Americans Are Living Longer Than Ever
- 10 years ago
Once again, the average life expectancy for Americans has grown while the number of deaths due to chronic illnesses has decreased.
Once again, the average life expectancy for Americans has grown while the number of deaths due to chronic illnesses has decreased.
A person born in 2012 now has an average anticipated life span of just under 79 years.
That number is the mean, but for the most part increases were seen across gender and racial classifications.
One exception is among Hispanic men and women, whose outlook remains unchanged.
While longevity estimates rose, the number of deaths resulting from 8 of the 10 major causes of death in the US fell.
Those include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke.
Mortality rates related to influenza and pneumonia experienced the largest drop, declining just over 8 percent.
The two causes of death that didn’t occur less often are those resulting from unintended injury and suicide.
While the frequency of accidental deaths remained the same, the suicide rate actually grew by nearly 2 and a half percent.
The reasons behind the latter are said to be unclear.
As far as the causes that did occur less frequently, experts cite changes in lifestyle and the availability of better treatments as primary influences.
Once again, the average life expectancy for Americans has grown while the number of deaths due to chronic illnesses has decreased.
A person born in 2012 now has an average anticipated life span of just under 79 years.
That number is the mean, but for the most part increases were seen across gender and racial classifications.
One exception is among Hispanic men and women, whose outlook remains unchanged.
While longevity estimates rose, the number of deaths resulting from 8 of the 10 major causes of death in the US fell.
Those include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke.
Mortality rates related to influenza and pneumonia experienced the largest drop, declining just over 8 percent.
The two causes of death that didn’t occur less often are those resulting from unintended injury and suicide.
While the frequency of accidental deaths remained the same, the suicide rate actually grew by nearly 2 and a half percent.
The reasons behind the latter are said to be unclear.
As far as the causes that did occur less frequently, experts cite changes in lifestyle and the availability of better treatments as primary influences.