Declining Life Expectancies Across the U.S.

Today the NY Times released an article that highlights how life expectancy has been dropping in different regions of the United States, and how a new study proves a disparity in deaths depending on income, geography, and race.

According to this information released by National Center for Health Statistics, counties whose life expectancies declined were predominantly in the southeast, Texas, the southern Midwest, and counties along the Missippi River. Counties whose life expectancies actually rose were mainly in the Northeast and the Pacific coast.

The NY Times points out that when 2.5 percent of the counties with the lowest life expectancies were compared with 2.5 percent of counties with the highest expectancies, the difference between years shot up to 11 years for men and 6.7 years for women. Also, the majority of people who resided in counties with lower life expectancies were African American.

Increases in HIV infection, lung cancer, diabetes, and homicide for men also contribute to lower life expectancies we are experiencing across the board.