Life Expectancy of Americans Hits 78

[Guest guest]

Life Expectancy of Americans Hits 78

Sep 12 10:00 AM US/Eastern

By MIKE STOBBE

AP Medical Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - The life expectancy for Americans is nearly 78 years,

the longest in U.S. history, according to new government figures from

2005 released Thursday.

That age, based on the latest data available, was still lower than the

life span in more than three dozen other countries, however.

More bad news: The annual number of U.S. deaths rose from 2004 to a

depressing uptick after the figure had dropped by 50,000 from 2003 to

2004. In 2005, the number of deaths increased by about that same amount.

U.S. life expectancy at birth inched up to 77.9 from the previous

record, 77.8, recorded for 2004. The increase was more dramatic in

contrast with 1995, when life expectancy was 75.8, and 1955, when it

was 69.6.

The improvement was led by a drop in deaths from heart disease and

stroke—two of the nation's leading killers, according to the National

Center for Health Statistics, which released the new life expectancy

report Wednesday.

" If death rates from certain leading causes of death continue to

decline, we should continue to see improvements in life expectancy, "

said Hsiang-Ching Kung, in a prepared statement. Kung is a survey

statistician who co-authored the report.

The report also described a slight increase in the infant mortality

rate, from 6.8 per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 6.9 in 2005. But

researchers said the increase was not statistically significant.

The report is based on about 99 percent of the death records reported

in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for 2005.

A final report will be released later, and the numbers may change a

little. Last year, when releasing its preliminary death data for 2004,

the government reported a 77.9 life expectancy. That figure later

dropped to 77.8 in the final report.

In the 2005 preliminary report, researchers counted 2,447,910 deaths,

up about 2 percent from the 2,397,615 in 2004.

The 2004 count had been a 2 percent drop from 2003—the biggest decline

in nearly 70 years.

Researchers also noted continued differences by race and sex. Life

expectancy for whites in 2005 was 78.3, the same as it was in 2004.

Black life expectancy rose from 73.1 in 2004 to 73.2 in 2005, but it

was still nearly five years lower than the white figure.

Life expectancy for women continues to be five years longer than for

men, the report also found.

The age-adjusted death rate for heart disease dropped from 217 deaths

per 100,000 in 2004 to about 210 in 2005, and actual deaths dropped

from about 652,500 to about 649,000. The stroke rate dropped from 50

per 100,000 to about 46.5, and the number of stroke deaths dropped

from about 150,000 to 143,500.

But the count of cancer deaths rose from about 554,000 to about

559,000, according to the report.

And there were 5 percent increases in the rates for Alzheimer's

disease, the No. 7 leading cause of death, and for Parkinson's

disease, which was No. 14.

The United States continues to lag behind at least 40 other nations.

Andorra, a tiny country in the Pyrenees mountains between France and

Spain, has the longest life expectancy, at 83.5 years, according to

the U.S. Census Bureau. Japan, Macau, San Marino and Singapore ranked

second, third, fourth and fifth.

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breaking

[Guest guest]

>Life Expectancy of Americans Hits 78

>Sep 12 10:00 AM US/Eastern

>By MIKE STOBBE

>AP Medical Writer

>ATLANTA (AP) - The life expectancy for Americans is nearly 78 years,

>the longest in U.S. history, according to new government figures from

>2005 released Thursday.

>

>

>

>U.S. life expectancy at birth inched up to 77.9 from the previous

>record, 77.8, recorded for 2004. The increase was more dramatic in

>contrast with 1995, when life expectancy was 75.8, and 1955, when it

>was 69.6.

Given the parallel gross increase, as it were, in obesity over that

period, that's really quite remarkable and is encouraging for the nonobese.

Maco