Preston, SamuelHo, Jessica Y.2023-05-232023-05-232009-03-252009-03-25https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/44308Life expectancy in the United States fares poorly in international comparisons. Its low ranking is often blamed on a poor performance by the health care system rather than on behavioral factors. This paper compares mortality trends from prostate cancer in the United States to those in other developed countries. Prostate cancer is chosen because it can be detected at an early stage, because effective treatments are available, and because it is less heavily influenced by behavioral factors than most other chronic diseases. We find that, after the introduction of the PSA screening test for prostate cancer, mortality from the disease declined significantly faster in the United States than in the set of comparison countries. Trends in incidence and survival rates support the interpretation that the US health care system has worked very effectively to reduce mortality from this important disease. A brief consideration of breast cancer suggests that similar processes may have been at work among women.AgeBMIBody mass indexBreast cancerCancerCancer mortalityCause of deathCauses of deathDataDeath rateDemographic methodsDemographyDeveloped countriesDeveloping CountriesDiseaseHealth care systemInternational Agency for Research on CancerLife expectancyMorbidityMortalityPersonal health careProstate cancerProstate Specific Antigen ScreeningPSA screening testRaceRiskSexStatisticsSurvival ratesTreatmentTrendsUnited StatesUnited States National Center for Health StatisticsWorld Health OrganizationDemography, Population, and EcologySocial and Behavioral SciencesSociologyWorking Paper