Life expectancy in the United States has reached an all-time high of 77.9 years, according to a Center for Disease Control report released Sept. 12. Statistics are based on approximately 99 percent of U.S. death records from the year 2005.
Jeff Lancashire, a spokesman for the National Center for Health Statistics, attributed the new high to a decline in the three leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer and stroke.
“We are finding new ways to prevent and delay heart disease, and as a result, the elderly are living longer,” said Lancashire.
Another factor contributing to longer life expectancy, he said, was the lack of any contemporary disease that might cause mass deaths.
“A decade ago, there was a blip in life expectancy because AIDS mortality was rising,” he said. “It has decreased sharply since then.”
University Health Center Director Tom Ryan said the dropping rate of smoking has led to less heart disease and cancer, thus significantly altering mortality figures.
“People are seeking healthier lifestyles,” said Ryan. “They’re eating better, getting exercise, and paying more attention to their general health.”
Ryan said the health center makes a point to check the blood pressure of all the students they treat, a trend that is gradually catching on nationwide. Doctors who regularly perform basic procedures like checking blood pressure and cholesterol, said Ryan, can detect and treat problems early, ensuring longer lives for their patients.
The CDC’s report included in its findings significant differences in mortality figures across race groups and genders, though the differences in both trends have converged steadily in recent history. The life expectancy of white people, for example, is 5.1 years more than that of black people.
“I think (that gap) speaks to existing inequalities in our society,” said Ryan. “Less seems to be offered medically to African-Americans, although that is improving.”
Lancashire said homicide rates are also much higher among young black communities than they are among young whites.
Women now live an average of 5.2 years longer than men, perhaps because men are “more predisposed to risky behavior,” offered Lancashire. Figures have shown that men are also more likely to die prematurely from homicide and car accidents.
Health experts agree that life expectancy will continue to increase steadily, but don’t expect anything extreme.
“Unless there’s some sort of monumental breakthrough, like curing cancer, it’s more likely to be steady if the trends continue,” said Lancashire.
And, he added, most people would probably prefer a steady incline to a breakthrough. “The question is, we’re living longer, but what’s the quality of life? If people are widowed or disabled, they generally don’t want to live forever.”
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