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SEATTLE – Babies born today in 13 US counties have shorter expected lifespans than their parents did when they were born decades ago, according to a new study. For example, life expectancy at birth in Owsley County, Kentucky, was 72.4 in 1980, dropping to 70.2 in 2014.
The gap between counties with the highest and lowest life expectancies is larger now than it was back in 1980 – a more than a 20-year difference in 2014 – highlighting massive and growing inequality in the health of Americans.
Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota – a county that includes the Pine Ridge Native American reservation – revealed the lowest life expectancy in the country in 2014 at 66.8 years, comparable to countries like Sudan (67.2), India (66.9), and Iraq (67.7).
Clusters of counties with low life expectancies were also identified in Kentucky, West Virginia, Alabama, and several states along the Mississippi River. Several counties in these states and others saw decreases in life expectancy since 1980, while much of the country experienced increases.
However, a cluster of counties in Colorado had the highest life expectancies in the US, with Summit County topping the list at 86.8 years, followed by Pitkin County (86.5) and Eagle County (85.9). By comparison, at the country level Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world that same year at 84.8, followed by Iceland at 83.3.
Read more here. (Health Data)
The gap between counties with the highest and lowest life expectancies is larger now than it was back in 1980 – a more than a 20-year difference in 2014 – highlighting massive and growing inequality in the health of Americans.
Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota – a county that includes the Pine Ridge Native American reservation – revealed the lowest life expectancy in the country in 2014 at 66.8 years, comparable to countries like Sudan (67.2), India (66.9), and Iraq (67.7).
Clusters of counties with low life expectancies were also identified in Kentucky, West Virginia, Alabama, and several states along the Mississippi River. Several counties in these states and others saw decreases in life expectancy since 1980, while much of the country experienced increases.
However, a cluster of counties in Colorado had the highest life expectancies in the US, with Summit County topping the list at 86.8 years, followed by Pitkin County (86.5) and Eagle County (85.9). By comparison, at the country level Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world that same year at 84.8, followed by Iceland at 83.3.
Read more here. (Health Data)
