Why is the Next Generation Dying?

I had yet another nephew die in an auto accident on Nov. 2. I started thinking about how many of my nieces and nephews have died and I tallied 5 just on my side of the family (excluding my husband's niece, who also died a few years ago). I'm wondering if there is a reason that the "next generation" from me (I'm in my 50s) is checking out at a rate nearly 3 times the previous one. They have all been adults or nearly so when they died and have died for various reasons.

I am the youngest of seven children and all of us are still alive but the eldest. Of the 14 children my 6 siblings produced, 5 of them have died. What's going on here? Does this next generation know something that we don't?

Child 1 - Deceased ..... 3 children, 2 deceased
Child 2 - Alive ............ 4 children, 2 deceased
Child 3 - Alive ............ 2 children
Child 4 - Alive ............ 1 child
Child 5 - Alive ............ 3 children
Child 6 - Alive ............ 1 child, 1 deceased
Child 7 (me) - Alive ..... no children

On my husband's side

Child 1 - Alive ............ 4 children, 1 deceased
Child 2 - Alive ............ no children

I was wondering if any ATS members have seen anything like this pattern in their own families. Or is this just something we see over a period of years? People die... Is it a coincidence that the parents of these children are outliving them?

Any thought on this strange set of circumstances? Or am I just feeling weird as yet another young member of my family has died...

RIP Kenneth.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


I'm so sorry for your loss. Prayers to you and your family.

It does seem as though our younger generation are dying more then ever before. I can't think of a good reason for it to be happening.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


umm considering im in the age group you are talking about, i might be able to give insight! our (teens) include common sex, smoking pot, not working, drugs, etc. and by this disease can be spreaded alot faster than usual, not only this but we have grew up in sterile envirorments and with processed food with chems, loads of unhealthy food and meds, etc. or it might be cause of your generation exposed to chems that makes people sterile ( they package food with chems like this) thus causing weaker offspring.

reply to post by skischoow


Interesting input. The deaths of my family have been:

2 automobile accidents (same family - many years apart - both had been drinking)
2 liver disease (different families - both alcohol related)
1 heart attack (probably drug related)

So drugs (alcohol and others) definitely contributed to the 5 from my family, but that could have happened to any generation.

I'm more wondering about the "decision" to leave this world by whatever means. Is there something in our future that younger people are aware of, even if sub-consciously, that's making them want to check out? Is life as worth living as it used to be? It's just something my sister and I have been pondering.

Thanks for the replies!

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


While this Post is not offering any insight into the theory you are postulating, and may be considered Off Topic..

I feel compelled to take this time to offer you and your family my condolences and a /HUG, I will be sure to include Kenneth in my nightly blessings.

Respectfully,

~meathead

reply to post by skischoow


I don't know about that man. I'm BH's age and we had plenty of drugs back then. Alcohol has always been around. Hell we even grew up with lead based paints, asbestos, chemicals galore. I don't know what it is but I think that today there is a lot less that contaminate our kids.

Btw BH. I'm sorry to hear about Kenneth. Extend our condolences to your family.

Originally posted by intrepid
I'm BH's age and we had plenty of drugs back then.

I was trying to find an appropriate way to say that. In any case, alcohol wasn't a problem with my brothers and sisters, but their kids sure seem to have an issue with it, for sure.

Hell we even grew up with lead based paints, asbestos, chemicals galore.

Good point. One of my brothers even had lead poisoning from paint and survived. We are a hearty bunch! Our kids, not so much...

Thanks to all for the condolences.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Good point. One of my brothers even had lead poisoning from paint and survived. We are a hearty bunch! Our kids, not so much...

The only thing I can think of is that our bodies had to fight off many more pollutants than the kids of today. We had this nasty cold going around last month. A friend had antibiotics and the puppy still lasted 6 weeks. I took nothing, let my body fight it off and I had it for 10 days. It's a starting theory if nothing else.

