Differences in life expectancy in terms of race have declined nationally, but there is a significant variation across U.S. states, reveals a new study by McGill University researchers. The findings, published in the journal Health Affairs, suggest that state policies could play a key role in further reducing racial differences in mortality. The researchers calculated annual state-specific life expectancies for blacks and whites from 1990 to 2009 and found that progress was uneven across states during the past two decades.
"Prior studies in the United States have shown that, for the nation as a whole, the difference in life expectancy between blacks and whites has declined over the past two decades", says Sam Harper, of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health in the Faculty of Medicine. "What was not known was how individual states have fared in reducing this gap."
Leisure Physical Activity Promises High Life Expectancy
Physical activity not only promises to keep you in shape, it also enhances your life expectancy. Exercising keeps you fit and healthy and improves the quality of life.
Harper and his colleagues assessed for the first time how U.S. states have performed over the past two decades. "Some states have clearly done much better than others. For example, we found large improvements in New York, but the gap actually increased in Wisconsin. More generally, we found that states in the Northeast made considerably more progress than states in the West for both men and women, but even within regions of the U.S. there was a lot of heterogeneity among states," says Harper, the study's first author.
South Africa's Life Expectancy Jumps to 61.2 Years Over Past Decade
Over the past decade, life expectancy in AIDS-hit South Africa has jumped up, thanks to life prolonging anti-retroviral (ARVs) treatment.
"For both men and women, New York state made far and away the largest contribution to reducing the national black-white gap," says Harper. "However, other states with comparatively large black populations like California and Texas kept the national gap from closing more than it did. We know from prior work that fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS and homicide played a big role in New York's life expectancy improvements. Our results suggest that other states may benefit from a detailed study of how and why the gap decreased so much in New York."
Black-white differences in life expectancy are a longstanding source of public health concern in the United States, and are considered indicative of deeper social inequities in society.
"We want to know how to reduce these differences. Given that many social and health policies are implemented at the state level, looking at how specific states have fared can provide important clues for addressing these health inequalities. Our results should be of particular interest to state public health officials focused on reducing racial differences in health."
Source: Eurekalert
Marfan Syndrome
Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue, which affects multiple organ systems like the brain, eyes, heart, bones, skin, blood vessels and lungs.
 Homeless Population Have a Significantly Shorter Life-expectancyMortality rates are higher in the homeless population, Danish researchers reveal. | Advertisement
|
Recommended Readings
Latest General Health News
