Average U.S. Life Expectancy Tops 78

Mortality Falls In All Leading Causes Of Death, But Still Lags Behind 30 Other Countries

(AP)  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.

[grammawhamma]

I don''t understand why we as a society complain about over population, dwindling social security funds, high cost of health care, etc.....and then yet we strive to live forever.

Some care to explain this to me?

[libh8er]

Sorry, Ted....you''re BELOW average! LOL

[ponco seno]

Average U.S. Life Expectancy Tops 78


Good, we can''t afford to pay social security pass 75.

[lovegetpeace]

Folks,
America ranks #42 in Infant Mortality Rate in the modern world:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html

America ranks #47 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

[libh8er]

There is a new industry now of flying you to India for all your operation/surgery.
Posted by lovegetpeace at 04:31 PM : Jun 11, 2008

Gee, wonder why Teddy didn''t go to India or Cuba for his brain surgery? Do you think he''s just not aware of this wonderful opportunity?

[lochlan-2009]

"Average U.S. Life Expectancy Tops 78"

An article solely for McCain and his supporters.

[xraytwonine]

what does it matter if you live longer if your health will be in such a bad condition because of all the pollution, chemically engineered food and irresponsible medicine...and warfare

[dobbershome]

Hope I die before I get old.

[lovesamerica]

Yeah!!!! Now I can work until I am 75!!!!!

[stn_sage]

I wouldn''t assume that this projected increase to 78 for those born in 2006 is a given!

Considering we are entering a whole new period in history; with rising food prices and shortages ahead, polluted water supplies, increased radiation from the sun due to ozone depletion, rationing of medical services, an increase in diseases which there are no cures for yet, potential widescale unemployment, homelessness, and violence!

No, I''d be surprised if the majority of the cohort born in 2006 is alive in 78 years from now! In fact, I''d bet against it! But---you never know! :)

[olebd]

I think it also depends on your financial situation. If you can afford decent healthcare then you''ll live longer. If you can actually retire and not work past 65-67, then maybe you can live longer. I see a trend toward living longer, yet to maintain our quality of life, we will have to work longer and perhaps not officially retire at all.

[dowjones20k]

WONDERFUL !!! I would bet money that in 78 years the USA will be a third world country ... and if we keep trying to keep folks alive until 100 then we certainly will ..... these kind of statistics make me cringe .... lets see .... 6.5 BILLION people on the planet .... and lets all live to be 100 ... yeah ..... OK ... we can do it !!!!

STUPID !!!

[sgtrds-e4]

78? I''ll never make it that far.

[grammawhamma]

I don''t "want" to make it that far!

[lovegetpeace]

Hey LibH8er,
"Gee, wonder why Teddy didn''''t go to India or Cuba for his brain surgery? Do you think he''''s just not aware of this wonderful opportunity?"

As a congressman, Teddy got the best healthcare insurance in the world. No need to shop around for the lowest cost doctor/hospital/clinic. My info was for our hard working un-insured and under-insured Americans.

Incidentally, our wonderful Market (PROFIT) based healthcare system is the only private industry in the world where there is no competition. Also, it is the only industry in the world that each year prices itself more and more out of the market.

[babooph]

Cuba ahead of Us in long life-with a higher % of blacks ,who drive down US longevity numbers?Could it relate to their health care system-this propaganda article seems to have omitted some things?

[jaykay3141]

It''s interesting that the article didn''t say anything about those 30 countries except to name 3 of them. How many of them have universal health insurance so people aren''t using ER''s as their family physicians, or putting off treatment for a minor illness until it turns into a much more serious condition? Or for those who do have insurance, seeing up to 1/3 of their premiums go for overhead and administration, compared to about 5% in universal plans?

Even the Wall Street Journal, hardly a source of left-wing looniness, says what we have now is a dysfunctional mess and needs major fixing. But the pols and the CEOs stand to lose too much if we get rid of corporate health "care", so I guess we should all just plan to never get sick or hurt, and raise a cup of hemlock when the time comes.

