Your life expectancy can vary by as much as 20 years depending on which county in the U.S. you live in.
That’s according to new research published [May 8] in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Life expectancy for the country as a whole grew by more than five years from 1980 to 2014, to an average of 79.1 years. During that time, however, some areas saw increases of more than 13 years, while a few others saw declines of up to 2.3 years. This new study adds to a growing body of research showing that race, education, wealth and where you live can help determine how long you will live.
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In Kentucky, for example, average life expectancy increased from 72.9 to 76.3 years over the 35-year span the authors studied. But in the eastern part of the state, in the heart of Appalachia, life expectancy decreased. Babies born in eastern Kentucky, along the Mississippi Delta and on Native American reservations in the Dakotas have the lowest life expectancies in the country. If current health trends continue, they aren’t expected to live much beyond an average of 70 years. Meanwhile, a baby born along the wealthy coast of California can be expected to live as long as 85 years, the authors found.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: As U.S. Life Expectancies Climb, People In A Few Places Are Dying Younger
