Women's Life Expectancy Drops Across U.S.

Study: Significant Declines Reported In Deep South, Appalachia Between 1983 And 1999

(AP)  Women's life expectancy declined significantly in 180 U.S. counties, mostly in the deep South and Appalachia, between 1983 and 1999, according to a study being released Tuesday.

Researchers blamed the decrease in women's life expectancy on high blood pressure as well as chronic diseases related to smoking and obesity, such as lung cancer and diabetes.

The decline, averaging 1.3 years in the 180 counties. Men's life expectancy declined by 1.3 years in only 11 counties.

In another 783 counties, women's life expectancy declined by 0.5 years, but the researchers said those results were not statistically significant because those counties were relatively small.

The study, based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, was designed to analyze disparities in life expectancy between different counties with different social conditions and health programs.

Overall, life expectancy rose for both men and women between 1961 and 1999. For men, it increased from 66.9 years to 74.1 years; for women, it rose from 73.5 years to 79.6 years.

Between 1961 and 1983, no counties had a statistically significant increase in mortality, the study said, noting that the reduction for both sexes was caused by a reduction in cardiovascular mortality.

From 1983 on, however, "The worst-off counties no longer experienced a fall in death rates, and in a substantial number of counties, mortality actually increased, especially for women," the researchers wrote. Life expectancy of women in those counties was 75.5 years in 1999.

"The study emphasizes how important it is to monitor health inequalities between different groups," the researchers wrote, "in order to ensure that everyone - and not just the well-off - can experience gains in life expectancy."

The analysis was conducted by researchers at Harvard University, the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Washington. It was posted Monday night in the online journal PLoS Medicine, a publication of the Public Library of Science, an organization of scientists and physicians.

This bias news report from an agency WebMd that is run by Big Pharma wants to blame diabetes, smoking and obesity but the true reason for the death increase is Medical Intervention. Women are an easy target for Big Pharma and the relentless marketing and near bribery tactics used on Doctors to prescribes medication. These synthetic drugs laced with side effects are the reason.

[gaye5]

I have read that women who are in very stressful relationships or have high positions are inclined to produce more testostrone, which is evidently produced to help them cope with their stress, could this be one reason for their earlier demise..

[drivelphobe]

Canadawitch6...

You have a great memory. No, this applies to everyone who can''t say "no" to voracity. Do you have 2 handles?

[lochlan-2009]

"Significant Declines Reported In Deep South, Appalachia Between 1983 And 1999"

They were just talking on NPR about how the coal mining is now blasting the mountains open to get to the coal, and letting all the dust and runoff go into the air and rivers. I''m sure this has nothing to do with the significant decline.

[rf35]

Renew old skills like sewing or carpentry. If things go back in time, you need to know how to survive in those conditions or you will be among the hoards in the streets fighting for scraps.

Posted by IrishWench at 01:39 PM : Apr 22, 2008

My point exactly! Learn to fend for yourself without the government and you''ll be ahead of the game when the government collapses. Rome at the time of its fall is shockingly similar to America today.

[advanceus]

I love these studies, there are probably more significant problems to spend money on than taking one area to perform a study and make an amazing discovery that seems to affect all. Just because women in the deep south are dying younger these days has no bearing on my life in Michigan. Can''t you find something that is provable to study affecting all people to spend our money on.

[husein_pasha]

The women in the south are beaten more

[rf35]

Plan for the life expectancy to drop for ALL Americans as America continues its march toward third-world country status. As the dollar continues to lose value, health insurance companies continue to deny care, and hunger becomes an issue for the average citizen who can no longer afford to drive their car to work, things will spiral downhill faster. My suggestion...while you still have a chance, get some land and seed and learn the basics of subsistence farming.

Or, since no one else has mentioned this yet, it could be a result of global warming. The south is already hotter and climate change will make it worse, right?

[neenga]

SHURCH4TRUTH, I agree with you. I am an educated (yes, liberal) woman who was born and raised in the south. Living here and listening to the knee-jerk reactions of those poor, uninformed country folk is VERY hard. They will not listen to anyone other than the Limbaugh types. "Think?" Think again .. they do NOT think, they only react. It''s sad. Not many want to think for themselves these days.

[canadawitch6]

Posted by drivelphobe at 11:01 AM : Apr 22, 2008

drivelphobe

Are you insulting your friends again?:)

[jon2012-2009]

I can''t help but remark that many of the posts misunderstand the finding of lowered life expectancy among women in the years 1983-1999 as though it was a national trend. In fact, it applies mostly to Southern states. Perhaps we will see the numbers expand to include the rest of the country. But for now it just a regional phenomenon.

