Life expectancies of U.S. whites with low education drop sharply

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(CBS News) Overall life expectancy has dropped for white Americans who have less than a high school diploma to rates similar to those of the 1950s and 1960s, new research finds.

The study found non-Hispanic white men without a diploma lived on average until 67.5 in 2008, three years less than they did in 1990. The drop in lifespan was even bigger for non-Hispanic white women with low education: They live five years shorter than 1990 rates, from 78 years old to just 73.5.

In comparison, white men and women with a college degree or more lived on average until 80.4 and 83.9 respectively.

"We're used to looking at groups and complaining that their mortality rates haven't improved fast enough, but to actually go backward is deeply troubling," John G. Haaga, the head of the Population and Social Processes Branch of the National Institute on Aging who was not involved with the study, told the New York Times.

The "troubling" statistics were published in the August 2012 issue of Health Affairs.

Life expectancies for the least educated black men (less than high school diploma) were at the same level as 1954. Black women's lifespans were at the same numbers as 1962. White women and white men were reporting average life expectancies seen in 1964 and 1972 respectively.

"It's as if Americans with the least education are living in a time warp," study author S. Jay Olshansky, professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, said in a press release.

This isn't the first time that a decline has been reported. National Center for Health Statistics reported that life expectancy went down for most American men from 75.4 in 2007 to 75.3 in 2008, Discovery News reported. Women's data also reflected that one-tenth drop.

Blacks and Hispanics at the same education levels still don't live as long as whites, the New York Times pointed out. And, the small increases and large decreases are especially concerning because the highly-educated segment of the population has had increases in life expectancy.

Researchers attribute the smaller increases and decreases in lifespan to higher amounts of obesity in black women, and white women picking up negative behaviors such as smoking, alcoholic consumption and drug use. Prescription drug overdoses and obesity are also increasing for less educated white women as well as a noticeable increase in the amount of low education level white Americans who don't have health insurance, the New York Times reported.

The researchers add that the study emphasizes the effect of education and socioeconomic status on life expectancies.

"We must find a way to bring these subgroups of the population back into the present," Olshansky said.

[snewsom2997]

"Life is hard; it's harder if you're stupid." John Wayne.

[styrofoamdeity]

If there is a silver lining to this story, it is this: It is possible that Social Security and Medicare are more solvent than we think. In a separate article a couple of weeks ago, it was pointed out that the panic about these programs running out of money generally involve projections that baby boomers will live longer than their parents. In fact they may live no more than their parents, or even less, which means the number of years people will collect social security may be far less than expected. If this is true, obesity, sedentary lifestyles, lack of affordable medical care, and prescription drug abuse may accomplish what Ryan's health care plan never could.

[skeezix06]

Translation: When you get too old, too sick or too disabled to work you need to hurry up and die because you have become a liability instead of a profit.

[ludvig1-2009]

Definitely a future problem for the Repuglicans.

[facelessdrone2005]

ad_iudicium is so affixed to his stereotyping that he just cannot conceive that the overwhelming majority of Democratic voters actually do work. It's ignorant and insulting, particularly to some of us who have worked 40 years and also worked multiple jobs including 23 years' military service. Memo to ad_iudicium, there's only about an 8% unemployment rate, perhaps 15% if you count people who stopped looking. Now how do you suppose that translates into 57% who voted for Obama last time, or 48% who favor him this time, UNLESS a heckuva lot of Democrats work? When you can't get beyond stereotyping, there's a word for that: Ignorant. And BTW, you also need to get the memo that you don't generally win elections by insulting and alienating people.

[UForgotPoland]

Red Necks and white trash don't live as long? Sounds like good news to me!

[rwsmith29456]

Could it possibly matter that less educated people have lesser jobs that don't help furnish decent health insurance?

[davidd5063]

This is what is meant by voting to SLIT ONES OWN THROAT. The GOP is doing it's part to end bigotry in America - they're getting the bigots to walk off a cliff or under the threat of Obama giving out checks to black people. See evolution is alive and well.

[hypnotoad72]

So what happens as corporations still offshore jobs, and are given checks paid for by taxpayers?

You don't seem to give a damn about that... why would people bother if all they see around them is their nation being gutted?

Or are you incapable of digging beneath the surface?

[skeezix06]

Smaller income, less ability to buy the right food and less ability to afford necessary health care.

[hypnotoad72]

And stress...

[skeezix06]

You're right. And stress.

[lesserof2evil]

Nothing can help them if they keep voting for the republiCONs.

[hypnotoad72]

Just to be nonpartisan, any politician that helps corporate lobbyists offshore at the expense of its citizens - I don't think Republicans have a monopoly at being anti-American...

[hypnotoad72]

I dare say it's going down for everybody... regardless of education level... especially as it costs one's own firstborn for the amount of college companies want (plus "experience", since nobody wants to train or respect employees in their companies any longer - as a generalization, of course, no rule has ever been absolute)...