Deck 5: The Health and Mortality Transition

Question 1

The oldest verified age to which a human has ever lived is just over:

A) 100 years.
B) 110 years.
C) 120 years.
D) 130 years.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is most true when it comes to longevity?

A) It is measured by the concept of life span.
B) About 35 percent of the variability is due to inherited characteristics.
C) About 50 percent of the variability is due to economic factors.
D) The single most important element in variability is your outlook on life.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

When life expectancy is 30, about ___ percent of children die before their fifth birthday, compared to ___ percent when life expectancy is 80:

A) 40; 1
B) 50; 1
C) 50; 10
D) 60; 10

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In a low mortality society such as the United States, the principal causes of death are related to:

A) infectious diseases.
B) pregnancy-related diseases.
C) noncommunicable conditions.
D) injuries.

Question 5

Which of the following was LEAST likely to have influenced the decline in mortality in the United States prior to World War II?

A) Improved diet
B) Better hygiene
C) Availability of penicillin
D) Availability of smallpox vaccinations

Question 6

Throughout most of human history, the major causes of death have been related to:

A) infectious diseases.
B) pregnancy-related diseases.
C) smoking.
D) injuries.

Question 7

The basic lesson of the nutrition transition concept is that:

A) you are what you eat.
B) Americanization is bad for your health.
C) diets must adapt to circumstances.
D) being fat is healthier now than it used to be.

Question 8

World War II was a turning point in world mortality decline because:

A) it taught the world the value of human life.
B) it created new ways of coping with violent death.
C) it led to the development of the germ theory.
D) it led to the spread of death control technology around the world

Question 9

In which of the following regions of the world would you be most likely to still find countries where men live longer than women?

A) The Middle East
B) South Asia
C) Central America
D) Sub-Saharan Africa

Question 10

Life expectancy during the Roman era was probably little more than ___ years:

A) 20
B) 30
C) 40
D) 50

Question 11

The health and mortality transition does NOT typically involve which of the following?

A) Shift in deaths from the younger to the older ages
B) Greater control over the natural environment
C) Shift in causes of death from communicable to degenerative
D) Permanently greater spread in the ages at which people die

Question 12

Which of the following statistical concepts is NOT directly used to calculate life expectancy?

A) Age-adjusted death rate
B) Age-specific death rate
C) Probability of dying between two different ages
D) Number of years lived

Question 13

The planned obsolescence theory of human aging suggests that:

A) we undergo a process of senescence as we age.
B) our bodies are like machines that wear out.
C) our cells have a built-in time clock that eventually stops.
D) there is a high probability of Alzheimer's if we live long enough.

Question 14

For most of human history, up to the modern era, life expectancy was probably about:

A) 20-30 years.
B) 30-40 years.
C) 40-50 years.
D) 50-60 years.

Question 15

the age at which the average human has the lowest risk of death is:

A) 0
B) 1
C) 5
D) 15

Question 16

If everyone survived to age 100 and then died shortly after that, the process would be called:

A) rectangularization of mortality.
B) suppression of death rates.
C) gender inequality in mortality.
D) a miracle.

Question 17

The most important "real" causes of death in the United States are related to:

A) tobacco use.
B) drug and alcohol misuse.
C) diet and activity patterns.
D) microbial agents.

Question 18

The "Hispanic Paradox" refers to the phenomenon of:

A) undocumented immigrants entering the United States with untreated tuberculosis.
B) Americanization being bad for your health.
C) high levels of obesity among Hispanics in the United States.
D) lower death rates for Hispanics than non-Hispanics in the United States.

Question 19

The age at which the average human has the highest risk of death is:

A) 0
B) 1
C) 5
D) 15

Question 20

Which of the following characteristics is least predictive of low levels of mortality?

A) Higher social status rather than lower
B) Urban residence rather than rural
C) Higher levels of education rather than lower
D) Being married rather than divorced

Question 21

The finding that your initials might affect your life expectancy provide evidence of possible psychological influences on mortality.

Question 22

The plague disappeared from Europe at about the time that the Industrial Revolution was getting started.

Question 23

The available evidence suggests that if we could get rid of Alzheimer's disease, humans could live nearly forever.

Question 24

Life expectancy in Russia is now significantly higher than it was thirty years ago.

Question 25

The plague was hitting Spain at about the same time that Spaniards were spreading disease to the Americas.

Question 26

The crude death rate is called "crude" because it does not take into account the age and sex distribution of the population.

Question 27

In human populations, there is a universal survival advantage of women.

Question 28

Given the current world averages, an infant mortality rate of 100 would be considered low.

Question 29

Medical advances were the main reason for the decline of mortality in Europe and the United States in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Question 30

Life expectancy and lifespan both refer to the highest age to which humans can expect to live.