[excoachken]

To Mollygood: I happened to have coached women athletes for 36 years, starting before Title IX came along and when it was not the cool thing to do. Please don''t question my respect for women. I have, however, observed women taking on more risks and becoming increasingly insecure while doing so. Most will complain of "not enough time because they are so dedicated to their children," and yet the time they spend at the soccer game is really not to support their child, but to meet another "Oprah standard" as an acceptable mom. As a result, I feel that the 30-40 year old age group in America is the most neurotic group of females in the world! I am only suggesting that women become more "selfish" about their time, stop worrying about whether their neighbor thinks they are being a "total woman" and with the new found "peace of mind," their health would improve. Don''t take my word for it, ask any woman over 60 and she will confirm what I have said. In the mean time, stretch a little and go for a walk.

[mollygood]

excoachken,
are you really saying that because women want to be like men so much they are dying faster because they cannot cope with the ''dangerous lifestyle'' a man leads?
i highly doubt that more *** = death...or that driving SUVs result in earlier death for women. i must admit that there is truth in your smoking statement. when i was a young lass, i saw all the men smoking, and to prove to them that i was so much better, i would smoke two to every one of their cigarettes! I SHOWED THEM. i now smoke five cigarettes all at the same time. it''s quite an accomplishment, and it makes me feel more powerful than every man i see.
i imagine that you have a lot of time on your hands to think of such matters, now that you are no longer a coach...did a soccer mom strike a nerve?
i think onlythereal is right on when he or she said maybe it is because no one has health insurance...except, i suspect, men...who are probably still the majority of ''breadwinners'' in this country...
my father has health insurance. my mother doesn''t. they''re married, but my mother says he needs it more because of his bad back...that, and if she doesn''t agree with him, he''ll scream at her until she changes her mind. and before you say anything, both of my parents work.
have fun with your future, everyone. apparently i won''t be around much longer to see it...you know, what with my CRAZY-LADY lifestyle. shame on me for attempting to be free. and by free i mean a man.

[missingamerica]

"in order to ensure that everyone - and not just the well-off - can experience gains in life expectancy."

lollll...more of those thrice-damned "liberals"...

I can remember when I was a child in the 60s, the obituary column was full of men dying around 65 years of age. With the success of by-pass and angioplasty for blocked arteries we seen men especially living a lot longer. Unfortunately, heart disease is often not recognized or diagnosed in women and consequently if and when they have heart attack they often die from them. Also, women nowdays have a very hard time since most of them work outside the home and then come home to another full time job. The stress of it is taking it''s toll and women are facing more of the same diseases that men typically have.

[lovegetpeace]

Hey mecury69,
About 10 years ago, the San Francisco Cronicle newspaper published a survey of 1000 professional degree middle age women in the San Francisco area.

The ladies were asked "if you were born again, what would you rather be? An intelligence girl or a beautiful girl?"

81% of the woman said a beautiful girl.

The new industry on the internet that is booming the most in the San Francisco area are web site where they find your ''Wife'' in a foreign country such as Russia, Mexico, Romania, etc. Men want a happy stable family and they know were to find that woman who will put Family 1st and Career 2nd or last.

[lovegetpeace]

Folks,
America got the #41 worst in Infant Mortality Rate in the modern world:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html

America got the #45 worst in Life Expectancy Rate in the modern world:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html

America got the #1 highest healthcare cost (twice (2X) 2nd place Sweden): http://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf

Where is our $$$ going in this Capitalist capital of the world? What good is our advanced/high-tech medicine if nobody can afford it?

There is a new industry now of flying you to India for all your operation/surgery. See http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/18/health/webmd/main2104425.shtml

You can also fly south to Mexico for all your healthcare needs without killing your wallet.

Obesity exist because we have too much TV, Cable, Computers and cannot miss Video Games. All this means no Exercise. In other words, we are Lazy Americans. Blaming McDonalds is not getting us there.

[drivelphobe]

It''s real simple. Fat kills and millions of people just can''t stop stuffing their faces. I guess they deserve what they get. We can''t live forever so if maintaining a giant carcass of a body is worth a shortened life, so be it.

[gslinger3]

I would imagine that life expectancy has lowered for men also due to obesity.

[charleschap]

US is 41st in the world in life expectancy and 40 in infant mortality. These are important measurements of our standing in the world! US is obviously in now in steady decline. If you read Kevin Philips books will open your eyes. US owes 14.5 trillion debt to foreigners! While we are spending 600 Billion in Iraq, our roads and infrastructure, transportation, schools, housing, homelessness, banks and financial instutions, engery issues, nearly 50 million uninsured and health care crisis, obesity and diabities epedimic, pensions and social security, etc and etc and the list goes on, our own country is falling apart. One almighty Dollar has steadily declined! We are processed food, with too many addictives, and hormones, we are more religious, too fat and disable, poorly educated, taking more parmacutical dugs and flushing everything down to our water table. We are trashing, consuming and polluting. The drug epidemic, aids in the black community and in the gay community we hear about less and less. We had Republicans who are responsible for most of this decline from Ronald Reagan to George Bush Sr. and George W. Bush and of course the Republican congress and their polices have got us into this situation. They have disabled or dismantled all government means of managing the country. Only Bill Clinton succeeded reversing the decline in the nineties and made significant progress as a nation. We need a Clinton in the White House, urgently for our country%u2019s sake!