Boomers Living Dangerously, Dying (Not So) Young

A Scripps Howard News Service analysis of baby boomer deaths finds "more deaths from drugs, suicides and accidents than seen in previous aging generations."

Boomers are now dying at a rate of 1,000 per day, according to the story. That's largely due to the usual suspects -- cancer, heart disease, and the like (see our "What Will Kill You?"). But ...

... the Scripps analysis found that some causes of death once thought to be restricted to the young persist among boomers into a more advanced age.

The Scripps analysis found that 24 percent of the boomers who died in 2003 did not die of natural causes, and more than 1 in 10 died from an accident.

"The boomers are carrying forward into old age some risky behaviors that they've been living with and dying from since they were young adults," said Dr. Dan Blazer, a Duke University professor of psychiatry and behavioral science specializing in geriatrics.

"It's a bit of a myth that boomers have all figured out how to live a quality and great life. Many of them have problems that earlier generations just didn't bring to old age."

... According to the Scripps study, boomers accounted for about half of all people nationwide who died of drug-related causes in 2003. That is far out of proportion to their 26 percent share of the population. Of the total 28,758 drug deaths that year, 13,901 were boomers. Those numbers do not include impaired driving or other accidental causes indirectly related to drug use.

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Hat tip: Die Boomer Die