[Stitcher]

"Of course, that means the rates did not decline for seven other leading causes, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and liver disease, all for which statistically insignificant increases occurred."


The Truth About Record-Setting U.S. Life Expectancy

Fox News, LiveSciences, By Robert Roy Britt, Thursday , August 20, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,541181,00.html

Life expectancy in the United States rose to an all-time high, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today. But that's only half the story.

The country is behind about 30 others on this measure.

Though the United States has by far the highest level of health care spending per capita in the world, we have one of the lowest life expectancies among developed nations — lower than Italy, Spain and Cuba and just a smidgeon ahead of Chile, Costa Rica and Slovenia, according to the United Nations. China does almost as well as we do. Japan tops the list at 83 years.

And in an era where advances in medicine and better understanding of health issues should boost life expectancy significantly, the gains announced today were modest.

U.S. life expectancy reached nearly 78 years (77.9) in 2007, the latest year for which data from death certificates has been compiled. That's up from 77.7 in 2006. Over the past decade, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years.

In fact, U.S. life expectancy gains may be pretty much over, as some groups — particularly people in rural locations — are already stagnating or slipping, explains LiveScience columnist Christopher Wanjek. Meantime, soaring rates of obesity and diabetes among children and adults, owing mostly to lousy diets and lack of exercise, portend depressing mortality rates to come.


Americans Living Longer, CDC Says

By Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today, Published: August 19, 2009
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHe...icHealth/15601

ATLANTA -- Life expectancy in the U.S. has hit an all-time high, the CDC reported.

In 2007, the average American lived to 77.9 years, up from 77.7 the year before, according to a preliminary report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics based on death certificates.

Life expectancy has been on the rise for both sexes for at least a decade, the agency said. And although women still live longer than men (80.4 years versus 75.3), men are closing the gap. In 1979, women lived 7.8 years longer than men; that difference is down to 5.1 years.

The mortality rate also fell for the eighth year in a row from 776.5 per 100,000 in 2006 to 760.3 in 2007, with nearly half of all deaths (48.5%) from heart disease and cancer.

The study noted declines in mortality rates for eight of the 15 leading causes of death, including: