What's more, the increasing rates of incarceration can't be explained by increased crime rates.
"The increasing rates we've seen," Mr. Horn said, "are kind of scary".
The increasing rates of suicide, homelessness and unemployment are an unacceptable result.
The financial troubles at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies, are one factor behind the increasing rates.
For new borrowers, Dr. Wachter said, she still sees anecdotal evidence that fixed-rate loans, despite the increasing rates, remain popular.
Moreover, the article said, there was a direct correlation between that and both the obesity epidemic and the increasing rates of diabetes among children.
But the increasing rates of obesity and diabetes mean that it is quite possible the prevalence of dementia over the next 20 years will actually increase.
Without brushing aside the need to address safety concerns, the increasing rates of HPV vaccine refusal suggest that widespread vaccination will require more than marketing campaigns.
Tanning beds are widely believed to have played a large role in the increasing rates of skin cancer in recent decades.
He said, "When I first came here, there were swarms, and I thought we were beginning to understand them, but I would say now — with the increasing rates of seismicity — I'd say all bets are off".
Genetic changes in the population cannot explain the increasing rates, though, because such changes occur too slowly to account for the rapid increases in asthma, the authors said, suggesting that environmental factors are more likely candidates.
