More illness found in US than in Britain

CHICAGO -- Middle-aged white Americans are much sicker than their counterparts in Britain, new research has indicated, despite US healthcare spending per person that is more than double what the British spend.

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease, and cancer.

The gap between the countries holds true for educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor.

''At every point in the social hierarchy there is more illness in the United States than in England and the differences are really dramatic," said study coauthor Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London in England.

The study is in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

It adds context to statistics reporting that the United States spends more on healthcare than any other industrialized nation, yet that it trails several countries in rankings of life expectancy. The United States spends about $5,200 per person, while Britain spends about half of that in adjusted dollars.

''Everybody should be discussing it: Why isn't the richest country in the world the healthiest country in the world?" Marmot said.

The researchers looked for answers in the data, which came from government-sponsored health surveys.

Smoking rates are about the same on both sides of Atlantic. The English have a higher rate of heavy drinking, but a higher percentage of Americans are obese.

Only non-Hispanic whites were included in the study, to eliminate the influence of racial disparities. The researchers looked only at people ages 55 through 64.