I thank Dr. Parker for his response to the recent study published in JCCA reviewing the basic lifespans of white, male chiropractors vs. the same groups in the general population and in the medical profession.1 In that study it was found that chiropractors had an average lifespan of approximately 74 years, vs. 76.9 years for the general population, and 81.5 years for medical doctors.
Dr. Parker referred to a website debunking the Joel Wallach “Dead Doctors Don’t Lie” audio tapes wherein it was also asserted that “... the average life-span of a physician is 70.8 years.”2 Unfortunately, the website provided does not itself provide a reference supporting the claim that physicians have only a 70.8 year lifespan, asserting only that the information came from a Kevin Kenward of the AMA. A search of both the JAMA and AMA websites, however, found no instance of a Kevin Kenward ever having made such an assertion. A medline search revealed a single instance wherein Kenward coauthored a study examining physician characteristics and Medicare claims data but no evidence of Kenward having made a claim of a 70.8 year physician lifespan.3 In the absence of further supporting evidence this assertion must be viewed with suspicion.
Dr. Parker’s suggestion for following a large chiropractic patients for a lifetime is worthy of consideration even though such a study would be difficult to implement.
Since the “Does chiropractic ‘Add Years to Life’?” study was published additional data on physician lifespan has become available. One study found an average age at death of U.S. white male physicians to be 73.0 years.4 This figure, however, included deaths from accidents and suicides. It has been found elsewhere that accidents account for nearly 10 percent of physician deaths, with a high percentage of those coming from private airplanes.5 If suicide and accident deaths, which generally occur at younger ages, are excluded the average age at death of medical physicians then rises substantially higher than 73.0 years.
The bigger question, however, is not how long do MDs live, but rather ‘Why don’t chiropractors live longer’?
The study on chiropractic longevity included many prominent names in chiropractic: educators, association leaders, etc. These doctors represent the ‘cream of the crop’ in chiropractic circles. Yet these individuals, whom we might expect to best exemplify the benefits of the ‘chiropractic lifestyle’, to ‘walk the talk’, to ‘set the example’, as it were, had lifespans below the national average.
How might we explain this? Several hypothetical factors might contribute, including:
Chiropractors may have an over-reliance on treating ‘subluxations’ for all health problems and at the same time viewing MDs as the enemy. Thus they may avoid receiving appropriate medical treatment for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc., thus shortening their lives.
Stress is already known have a deleterious effect upon human health. Chiropractors not only have the stress of education, running a practice, etc., but also the additional stress of intense infighting within the profession, and the stress of constantly being shunned by much of the health care community.
It is well known that influenza is deadly amongst the elderly.6 If older chiropractors insist on following the misguided tradition of avoiding all immunizations they may increase their risks and shorten their lifespans.
If the above hypotheses are correct then it appears chiropractors are their own worst enemy when it comes to longevity. All of the above risks are correctable by chiropractors accepting and incorporating correct scientific information – even when it collides with long-standing traditions.
References
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1.Morgan L. Does Chiropractic “Add Years to Life”? JCCA 2004; 48(3): 217–224. JCCA. 2004;48:217–224. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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2.http://skepdic.com/deaddocs.html
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3.Baldwin L et al. Linking physician characteristics and medicare claims data: issues in data availability, quality, and measurement. Med Care. 2002;40(IV):82–95. doi: 10.1097/00005650-200208001-00012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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4.Frank E, Biola H, Burnett C. Mortality Rates and Causes Among U. S. Physicians. Am J Prev Med. 2000;19:155–159. doi: 10.1016/s0749-3797(00)00201-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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5.Ullmann U. Cause-Specific Mortality Among Physicians With Differing Life-Styles. JAMA. 1991;265:2352–2359. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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6.Thompson W. Influenza-associated hospitalizations in the United States. JAMA. 2004;292:1333–1340. doi: 10.1001/jama.292.11.1333. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