My condolences to your family, but I think your particular experience is extreme. In my family, for example, which is approximately the same size as yours, there have been zero untimely deaths. If you took just my experience as you have taken yours, you would come to the conclusion that the next generation is surviving remarkably well.

The correct way to examine this would be to look at mortality rates per age group over time. Here's an example: Mortality by Age As you can see from the graph, the mortality rate for younger age groups is not particularly high.

Originally posted by schuyler
The correct way to examine this would be to look at mortality rates per age group over time. Here's an example: Mortality by Age As you can see from the graph, the mortality rate for younger age groups is not particularly high.

You're probably right that my family's case is extreme. It may just be coincidence. I can't look at the age groups either, though, because my nieces' and nephews' ages at death ranged from 17 to 40. In a family of seven, where the youngest and oldest are 25 years apart, there are several age ranges represented in their offspring.

I just thought it was an odd statistical situation. Looks like alcohol may be an issue with my family genes, though none of my brothers and sisters have a problem with it.

Thanks for the link.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Hi,

First heartfealt condolences - that I guess is more than most of us experience.

In answer to your question (BTW I have two children that have survived and who will hopefully out live me) think it may be a combination of many things;

1) The nanny state - no child is allowed to experience pain (climbing a tree and falling out of it, playing in a playground and falling off an apparatus (in the UK there is some sort of 'bouncy' material around such play things)

2) TV - conversely shows that you can drive at 150 mph crash into anything, be shot at, beaten up but still come out on top....this gives a false belief?

3) As stated earlier - we have lost touch with ourselves - have just posted on another thread about miagranes - just fight it and it will go. Instead the media (and the major pharmaceuticals) make everyone believe they are dependant on the crap that they peddle (love the US ads for these - "may induce vomitting, heart attacks, impotence, respiratory failure, death...please see your physician that way we can't be sued...)

4) We spoil our kids. I remember in Australia where teenagers were (and probably still are) given V8 cars just after they had passed their driving test - guess what - some wrapped themselves and their mates around trees. Maybe a beaten up run-about would have been enough?

Believe the next generation should go out and feel a little pain. It's like the first accident after learning to drive - hopefully not to bad but enough to teach?

Peace!

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


I'm sorry to hear you have had so much loss and i hope you and your family are dealing with this most recent tragedy. I don't think generally more young people are dying but in the years to come we will see an increase. This will revolve around alcohol and sadly you have experienced this twice in your own family.

Right now there are kids drinking when they are 9 years old, and not the light wine that was watered down and given to children on a Sunday with their evening meal. There are kids drinking hard cider on a regular basis, most nights. These kids then go on to keep drinking all the way into their 20's and that is why we are now seeing a massive increase in the need for transplant livers. In the UK a recent report asid that people on the liver transplant list went up 20% in the last 5 years.

Illegal drugs are really not an issue. In the UK drinking related disease kills more people than all of the illegal drugs combined. Add on smoking and you see why more young people are dying.

All the best to you and your family BH.

My heart goes out to you, losing someone in the family is always terrible no matter what age.

I did however find a study that suggests the US has a bigger problem with teen deaths then a lot of other countries.

Life continues to hold considerable risk for adolescents in the United States. In 2006, the teen death rate stood at 64 deaths per 100,000 teens (13,739 teens) (KIDS COUNT Data Center, 2009). Although it has declined by 4 percent since 2000, the rate of teen death in our country remains substantially higher than in many peer nations, based largely on higher rates for the three most prevalent causes of death among adolescents and young adults: motor vehicle accidents, homicide and suicide (Institute of Medicine, 2008). A range of risky behaviors contribute to teens’ risk of injury and disease, including alcohol and drug use and risky sexual behaviors.

Link to pdf

Theres also a very interesting site here that gives all sorts of infor about poverty / education etc broken down by state
Kids Count

My condolences BH...

On the other side of things, it appears that there are also a lot more people my age ( upper 30's) having children. We are seeing this quite a bit.

I can't say there is correlation, but I have a sense there is one.