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Life Expectancy Study
Last Updated: July 1, 2003
Life Expectancy in the U.S. Rises to 77.2 Years in 2001.
Americans’ life expectancy hit an all-time high in 2001, while age-adjusted deaths hit an all-time low, according to a new report released in March 2003 by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.
The report from HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents that the national age-adjusted death rate decreased slightly from 869 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 855 deaths per 100,000 in 2001. There were declines in mortality among most racial, ethnic, and gender groups.
Meanwhile, life expectancy hit a new high of 77.2 years in 2001, up from 77 in 2000, and increased for both men and women as well as whites and African Americans. For men, life expectancy increased from 74.3 years in 2000 to 74.4 years in 2001; for women, life expectancy increased from 79.7 years to 79.8 years. Record high life expectancies were observed for white men and for both black men and women.
Among leading causes of death, there were declines in mortality from heart disease (nearly 4%), cancer (2%), stroke (nearly 5%), and accidents/unintentional injuries (nearly 2%). The biggest decline in mortality among leading causes of death was for influenza/pneumonia (more than 7%).
The age-adjusted death rate from HIV/AIDS declined nearly 4% between 2000 and 2001, a bigger decline than the year before and continuing a trend that has occurred since 1995. However, HIV remains the sixth leading cause of death for people ages 25-44, and a leading cause of death among African-Americans in this age group.
The report shows that mortality increased for some leading causes of death, including: kidney disease (3.7%), hypertension (3%) and Alzheimer’s disease (5%). In addition, the infant mortality rate remained unchanged between 2000 and 2001, at 6.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
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