American Life Expectancy Reaching 78 Years
Still Lower Than Dozens of Other Nations
The life expectancy for Americans is nearly 78 years, the longest in U.S. history, according to new government figures from 2005. That age, based on the latest data available, was still lower than the life span in more than three dozen other countries. The improvement was led by a drop in deaths from heart disease and stroke — two of the nation’s leading killers, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Researchers also noted continued differences by race and sex. Life expectancy for whites in 2005 was 78.3. Black life expectancy in 2005 was 73.2. Life expectancy for women continues to be five years longer than for men.
There were 5% increases in the rates for Alzheimer’s disease, the No. 7 leading cause of death, and for Parkinson’s disease, which was No. 14. Andorra, a tiny country in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, has the longest life expectancy, at 83.5 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Japan, Macau, San Marino and Singapore ranked second, third, fourth and fifth.
