Untreated Syphilis in the Male Negro. A Prospective Study of the Effect on Life Expectancy

D ETERMINATION of the quantitative effect of a disease on the life expectancy has posed numerous difficulties, both statistical and medical. This is more apparent in chronic disease than in acute disease where determination of death or survival is, relatively speaking, revealed without delay. In discussion of chronic disease, with limited funds available for public health activities, the determination of which diseases shall be made the target of concerted effort often is based on the economic effects of disease, that is, the economic effects as they relate to the need for hospitalization or care of the individual out of public monies. Certainly more concern should be given to the fact that life has value, happiness, and dignity which are greater in health than in disease. The problems inherent in answering quantitative questions relating to the lethal effects of chronic disease have been reviewed repeatedly (1-3). They will not be discussed here other than to state that one of the chief obstacles in such determina-