Hi
PraagyatrivediLet's analyze the options one by one:
A. Heart disease will be the
most common fatal disease in the U.S. in 2005
We have no numbers to compare heart disease with cancer or respiratory illness. So, we can't really say if heart disease will be or won't be the most common.
B. The average age of individuals
diagnosed with any of the diseases will be higher in 2005 than in 1995
Correct. We know that
prevailing rates of cancer and respiratory illness will increase since the average age of the adult population as a whole is increasing (as these two rates increase with age) --> therefore,
more individuals with increased avg age will be diagnosed with cancer and respiratory illness.
From the question stem, we know that the
prevailing rate for heart disease stays the same, and thus the
average age for heart disease diagnosed cases will stay the same.
But the option uses the word
'any'.
Therefore, the average age (combining the three types of individuals' ages) will increase.
C. Heart disease will be
less common than cancer and respiratory illness in 2005
Similar to A.
D. By the year 2005,
at least half the adult population of the U.S. will suffer from one or more of the diseases mentioned.
Again, we have
no way to foretell the statistics. The only thing we know is that the average age will increase but this much information is insufficient to comment on number of people affected.
E. The number of individuals
who suffer from heart disease will be greater in 2005 than it was in 1995
The argument states that the
prevailing rate of heart disease stays the same in adult population and does not increase with age. So even though the avg age of the population as whole will increase, we know that the number of individuals suffering from heart disease will stay the same.