A Look at How We Die Now vs. 200 Years Ago

Over the past 200 years, the healthcare industry has changed tremendously. With the advent of modern medical technology, things that used to be a death sentence have become treatable illnesses and new diseases have grown and become threats. For example, 200 years ago, dying in an car accident was unheard of, but getting hit by a cannonball was possible.



One of the most prominent medical journals, The New England Journal of Medicine, in honor of their 200th anniversary, published a review of how our ideas about death and what causes it have changed over the years. It's fascinating.



Here is the original list of causes of death in 1812:



As you can see, many of the causes of death are still things that we deal with today, like cancer, accidents and fever. However, there are some things on the list that make me want to know more. For example, 2 deaths were caused by drinking cold water and at least 11 people died of Mortification.



Now, 200 years later, we have different health problems caused, in a large part, by the changes in our environments, lifestyles and technological advances. On the whole, we are living longer and are healthier than ever before. Here is a look at how the data stacks up:



What do you think about this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments.