Opinion: The U.S. medical system is overrun with ‘numerical epidemics’
“We are squandering trillions of dollars, often to the detriment of our patients, merely to push a number across some arbitrary line of what we call ‘normal.’ ”
A few months ago, Americans went to sleep thinking it was just an ordinary night. But the next morning, 30 million people woke up to a new a diagnosis of hypertension. We had a blood pressure epidemic on our hands. The newspapers were full of front-page stories alerting Americans to this new threat. The most erudite and well-respected physicians implored us all to get checked and treated immediately lest we suffer heart attacks, strokes — even death.
Welcome to the world of numerical epidemics. Once we base our definition of disease on numerical abnormalities, we can change the numbers in a way that expands those who have the disease. This has been occurring in dramatic fashion the past 20 years, especially since Medicare (by congressional decree) relinquished the task of defining normal numbers to specialty medical societies. Hence the American College of Cardiology can change the definition of an abnormal cholesterol reading or abnormal blood pressure reading such that more people will be labeled with a diagnosed disease related to these numbers. Likewise, the American Society of Nephrology can broaden the definition of what constitutes abnormal kidney function and expand the scope of those now diagnosed with kidney disease. The list goes on and on, from diabetes to dementia to skin cancer; the criteria for being declared sick is rapidly being broadened, instigating epidemics of diseases across the medical horizon.
