New research shows that your living time depends on where you live.
Life expectancy for Americans has increased throughout the 20th century, although in some states, especially in the south, people do not live longer than they were 100 years ago. It's even worse among women.
Researchers at Yale School of Public Health analyzed death data for 77 million women and death data for 102 million men born between 1900 and 2000. The findings, published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open, showed that the national expected life expectancy for women in this timeframe increased from 73.84.1 to 84.1, while men increased from 62.8 to 80.3 to 84.1.
Scientists and health officials calculate life expectancy at birth, a way to understand a country's health over time. How long does Americans live for so long since the last century have changed greatly with the country.
"What surprised me was that for some states, especially for women, there was basically no change," said Theodore Holford, senior research scientist in biostatistics at Yale. "For over 100 years, in these southern states, they were within the framework of all the medical advancements we have seen in the 20th century."
The five lowest life expectancy states for women born in 2000 are:
Southern men born in 2000 also tend to have lower life expectancy, although they have shown greater improvements since 1900:
Not all southern states show lower or stagnant expectations for people born in 2000.
Florida, Texas and Virginia are southern states, with the top 20 life expectancy for men and women born in 2000.
The lowest 10 out of the southern states in both genders include Ohio and Indiana.
The study also highlights the state and life expectancy of gender at the midpoint of 1950.
In the first half of this century, men especially made greater progress. In North Dakota, for example, male life expectancy jumped from 66.4 in 1900 to 76.5 in 1950, but only one year from 1950 to 2000.
The data reflects the state of a person's death, not where they were born.
It is recognized that women live longer than men, but this latest study reveals geographical differences in life expectancy at the turning point of the Federal Public Health Administration. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"My health is declining. The United States has the highest chronic disease rate," Kennedy said. "We rank last in terms of health in developed countries. For many Americans, life expectancy is declining."
Yale University's study claims to be the first to analyze historical state mortality trends by birth cohort, meaning that the entire generation has been tracked.
More common in population health studies is an indicator called Life Expectation During Period, which estimates the impact on mortality over the year, such as during a pandemic.
“The idea here is to try to attract generational factors,” Hallford said. “Many factors related to health are related to generations compared to the age of the age.”
"This is a unique and important way to examine the expected life," said Cindy Prins, associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Central Florida School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.
This won't make the data more shocking.
"It is worrying that many southern states are expected to have the lowest population overall life expectancy and have not changed much over time," Prince said.
Overall, Americans live longer due to healthcare, hygiene, tobacco control, and prevention of cancer, heart disease and other diseases. Previous research has shown that states with progressive public health policies are more likely to have higher life expectancy. Socio-economic differences between countries also affect life span.
Dr. Marc Gourevitch, professor of the Department of Population and Health at the Grossman School of Medicine at New York University, said the research shows that there are policies that support more livable minimum wages and paid sick leave, as well as access to affordable health care, and the huge possibility of life expectancy over time.
“Policies focused on helping people better meet their daily needs are expected to go a long way to improve life expectancy and provide more people with the opportunity to watch their grandchildren grow.”
Women born in the District of Columbia in 2000 have both the highest life expectancy and the biggest improvement since 1900 at 63.9 years. Similarly, the life expectancy of DC men born in 2000 is 86.5 years, up from 48.7 years at the beginning of this century.
“Urban areas tend to be much better than rural areas, which may be due to differences in access to health care,” Hallford said.
Another change is the combination of the District of Columbia population.
“More and more people are entering the region, they will have many monetary advantages, which will give them better access to things that affect their health,” Hallford said.
The states with the longest life expectancy of women born in 2000 span coasts and countries outside the mainland of the United States:
In addition to DC, these states also show the longest life expectancy for men born in 2000:
Hallford said Yale’s research is part of his work at the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET). The goal of this study and other CISNET studies is to help the health sector address specific state-specific differences.
One drawback of implementing promising public health policies is that it can take years or even generations to measure their impact, Hallford said.
“Nevertheless, it’s important to put these things in place.”