AIBU?
To wonder how much of the Queen and Prince Phillip's long lives were down to wealth
Feofjwonxoaks · 26/09/2022 08:02
To both live to almost 100 without dementia and in relatively good health, until the very end.
Have worked in many care homes and we have a couple of ladies who are 99/100 who are in good spirits and mentally sharp, but this is rare.
It's rare to even make it to this age but most of our residents who are
Am I being unreasonable?
AIBUYou have one vote. All votes are anonymous.
unchienandalucia · 26/09/2022 19:49
My grandmother died age 94. Started off middle class but poor. W see life (15 years past her husband) comfortably well off but not wealthy. She ate butter with everything and enjoyed more than a glass of rose wine every evening. My other, incredibly wealthy upper class grandmother died at 76, a year after my grandfather. (Her mother was 91 when she died).
Of course wealth equals access to healthcare but that is by no means what dictates how and when you die.
VladmirsPoutine · 26/09/2022 19:58
Wealth and life expectancy are directly correlated at every level, from the poorest to the richest.
Pretty much this. Even if people who are very wealthy might lead some very reckless lifestyles they still have access to the best healthcare pretty much on tap. I don't think Kate's ever had to rock up to work the following morning after sitting in A&E with a poorly toddler. It all adds up.
Pedallleur · 26/09/2022 22:08
Zonder · 26/09/2022 21:55
The Royal.uk website says this:
The King failed to recover from a lung operation, and died in his sleep on 6 February 1952
He was given a lethal injection of cocaine and morphine by his Doctor Lord Dawson. It was administered so the Kings death would be reported in The Times morning edition not the evening papers
Blossomtoes · 26/09/2022 22:15
Pedallleur · 26/09/2022 22:08
He was given a lethal injection of cocaine and morphine by his Doctor Lord Dawson. It was administered so the Kings death would be reported in The Times morning edition not the evening papers
Zonder · 26/09/2022 21:55
The Royal.uk website says this:
The King failed to recover from a lung operation, and died in his sleep on 6 February 1952
That was George V, not George VI. The latter died overnight in his sleep.
clearopalite · 26/09/2022 22:19
My grandparents are in their 90s and in good health - living in their own homes, getting out and about lots. Their diets have always been simple. High in fat - i.e slabs of butter on rye bread - so you’d expect them to be unhealthy and overweight based on what we’re told nowadays, but they aren’t; the difference is that they don’t buy or eat junk/ highly processed food. They’ve always walked lots but haven’t exercised as many people nowadays do.
PandoraRocks · 26/09/2022 22:58
According to this old article, the Queen Mum had cancer twice: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1214074/The-Queen-Mother-battled-colon-breast-cancer-long-life.html
TheFormidableMrsC · 26/09/2022 23:11
All of my grandparents and great grandparents, bar one who I have outlived at 53, lived to a very old age, between the ages of 86 and 99. All suffered terrible poverty in their lifetimes and were heavy smokers, some drinkers. They were all also very physically active in relative old age. My dear paternal nanna used to run everywhere in her heels, even in her 80's! I actually think she had ADHD but that's another story!
Interestingly many of their children died relatively young, my own mum at 60, her sister at 65 and their brother at 52. All of them were really young and attractive for their ages but all of them had different and unconnected cancers. I don't think it's as simple as wealth. It's just the luck of the draw, when your number is up, it's up 🤷🏻♀️
RosaGallica · 26/09/2022 23:11
There is an entire field of study on health inequality. It is regularly monitored by national and international bodies (and in the UK, routinely ignored as 'leftie bullshite or whatever other excuse the Tories want to come out with). It is very well known that wealth impacts on life length and healthcare.
Deadringer · 26/09/2022 23:24
My mum was born the same week as the Queen and is still going. She has serious health issues and not much mobility but is still very sharp and with it. She grew up poor, had 16 babies, and was widowed young so could never afford decent health care. She was obese most of her adult life, but she never drank or smoked which must have helped. Her parents died in their 50s though so her longevity doesn't seem to be inherited.
MangyInseam · 26/09/2022 23:35
There is only so much good health care can do. It won't prevent dementia, for example. I think it is much more helpful in making sure you don't die early - once you get into old age it's more about genetics and lifestyle and luck.
They seem to have pretty good genetics, neither of them overweight, they were both physically active their whole lives active and lived an outdoor life as much as they could, and they did both did substantial mental work as well. Neither seemed to be especially big drinkers or into drugs.
Wealth makes some of those things easier, but only to a certain extent.
RosaGallica · 26/09/2022 23:36
And please learn or don't forget the difference between personal anecdotes and overall trends. It is sometimes difficult to disentangle the factors affecting one individual. But over populations of millions one can see trends. You can find an introduction to the aforementioned entire field of study at www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zdcgwty/revision/1
WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 27/09/2022 12:40
And please learn or don't forget the difference between personal anecdotes and overall trends. It is sometimes difficult to disentangle the factors affecting one individual. But over populations of millions one can see trends.
You're not wrong at all - but from the other perspective, there are so few royals that even considering their own circumstances is still potentially anecdotal and not statistically relevant. Yes, the category of 'wealthy people' (into which they obviously fall) is sizeable; but the category of 'UK monarchs and their close families) isn't a very big sample size!
TriedAndBested · 27/09/2022 12:43
If you have to wait for ages for a cancer diagnosis and then a bit longer to access treatment then that will cut your life short.
This is a problem that I think is specific to our generation. Previously waiting times were not as long.
Quick access to quality healthcare makes a massive difference.
Dinoteeth · 27/09/2022 13:01
@TriedAndBested there is still an element of luck just avoiding cancer in the first place. Which both HMQ and PP seem to have managed to do in the first place.
Treatments are only so good. Even with the best cancer treatments in the world the odds of surviving certain cancers is remote. Even cancers with a good survival rate you just don't know how the dice will roll.
Also there hits a point where the treatments are worse than the cancer.
Trainbear · 27/09/2022 13:03
CherrySmiler · 26/09/2022 08:17
There will be plenty of anecdotes of examples of people without access to the unimaginable wealth who still lived a long life. But their wealth had everything to do with it. Compare Blackpool to Wokingham. Money makes the difference.
Money helps, but knowledge and the wish to follow good advice counts for a lot.
Crunchingleaf · 27/09/2022 13:14
Wealth does equate to healthcare access, but that only gets you so far. We aren’t able to prevent things like dementia so luck and genetics play a huge role. Good diet and active lifestyle will give you a better chance of being relatively healthy as you age, but there are no guarantees.
Delatron · 27/09/2022 14:39
I don’t think access to round the clock healthcare is being overstated as a factor.
My grandma was very healthy - non drinker, swam, walked. However she managed to get an infection at 86 - didn’t seek medical attention and by the time she did (lived alone) it was too late.
Infections in the elderly can get very serious, very quickly. You have a team of doctors on hand that takes away that risk. Plus all the regular check ups.
Blossomtoes · 27/09/2022 14:47
milkyaqua · 27/09/2022 14:25
Free online course:
www.utas.edu.au/wicking/preventing-dementia
Thank you. I’m going to do that course as someone who’s very likely to get dementia.
StarCourt · 27/09/2022 18:29
I have a living grandparent who is 104. Not wealthy and never been.
Worked all his life. Has a few health issues but no dementia. Has lived on their own for 25 yrs, no carers or home helps. Cooks for themself and shops too.
Obviously not spritely like they once were but doing ok.
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