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US Life Expectancy Lags Behind Others

By MIKE STOBBE,
AP
Posted: 2008-06-12 09:52:13
Filed Under: Health News, Nation News, World News
ATLANTA (June 11) - For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years, the government reported Wednesday, although the United States continues to lag behind about 30 other countries in estimated life span.

The increase is due mainly to falling mortality rates in almost all the leading causes of death, federal health officials said. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2006 was about four months greater than for children born in 2005.

Japan has the longest life expectancy — 83 years for children born in 2006, according to World Health Organization data. Switzerland and Australia were also near the top of the list.

"The international comparisons are not that appealing, but we may be in the process of catching up," said Samuel Preston, a University of Pennsylvania demographer. He is co-chairman of a National Research Council panel looking at why America's life expectancy is lower than other nations'.

The new U.S. data, released Wednesday, come from the National Center for Health Statistics. It's a preliminary report of 2006 numbers, based on data from more than 95 percent of the death certificates collected that year.

Life expectancy is the period a child born in 2006 is expected to live, assuming mortality trends stay constant.

The 2006 increase is due mainly to falling mortality rates for nine of the 15 leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, accidents and diabetes.

"I think the most surprising thing is that we had declines in just about every major cause of death," said Robert Anderson, who oversaw work on the report for the health statistics center.

The overall death rate fell from 799 per 100,000 in 2005 to about 776 the following year.

Health statisticians noted declines of more than 6 percent in stroke and chronic lower respiratory disease (including bronchitis and emphysema), and a drop of more than 5 percent in heart disease and diabetes deaths. Indeed, the drop in diabetes deaths was steep enough to allow Alzheimer's disease — which held about steady — to pass diabetes to become the nation's sixth leading cause of death.

The U.S. infant mortality rate dropped more than 2 percent, to 6.7 infant deaths per 1,000 births, from 6.9.

Perhaps the most influential factor in the 2006 success story, however, was the flu. Flu and pneumonia deaths dropped by 13 percent from 2005, reflecting a mild flu season in 2006, Anderson said. That also meant a diminished threat to people with heart disease and other conditions. Taken together, it's a primary explanation for the 22,000 fewer deaths in 2006 from 2005, experts said.

U.S. life expectancy has been steadily rising, usually by about two to three months from year to year. This year's jump of fourth months is "an unusually rapid improvement," Preston said.

Life expectancy was up for both men and women, and whites and blacks. Although the gaps are closing, women continue to live longer, almost to 81, compared to about 75 for men. Among racial categories, white women have the highest life expectancy (81 years), followed by black women (about 77 years), white men (76) and black men (70). Health statisticians said they don't have reliable data to calculate Hispanic life expectancy, but they hope to by next year.

Increases in female smoking are a major reason that men's life expectancy is catching up with the women's, Preston said. Improvements in the care of heart disease — a major health problem for black Americans — helps explain an improving racial gap, he said.

About 2.4 million Americans died in 2006, according to the report.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-06-11 16:40:50
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689 comments

riverportmatt 04:27:55 AM Jun 15 2008

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Republicans are spiritually ill. Their souls are tainted. It's a sad truth that nobody wants to speak. THe RW spirit is ill.

riverportmatt 04:25:05 AM Jun 15 2008

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All the countries ahead of the US have national healthcare.

guojian53 02:50:56 PM Jun 14 2008

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truth telling = liberal press

conservative fact bending = that real truth

????

guojian53 02:49:48 PM Jun 14 2008

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No, they are just telling you the true numbers.

Of course your Rush and co like to discount the facts, even when they are true.

jeeperswally 09:22:54 AM Jun 14 2008

The low class Democrat subculture lowers all kinds of statistics in America.

jeeperswally 09:22:54 AM Jun 14 2008

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The low class Democrat subculture lowers all kinds of statistics in America.

amerimat 01:23:42 PM Jun 13 2008

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pynnacle17e Then what do ypu make of the productivity in both germany and france which is much higher than the usa,Studies after studies have found that workers afters cvacation are more productive ...ever sat in an 8 hour meeting?
the USA is behind everyone in health care ,life expectancy {we atre 45th on the list} education{this year 45% of students in Dallas will drop out from high school and not graduate} and it's ok said the president with a C grade ....so far the only sector we are ahead is corruption ........................

hburns1351 12:07:09 PM Jun 13 2008

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brokeribm 03:14:17 PM Jun 12 2008

Report This! WRONG PICTURE !!
THIS IS NOT ISRAEL;
ONLY PART OF IT.
THE DOME YOU SEE IN THE PICTURE IS IN PALESTINE;
NOT ISRAEL !

HB: It's Israel. Dome of the Rock and the Western (wailing) wall. Old city of Jerusalem. You remind me of the guy who said Obama wasn't an American citizen because he was born in the Sandwich Islands. He was, except we now call the Sandwich Islands, Hawaii. Same place, different name.

hburns1351 11:58:34 AM Jun 13 2008

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burljeand 04:57:19 PM Jun 12 2008

Report This! US life expectancy lags behind others. Well at least we have a very good life here in the United States. Life is worth living. Life can be easy here and all our modern conveniences make our lives pleasant and a good day each day to get out of bed.
Living in those countries with life expectancy of 81 means they are very strong people living through the Hell so many of the foreigners have to go through.
Strange to me that many of the millions of people in the U. S. that are 85 and even 90 years old are not mentioned.

HB: Um, hate to burst your bubble but most of those countries are modern, first world countries, life is not 'hell' in the top ten, except maybe Israel but that's because of wars. And the article was about general life expectancy.

tjgthedepoman 11:35:07 PM Jun 12 2008

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GMO'S RADIATED FOOD SYNTHISIZED SEEDS ALL MANMADE CRAP IT'S A WONDER WE LIVE AS LONG AS WE DO.

ibrenchn 11:21:30 PM Jun 12 2008

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YA OUR FINE GOVERNMENT IS THINING OUT THE HEARD...

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