. However, the World Health Organization does have some data (which may not be too accurate) from all its member countries from the mid-1990s as well as some more accurate data for 38 countries which are well developed enough to have reasonably good statistics available. A list of those 38 countries can be found in the Appendix.

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II. CAUSES OF DEATH (USA, MAINLY)

The most common conventional causes of death in industrialized countries are cardiovascular disease, "> HOME PAGE