Life expectancy climbs to record high in America
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2003 6:14 pm
Life expectancy for Americans has edged up to an all-time high, while the death rates from several major killers have sunk to new lows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
Based on data from 2001, Americans can expect to live 77.2 years on average, the Atlanta-based federal agency said. That's a slight increase -- about 10 weeks -- over the rate for 2000, when life expectancy reached 77 years.
Life expectancy has risen for men and women and for white and black Americans, the report said. On average, men can expect to live 74.4 years on average, women 79.8 years, whites 77.7 years and blacks 72.2 years.
Meanwhile, the chances of dying from heart disease, cancer and stroke, the three most common causes of death, decreased in 2001.
"A lot . . . has to do with changes in behavior," said Elizabeth Arias, a statistician and lead author of the study released Friday. "For instance, the decline in smoking -- from 50 percent of the population in the 1950s to about 25 percent now -- has a lot to do with decreases in heart disease and cancer."
Deaths from heart disease decreased by 4 percent from 2000 to 2001, continuing a trend that began in the 1950s. Cancer deaths, which have inched downward since 1990, declined by 2 percent. Stroke deaths decreased by 5 percent and deaths from accidents by 2 percent.
The number of deaths from HIV/AIDS declined by almost 4 percent, continuing a downward trend that began in 1995. And in the biggest single improvement, deaths from influenza and pneumonia decreased by 7 percent.
But the report contains negative news as well. The rates of death due to high blood pressure and kidney disease increased, by 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively -- particularly noteworthy since both diseases disproportionately affect African-Americans. And the rate of death due to Alzheimer's disease rose by 5 percent.
In a one-year jump that officials hope will not be repeated, the rate of deaths from homicide rose by 17 percent from 2000 to 2001. That resulted from the 2,953 deaths in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks being classified as homicides.
If the attacks had not happened, Arias said, the homicide rate would have decreased by 1.7 percent.
The numbers of deaths analyzed throughout the study are compiled from state death certificates issued in 2001.
Based on data from 2001, Americans can expect to live 77.2 years on average, the Atlanta-based federal agency said. That's a slight increase -- about 10 weeks -- over the rate for 2000, when life expectancy reached 77 years.
Life expectancy has risen for men and women and for white and black Americans, the report said. On average, men can expect to live 74.4 years on average, women 79.8 years, whites 77.7 years and blacks 72.2 years.
Meanwhile, the chances of dying from heart disease, cancer and stroke, the three most common causes of death, decreased in 2001.
"A lot . . . has to do with changes in behavior," said Elizabeth Arias, a statistician and lead author of the study released Friday. "For instance, the decline in smoking -- from 50 percent of the population in the 1950s to about 25 percent now -- has a lot to do with decreases in heart disease and cancer."
Deaths from heart disease decreased by 4 percent from 2000 to 2001, continuing a trend that began in the 1950s. Cancer deaths, which have inched downward since 1990, declined by 2 percent. Stroke deaths decreased by 5 percent and deaths from accidents by 2 percent.
The number of deaths from HIV/AIDS declined by almost 4 percent, continuing a downward trend that began in 1995. And in the biggest single improvement, deaths from influenza and pneumonia decreased by 7 percent.
But the report contains negative news as well. The rates of death due to high blood pressure and kidney disease increased, by 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively -- particularly noteworthy since both diseases disproportionately affect African-Americans. And the rate of death due to Alzheimer's disease rose by 5 percent.
In a one-year jump that officials hope will not be repeated, the rate of deaths from homicide rose by 17 percent from 2000 to 2001. That resulted from the 2,953 deaths in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks being classified as homicides.
If the attacks had not happened, Arias said, the homicide rate would have decreased by 1.7 percent.
The numbers of deaths analyzed throughout the study are compiled from state death certificates issued in 2001.
