Elise Takahama | (TNS) The Seattle Times
SEATTLE — If you live in the United States, your life span largely depends on your race and ethnicity, where you live and how much money you make, researchers have reported for years. But in the last two decades, the gap between those with longest and shortest lives has grown, according to a new report from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.
As of 2021, life expectancy in the U.S. varied by more than 20 years based on race and ethnicity, among other factors. While Asian Americans generally lived the longest, to about 84 years old, the average life span for American Indian/Alaska Native populations was about 63.6 years, researchers found.
The new results, published in The Lancet in late November, are so stark they reinforce the notion that within the U.S., there are at least 10 different Americas, study authors wrote.
“We’re going the wrong way, and these disparities are increasing,” said Ali Mokdad, who worked on the report and who’s the chief strategy officer for population health at the University of Washington. “Our health is not improving.”
Life expectancy gap grows over last 20 years
Researchers found new evidence that an American’s life expectancy continues to vary dramatically based on where they live, their economic conditions and their race and ethnicity. The COVID pandemic exacerbated disparities. While life expectancy is generally highest for Asian Americans, at 84 years in 2021, the figure dropped to 63.6 years among the study’s American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) population.
The recent study builds on work the UW-based institute did 20 years ago when researchers examined health inequities based on intersectional factors of geography, race, income and homicide rate. At the time, they found gaps of 12.8 years for women and 15.4 years for men in life expectancy among eight separate Americas, defined as Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, Black and white Americans in…
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