H. L. Mencken Quotes

The reduction of the death rate is the principal statistical expression and index of human social progress.

I don't believe medical discoveries are doing much to advance human life. As fast as we create ways to extend it we are inventing ways to shorten it.

Cancer is, in general, an increasingly important topic, in part because we've gotten so good at preventing other forms of death that cancer, despite some gains made against it, is becoming even more prominent.

Modern medical advances have helped millions of people live longer, healthier lives. We owe these improvements to decades of investment in medical research.

If not for the success that medicine has made, I might be part of a much different story right now.

Advances in science and medical research and public health policies have meant that life expectancy for Australians is one of the highest in the world.

In 1900 Americans on average lived for only 49 years and most working people died still on the job.

Infant mortality and life expectancy are reasonable indicators of general well-being in a society.

While eliminating smallpox and curtailing cholera added decades of life to vast populations, cures for the chronic diseases of old age cannot have the same effect on life expectancy. A cure for cancer would be miraculous and welcome, but it would lead to only a three-year increase in life expectancy at birth.

One could look over the past century and ask oneself, has the increased longevity been good, bad or indifferent?

AIDS does not inevitably lead to death, especially if you suppress the co-factors that support the disease. It is very important to tell this to people who are infected.

In 1820, the average lifespan was just 26 years. Twenty-six years!

In large part, thanks to widespread immunization, the number of young children dying each year has declined significantly, from approximately 14 million in 1979 to slightly less than eight million in 2010.

I think one of the important things that's happened in the course of the century is that life expectancy has doubled.

Being an American is life-threatening. For various reasons, men and women here don't live as long as men and women in about two dozen other countries, including the ones we defeated in World War II - Japan, Germany and Italy.

Although we take it for granted, sanitation is a physical measure that has probably done more to increase human life span than any kind of drug or surgery.

It is education that will arm us with the tools that will enable us to succeed and put a stop to the rising rates of preventable death.

In the developed world, we live 30 years longer, on average, than our ancestors born a century ago, but the price we pay for those added years is the rise of chronic diseases.

I think modern societies have to ask a very basic question: What strategies buy the most health for people? Doctors can do so many marvelous things now. They can keep a corpse alive, almost.

Huge sums are invested globally in medical research and development - and with good reason.

Human lifespan used to be 30 years, 25 years. But there's no basic, fundamental reason why it has to be short.

I think that the discoveries of antibiotics and vaccines have contributed to the improvement of the quality of life, making it possible to prevent contagious diseases.

With all the technology we're inventing and what they're coming up with scientifically, people are having longer lifetimes. It's scary, but in the same sense it's also very exciting.

In 1900, the average life expectancy of a US citizen was 48, so most menopausal women were dead, which is not a great place to be.

If we save people from HIV/AIDS, if we save them from malaria, it means they can form the base of production for our economy.