Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

US Life Expectancy Is Flat For Third Straight Year; Last Similar Plateau Was In The 1980s

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Dec, 2015 10:59 AM
    NEW YORK — Life expectancy in the United States has stalled for three straight years, the government announced Wednesday.
     
    A child born last year can expect to make it to 78 years and 9 1/2 months — the same prediction made for the previous two years.
     
    In most of the years since World War II, life expectancy in the U.S. has inched up — thanks largely to medical advances, public health campaigns and better nutrition and education. The last time it was stuck for three years was in the mid-1980s.
     
    It's not clear why life expectancy has been flat lately, but suicides and fatal drug overdoses probably are playing a role, experts believe.
     
    Some researchers have wondered if U.S. life expectancy will peak, due to the nation's obesity problem and other factors. But there no evidence that's happening now, said Robert Anderson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
     
    S. Jay Olshansky, a public health professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, agreed.
     
    "It's too early to tell. Three years does not a trend make," he said.
     
    The United States ranks below nearly 40 other countries in life expectancy, according to the World Bank. Japan and Iceland are at the top of that list, at more than 83 years.
     
    U.S. health officials come up with the life expectancy figure each year by looking at how old people were when they died and the cause of death. They use statistical modeling to predict how long people born today will live if current trends continue.
     
    The CDC report is based on all the 2014 death certificates. There were about 2.6 million deaths, or about 29,000 more than the previous year. The increase reflects the nation's growing and aging population.
     
    Other findings:
     
    — Infant mortality dropped again slightly, to a record low of 5.8 per 1,000 births.
     
    — The 10 top causes of death remained the same: heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases like emphysema and bronchitis, accidents and unintentional injuries, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, flu and pneumonia, kidney disease and suicide.
     
    — Death rates fell significantly for five causes, including the top two — heart disease and cancer.
     
    — The largest increase was in Alzheimer's disease — 8 per cent.
     
    — Suicides and unintentional injuries — a category that includes falls, traffic accidents and drug overdoses — each went up by about 3 per cent.
     
    Overdoses are driving up those death rates, said Ian Rockett, a West Virginia University researcher who studies overdoses and suicides.
     
    Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have been rising for more than 20 years — primarily from the abuse of powerful prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin. Heroin-related deaths — though far less common than painkiller deaths — have also recently spiked.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Canadians Prepare For Arrival Of Syrian Refugees

    Canadians Prepare For Arrival Of Syrian Refugees
    TORONTO — Canadians are preparing to welcome thousands of Syrian refugees set to arrive in the coming weeks even as the exact dates of the government-arranged flights remain shrouded in mystery.

    Canadians Prepare For Arrival Of Syrian Refugees

    Amid Hot Real Estate Sector, Montreal Properties Remain A Relative Bargain

    Amid Hot Real Estate Sector, Montreal Properties Remain A Relative Bargain
    As home sales in Toronto and Vancouver continue to hit record levels, the real estate sector in Canada's second-largest city remains an outlier, with prices almost $100,000 less than the national average.

    Amid Hot Real Estate Sector, Montreal Properties Remain A Relative Bargain

    Threat That Diverted Air France Flight To Montreal Declared False Alarm

    Threat That Diverted Air France Flight To Montreal Declared False Alarm
    At least 15 fire trucks and police cars met Flight 83 at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport late Monday, where authorities verified the aircraft, passengers and baggage

    Threat That Diverted Air France Flight To Montreal Declared False Alarm

    More Housing Starts In Vancouver, Stable Levels Elsewhere In Cities Across B.C.

    More Housing Starts In Vancouver, Stable Levels Elsewhere In Cities Across B.C.
    The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says starts in the Lower Mainland reached about 21,650 units in November, up about 60 units from the previous month.

    More Housing Starts In Vancouver, Stable Levels Elsewhere In Cities Across B.C.

    Alberta Couple Allowed By Court To Keep Brain-dead Daughter Alive For A Month

    Alberta Couple Allowed By Court To Keep Brain-dead Daughter Alive For A Month
    LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — A couple in Lethbridge, Alta., will have a little more time with their eight-month-old daughter after a judge delayed a decision to take her off of life support.

    Alberta Couple Allowed By Court To Keep Brain-dead Daughter Alive For A Month

    B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan Says Clear Vision Helping Party Expose Liberal Weaknesses

    B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan Says Clear Vision Helping Party Expose Liberal Weaknesses
    Horgan says he will continue to support energy alternatives to the Liberals' $9-billion Site C hydroelectric dam.

    B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan Says Clear Vision Helping Party Expose Liberal Weaknesses