Statistical Risks
Subject
The Importance of Reducing Mundane Risks
Life expectancy for a healthy American man of my age is about 90. (That’s not to be confused with American male life expectancy at birth, only about 78.) If I’m to achieve my statistical quota of 15 more years of life, that means about 15 times 365, or 5,475, more showers. But if I were so careless that my risk of slipping in the shower each time were as high as 1 in 1,000, I’d die or become crippled about five…
Example/Illustration
Object
Sitting Increases Chances of Cardiovascular Event
Methods: A population sample of 4,512 (1,945 men) Scottish Health Survey 2003 respondents (35 years) were followed up to 2007 for all-cause mortality and CVD events (fatal and nonfatal combined). Main exposures were interviewer-assessed screen time (<2 h/day; 2 to <4 h/day; and 4 h/day) and moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. Results: Two hundred fifteen CVD events and 325 any-cause deaths occurred…
Why they relate
We spend billions fighting terrorism to save thousands of lives, but are dying by the millions of cardiovascular disease.