Monday, April 30, 2012

Your life expectancy may depend on where you live

That's what a study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a University of Washington division, seems to show.  For example, people in Johnson County near Kansas City, Kansas, have high life expectancies matching those in comparable countries such as Sweden and Switzerland.  Residents in Wyandotte County, also near Kansas City, have life expectancies matching those of Libya or Sri Lanka.

Kansas was not the only area showing stark differences.  "In Marin County, Calif., men could expect to live to a ripe 81.6 years. In two Mississippi counties, male life expectancy was just 66.1 years, about the same as in Pakistan.  Women’s life expectancies ranged from 85.8 years in Collier County, Fla., to 74.1 years in McDowell, W.Va., comparable to that of Algeria."

The question is why the differences.  Some of the reasons proposed: high unemployment, low rates of home ownership, low educational attainment, poverty, quality of public health.

Look at the results for your county: Life Expectancy US Counties


Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/30/147111/study-life-expectancies-in-much.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/30/147111/study-life-expectancies-in-much.html#storylink=cpy

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