 | | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Today, men and women in the United States are living longer than ever, but a new study reveals some may not be reaping the benefits of a longer life expectancy.
Harvard University researchers found between 1983 and 1999, the death rate of women in the worst-off counties in the United States increased because of chronic diseases linked to smoking, high blood pressure and obesity. Researchers reviewed the death rates in all United States counties from 1961 to 1999 and found the overall life expectancy for men increased from 67 to 74 years of age and for women, from 74 to 80 years.
Text Continues Below
From 1961 to 1983, the reduction in the death rate of both men and women was largely due to a decrease in cardiovascular-related deaths like heart disease and stroke; however, starting in the early 1980s, the death rates were no longer falling for a large portion of the worst-off counties, especially among women. Researchers say this trend is due to a slowdown of cardiovascular deaths and a rise in other diseases including lung cancer, chronic lung disease and diabetes in both men and women, and a rise in HIV/AIDS and homicide in men.
The role of these risk factors in the reversal of the epidemiological transition should be further investigated, and programs that increase the coverage of interventions for chronic disease and injury risk factors in the worst-off counties, states, and regions should be established, study authors write.
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here.
SOURCE: PloS Medicine, published online April 22, 2008
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
|
.gif)
