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Personal decisions are the leading cause of death

Publication ,  Journal Article
Keeney, RL
Published in: Operations Research
November 1, 2008

This paper analyzes the relationships between personal decisions and premature deaths in the United States. The analysis indicates that over one million of the 2.4 million deaths in 2000 can be attributed to personal decisions and could have been avoided if readily available alternative choices were made. Separate analyses indicate 46% of deaths due to heart disease and 66% of cancer deaths are attributable to personal decisions, about 55% of all deaths for ages 15-64 are attributable to personal decisions, and over 94% of the deaths attributable to personal decisions result in the death of the individual making the decisions. Relative to the current 45%, retrospective appraisal suggests that roughly 5% of deaths in 1900 and 20%-25% of deaths in 1950 could be attributed to personal decisions. These results suggest that more effort directed toward improving personal choices regarding life risks may be an effective and economical way to save lives. © 2008 INFORMS.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Operations Research

DOI

EISSN

1526-5463

ISSN

0030-364X

Publication Date

November 1, 2008

Volume

56

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1335 / 1347

Related Subject Headings

  • Operations Research
  • 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
  • 1503 Business and Management
  • 0802 Computation Theory and Mathematics
  • 0102 Applied Mathematics
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Keeney, R. L. (2008). Personal decisions are the leading cause of death. Operations Research, 56(6), 1335–1347. https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.1080.0588

Published In

Operations Research

DOI

EISSN

1526-5463

ISSN

0030-364X

Publication Date

November 1, 2008

Volume

56

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1335 / 1347

Related Subject Headings

  • Operations Research
  • 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
  • 1503 Business and Management
  • 0802 Computation Theory and Mathematics
  • 0102 Applied Mathematics