A History of Population Health
Rise and Fall of Disease in Europe
Series: - Clio Medica Online, Volume: 101
- Clio Medica, Volume: 101
Winner of the 2021 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award
In A History of Population Health Johan P. Mackenbach offers a broad-sweeping study of the spectacular changes in people’s health in Europe since the early 18th century. Most of the 40 specific diseases covered in this book show a fascinating pattern of ‘rise-and-fall’, with large differences in timing between countries. Using a unique collection of historical data and bringing together insights from demography, economics, sociology, political science, medicine, epidemiology and general history, it shows that these changes and variations did not occur spontaneously, but were mostly man-made. Throughout European history, changes in health and longevity were therefore closely related to economic, social, and political conditions, with public health and medical care both making important contributions to population health improvement.
Readers who would like to have a closer look at the quantitative data used in the trend graphs included in the book can find these it here.
In A History of Population Health Johan P. Mackenbach offers a broad-sweeping study of the spectacular changes in people’s health in Europe since the early 18th century. Most of the 40 specific diseases covered in this book show a fascinating pattern of ‘rise-and-fall’, with large differences in timing between countries. Using a unique collection of historical data and bringing together insights from demography, economics, sociology, political science, medicine, epidemiology and general history, it shows that these changes and variations did not occur spontaneously, but were mostly man-made. Throughout European history, changes in health and longevity were therefore closely related to economic, social, and political conditions, with public health and medical care both making important contributions to population health improvement.
Readers who would like to have a closer look at the quantitative data used in the trend graphs included in the book can find these it here.
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Johan P. Mackenbach is Professor of Public Health at Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea, and has published widely on contemporary and historical health issues.
"[...] strengths of this excellent book include its meticulous and extensive documentation, transparent discussion of what data is and is not available, analysis of prevailing theoretical explanations, use of supplementary tables, and Mackenbach's clear and compelling writing. [...] Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers." - M. D. Lagerwey, Western Michigan University, in: Choice, February 2021 Vol. 58 No. 6
"Mackenbach’s longue durée, Braudel-inspired, and erudite book wades into scholarly territory that will be familiar to readers of Journal of British Studies. […] Mackenbach’s book will provide an important starting point for future research on the role of politics and public health in curbing COVID-19." - Jacob Steere-Williams, College of Charleston, South Carolina, in: Journal of British Studies, Vol. 60 (3), 2021, 746-748 pp.
"Mackenbach’s longue durée, Braudel-inspired, and erudite book wades into scholarly territory that will be familiar to readers of Journal of British Studies. […] Mackenbach’s book will provide an important starting point for future research on the role of politics and public health in curbing COVID-19." - Jacob Steere-Williams, College of Charleston, South Carolina, in: Journal of British Studies, Vol. 60 (3), 2021, 746-748 pp.
Preface
List of illustrations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Utopia come true?
Rising life expectancy
The rise and fall of disease
The epidemiologic transition theory
The McKeown debate and the Preston-curve
The role of human agency
&;How to read this book
Concepts, sources, data and methods
PART I. LONG-TERM TRENDS: A BIRD’S EYE VIEW
Chapter 2. Long-term trends in population health
Changes in over-all population health
Declining mortality
Young and old, men and women
Regional and social inequalities
Rising height
More years in good health, more years in bad health?
Changes in disease patterns
Shifting causes of death
Shifts in the burden of disease
Diseases rise, diseases fall
Epidemiologic transition 2.0
A theory in need of repair
How: characterizing change
When: staging change
Where: locating change
Chapter 3. Understanding trends in population health
Theories of population health
An ‘ecological-evolutionary theory’ of the origins of disease
Explaining long-term change
Economic, political and sociocultural conditions
Economic history: improvements in living standards
Political history: the rise of the modern state
Sociocultural history: the lights go on
Public health and medical care
A short history of public health
The impact of public health
A short history of medical care
The Role of Medicine
PART II. ZOOMING IN: THE RISE AND FALL OF DISEASES
Chapter 4. Health problems of pre-industrial societies
Violence and hunger
War
Homicide
Famine
Great epidemics
Plague
Smallpox
Typhus
Malaria
Chapter 5. Health problems of industrializing societies
Communicable diseases
Cholera, dysentery, typhoid
Tuberculosis
Syphilis
Scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria
Pneumonia, influenza
Maternal, infant and perinatal mortality
Maternal mortality
Infant mortality
Still-births
Other health problems of industrializing societies
Pellagra, rickets, goitre
Peptic ulcer, appendicitis
Lung diseases caused by occupational and environmental exposures
Chapter 6. Health problems of affluent societies
Chronic diseases
Ischaemic heart disease
Cerebrovascular disease
Diabetes mellitus
Stomach, colorectal, breast, prostate cancer
Lung cancer
Liver cirrhosis
Dementia
Depression
Injuries
Road traffic injuries
Suicide
A new plague
AIDS
PART III: SYNTHESIS AND OUTLOOK
Chapter 7. Why?
