Life Expectancy in U.S. Shows Surprising Decline in
New 2008 CDC Data; Up for Blacks
Good news stroke drops to fourth in leading cause
of death; death rate declines
Dec. 10, 2010
When things are not going right it seems to spread, people in the U.S.
might think, as they deal with a stagnant economy, ugly national
politics, a growing split between the wealthy and the poor and more. Now,
we get news that life expectancy at birth in this country declined
slightly in 2008 to 77.8 years from 77.9 years in 2007.
Obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities and homicide
ruled out as causes of failure of US to keep up with gains in life
expectancy in other countries - October 7,
2010
Death rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death
in U.S. all dropped significantly in 2006; Alzheimers passed diabetes
becoming the sixth leading cause of death - June 11, 2008
Healthy
centenarians described as open and conscientious.
Second UGA study shows decrease in physical activity accelerates decline
in health - Dec. 1, 2010
"Deaths:
Preliminary Data for 2008," finds life expectancy was down by one-tenth
of a year (a little over a month) for both men and women.
However, black
males had a record high life expectancy in 2008 of 70.2 years up from
70 years in 2007. The life expectancy gap between the white and black
populations was 4.6 years in 2008, a decrease of two-tenths of a year
from 2007.
There were
several bits of good news in the report, including a decline in the
death rate The estimated age-adjusted death rate, which accounts
for changes in the age distribution of the population, reached a record
low of 758.7 per 100,000 U.S. standard population, 0.2 percent lower
than the 2007 rate of 760.2
The preliminary number of deaths in the United
States for 2008 was 2,473,018. The crude death rate of 813.3 per 100,000
of population was 1.2 percent larger than the rate of 803.6 per 100,000
in 2007.
The other big
news in the report this time encouraging - is that
stroke is now the fourth leading cause of death in the United
States, down from the third place ranking it has held for decades,
according to preliminary 2008 death statistics released yesterday by
CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
But, while
deaths from stroke and several other chronic diseases are down, deaths
due to chronic lower respiratory disease increased in 2008.
There were
133,750 deaths from stroke in 2008. Age-adjusted death rates from stroke
declined 3.8 percent between 2007 and 2008. Meantime, there were 141,075
deaths from chronic lower respiratory disease and the death rate
increased by 7.8 percent.
Some of the
increase in deaths may be due to a modification made by the World Health
Organization in the way deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases
are classified and coded. The National Center for Health Statistics will
conduct a thorough analysis on this change and its effect on the chronic
lower respiratory disease category before the final 2008 deaths data are
released.
The data are
based on 99 percent of death certificates reported to NCHS through the
National Vital Statistics System from all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and U.S. territories.
Other findings:
►
Heart disease and
cancer, the two leading causes of death, still accounted for nearly
half (48 percent) of all deaths in 2008.
►
In addition to stroke, mortality rates declined significantly for five
of the other 15 leading causes of death:
accidents/unintentional injuries (3.5 percent), homicide (3.3
percent),
diabetes (3.1 percent), heart disease (2.2 percent), and cancer (1.6
percent).
►
In addition to chronic lower respiratory disease, death rates increased
significantly in 2008 for Alzheimer's disease (7.5 percent),
influenza and
pneumonia (4.9 percent),
high blood pressure (4.1 percent),
suicide (2.7 percent), and kidney disease (2.1 percent).
►
The preliminary infant mortality rate for 2008 was 6.59 infant deaths
per 1,000 live births, a 2.4 percent decline from the 2007 rate of 6.77
and an all-time record low.
Birth defects were the leading cause of infant death in 2008,
followed by disorders related to preterm birth and low birth weight.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) was the third leading cause of
infant death in the United States.
►
Overall, there were 2,473,018 deaths in the United States in 2008,
according to the preliminary deaths report 49,306 more deaths than the
2007 total.
►
The age-adjusted death rate for the U.S. population fell to 758.7 deaths
per 100,000 in 2008 compared to the 2007 rate of 760.2.
