Life Expectancy in US Reaches Record High
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efesan/iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services released data from 2012 that shows that Americans life expectancy has reached a record high — 78.8 years, on average.
According to the study, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, overall mortality rates for all demographic groups dropped between 2011 and 2012. Women, the study found, continue to outlive men — on average — by 4.8 years, the same margin as in 2011.
Also unchanged from the previous study were the top ten causes of death in the U.S., though eight of the ten saw decreases in occurrence. Those eight include heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, flu/pneumonia, and kidney disease. The only one of the ten most frequent causes of death to increase from 2011 to 2012 was suicide.
The NCHS also said that infant mortality decreased in 2012, partially sparked by a 13 percent drop in death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
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