The expected lifespan of men and women in San Benito County rose
between 2000 and 2007, according to a report that shows more than
80 percent of counties across the nation are falling farther behind
countries with the best life expectancies.
The expected lifespan of men and women in San Benito County rose between 2000 and 2007, according to a report that shows more than 80 percent of counties across the nation are falling farther behind countries with the best life expectancies.
Men in San Benito County in 2007, the most recent year for which data was available, could expect to live 77.7 years – two years longer than in 2000. The life expectancy for women in 2007 was 82 years, one year more than at the start of the decade.
The study, done by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, used mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics showing the location of all deaths between 1959 and 2007. Study authors point to high rates of obesity, tobacco use and other preventable risk factors for early death as the leading drivers of the gap between the U.S. and other nations.
The report suggests a tight correlation between wealth and life expectancy. Marin County, for example, had the longest life expectancy rates in the state and is among the highest in the nation, while residents of smaller, poor counties like Yuba, Del Norte and Lake could expect to live shorter than normal lives.
Five counties in Mississippi have the lowest life expectancies for American women – all below 74.5 years – putting them behind nationals such as Honduras, El Salvador and Peru. Four of those counties also have the lowest male life expectancy in the U.S., less than 67 years.
Despite the world’s highest level of per-capita spending on health care, America’s life expectancies of 75.6 years for men and 80.8 years for women are more than three years below the average of the top 10 nations with the highest life expectancies, according to the report.
Women live the longest in Collier, Fla. – at 86 years on average – while men live the longest in Fairfax County, Virginia: 81.1 years.
For both genders, the United States was ranked 37th in the world in 2007 for life expectancy. Men in the U.S. have seen their worldwide ranking increase over the past seven years, while it has dropped for women.
In San Benito County, the life expectancy for males lagged five years behind the international life expectancy when compared to the 10 nations with the lowest mortality, an improvement of one year from the start of the decade. Local women’s life expectancy, on the other hand, is a decade behind international numbers, representing a two-year drop during the study period.
In neighboring Santa Clara County, the life expectancy in 2007 was 80.6 years for men and 83.9 years for women. The male rate was 11 years better than the international average, while the female life expectancy was a year behind world figures.
Nationally, black men and women have lower life expectancies than white men and women in all counties. The report stated that the lowest life expectancies for both sexes were in counties in Appalachia and the Deep South, extending across northern Texas. Counties with the highest life expectancies were in the northern plains and along the Pacific coast and Atlantic seaboard.