Why did European population health improve?
The rise and fall of disease
The role of human agency
The role of public health and medical care
The Rise of the West: was there a ‘prime mover’?
Why did some countries rush ahead or lag behind?
Northern lights: the Swedish advantage
Dutch comfort: we were the champions
Southern miracles: from rear-guard to forefront
Balkan troubles: the weight of the past
Russian roulette: the value of life
Chapter 8. Outlook
Feathers of Icarus
Geopolitical instability
Increasing inequality
Global environmental change
The way ahead
The public health paradigm
An expanding circle of concern
Re-thinking Utopia
By way of conclusion
Through the telescope of history
The European experience
The role of politics
The future
Appendices
Bibliography
Index
List of illustrations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Utopia come true?
Rising life expectancy
The rise and fall of disease
The epidemiologic transition theory
The McKeown debate and the Preston-curve
The role of human agency
&;How to read this book
Concepts, sources, data and methods
PART I. LONG-TERM TRENDS: A BIRD’S EYE VIEW
Chapter 2. Long-term trends in population health
Changes in over-all population health
Declining mortality
Young and old, men and women
Regional and social inequalities
Rising height
More years in good health, more years in bad health?
Changes in disease patterns
Shifting causes of death
Shifts in the burden of disease
Diseases rise, diseases fall
Epidemiologic transition 2.0
A theory in need of repair
How: characterizing change
When: staging change
Where: locating change
Chapter 3. Understanding trends in population health
Theories of population health
An ‘ecological-evolutionary theory’ of the origins of disease
Explaining long-term change
Economic, political and sociocultural conditions
Economic history: improvements in living standards
Political history: the rise of the modern state
Sociocultural history: the lights go on
Public health and medical care
A short history of public health
The impact of public health
A short history of medical care
The Role of Medicine
PART II. ZOOMING IN: THE RISE AND FALL OF DISEASES
Chapter 4. Health problems of pre-industrial societies
Violence and hunger
War
Homicide
Famine
Great epidemics
Plague
Smallpox
Typhus
Malaria
Chapter 5. Health problems of industrializing societies
Communicable diseases
Cholera, dysentery, typhoid
Tuberculosis
Syphilis
Scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria
Pneumonia, influenza
Maternal, infant and perinatal mortality
Maternal mortality
Infant mortality
Still-births
Other health problems of industrializing societies
Pellagra, rickets, goitre
Peptic ulcer, appendicitis
Lung diseases caused by occupational and environmental exposures
Chapter 6. Health problems of affluent societies
Chronic diseases
Ischaemic heart disease
Cerebrovascular disease
Diabetes mellitus
Stomach, colorectal, breast, prostate cancer
Lung cancer
Liver cirrhosis
Dementia
Depression
Injuries
Road traffic injuries
Suicide
A new plague
AIDS
PART III: SYNTHESIS AND OUTLOOK
Chapter 7. Why?
Why did European population health improve?
The rise and fall of disease
The role of human agency
The role of public health and medical care
The Rise of the West: was there a ‘prime mover’?
Why did some countries rush ahead or lag behind?
Northern lights: the Swedish advantage
Dutch comfort: we were the champions
Southern miracles: from rear-guard to forefront
Balkan troubles: the weight of the past
Russian roulette: the value of life
Chapter 8. Outlook
Feathers of Icarus
Geopolitical instability
Increasing inequality
Global environmental change
The way ahead
The public health paradigm
An expanding circle of concern
Re-thinking Utopia
By way of conclusion
Through the telescope of history
The European experience
The role of politics
The future
Appendices
Bibliography
Index
Health care professionals with an interest in medical history, students and scientists in public health, economics, sociology, and related disciplines, and anyone interested in the history of health and disease.