They should have mention the # 1 cause of death in the US is medical intervention. This healing people with unnatural synthetic drugs must end. It''s all about the money not the health. I was surprised to see that we were only No. 30, I thought we would have been much lower because of our high cancer rate thanks to all the chemicals the FDA allows to be put in our foods.

[brianp55]

"Average U.S. Life Expectancy Tops 78"

Of course, that was before the Labor Dept. recalculated the number of hours per week we''ll now have to work to pay for gas.

[guest173]

PBS did a special about health care around the world. Japan and Switzerland had affordable healthcare, I think Switzerland was automatic for its citizens. the Japanese doctors are not paid nearly as much as they are in America, but more people get care they can afford. and being a doctor should be considered a public servant job, and servants should ideally serve people, not just themselves and their greed.

[alphaa10-2009]

JayKay3141 said, "... the Wall Street Journal... says what we have now is a dysfunctional mess... But the pols and the CEOs stand to lose too much if we get rid of corporate health "care"...
---

More Americans, living longer-- what a frightening prospect to HMO privately "managed health care" !

The HMO, the organization created just in time to make the world safe for insurance companies, has an ulterior purpose-- to stave off indefinitely the prospect of universal, single-payer healthcare.

With the triumph of the HMO, some 47 million ordinary Americans are routinely abandoned to their own devices, as a matter of course. That is the wisdom of the market, we are told (and lower deck steerage can fend for itself).

We are reminded to appreciate the HMO for keeping costs down. (?!) And to applaud when an HMO tycoon gets a lavish bonus-- hoping none of us wonders why the money he "saved" isn''t reinvested in better care for more people, or in lower premiums for health coverage.

Clearly, that was never the plan. In fact, there is no plan to increase the amount and improve the kind of healhcare delivered per dollar spent. The role of the HMO is more that of an auditor than a healer. Which suggests an interesting analogy-- to ask the HMO for healthcare is to ask a prison for job training.

With the GOP, it is power to the privileged. And McBush wants to keep it that way.

[republic1776]

They will raise the Social Security retirement age!
They never wanted us to have the money, they stole from us!

[lpgideon]

Wow, I beat the average, and I guess that is how the averages work, I am 80 and that balances out against the guy that dies when he is 72, making it an average of 76. My brother is 88, guess that takes care of the guy who died when he was 64. So remember, for every guy who lives over 76, there is a counter part who lives the same number of years under. Good luck.

[louthesz9]

Good, but that doesn''t mean I wanna live to be 78 or 100 years old. Social Security would become bankrupt by the time I even reach 65, and I would have to work my *** off past that age just to live day by day.

[grammawhamma]

Posted by republic1776 at 02:28 AM : Jun 12, 2008

You are so right. The SS retirement age will keep going up and up so regardless of longevity we will still end up working until we are almost dead.

Today''s youth don''t think this affects them...however there are only so many jobs available. I would rather let the old folks enjoy a few years of retirement and let the ambitious youth get the jobs.

[dobbershome]

republic1776:

Great point about raising the SS age. Makes you wonder who really is the brain child behind this here study.

[libh8er]

PBS did a special about health care around the world. Posted by geena5 at 11:59 PM : Jun 11, 2008

You actually watch PBS? More appropriately, do you actually believe what you see and hear on PBS? You may as well be asking Rosie O''Lardass for her ''objective'' thoughts on the twin towers on 9/11.

More medication to the most heavy medicated nation should drop us further down the list.

[keithle1]

How long do you want to live? What''s the point?

30 years in a nursing home...no thanks. Going through money like it''s water. Alzheimers. Highlight of your day is lunch & dinner. Then bed. Repeat ad infinitum.

[grammawhamma]

Keithle1: Exactly. I don''t want the government or any one else telling me how to live my life so I will live to be in my 90''s or older.

The health conscious can complain all they want about smokers, the over weight, the drinkers, etc, eating up the health care system. I disagree. I see it that the health conscious people who strive to live forever are the ones eating up social security, forcing older retirement ages, using up medicare and who will eventually become a burden on society and their children or grandchildren.