Life Expectancy at All Time High; Death Rates Reach New Low, New Report Shows
The full report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs.
U.S. life expectancy reached nearly 78 years (77.9), and the
age-adjusted death rate dropped to 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population,
both records, according to the latest mortality statistics from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2007," was issued today by
CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The data are based on
nearly 90 percent of death certificates in the United States.
The 2007 increase in life expectancy - up from 77.7 in 2006 --
represents a continuation of a trend. Over a decade, life expectancy
has increased 1.4 years from 76.5 years in 1997 to 77.9 in 2007.
Other findings:
* Record high life expectancy was recorded for both males and females
(75.3 years and 80.4 years, respectively). While the gap between male
and female life expectancy has narrowed since the peak gap of 7.8 years
in 1979, the 5.1 year difference in 2007 is the same as in 2006.
* For the first time, life expectancy for black males reached 70 years.
* The U.S. mortality rate fell for the eighth straight year to an
all-time low of 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2007 -- 2.1
percent lower than the 2006 rate of 776.5. The 2007 mortality rate is
half of what it was 60 years ago (1532 per 100,000 in 1947.)
* The preliminary number of deaths in the United States in 2007 was
2,423,995, a 2,269 decrease from the 2006 total.
* Heart disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death, accounted
for nearly half (48.5 percent) of all deaths in 2007.
* Between 2006 and 2007, mortality rates declined significantly for
eight of the 15 leading causes of death. Declines were observed for
influenza and pneumonia (8.4 percent), homicide (6.5 percent), accidents
(5 percent), heart disease (4.7 percent), stroke (4.6 percent), diabetes
(3.9 percent), hypertension (2.7 percent), and cancer (1.8 percent).
* The death rate for the fourth leading cause of death, chronic lower
respiratory diseases, increased by 1.7 percent. Preliminary death rates
also increased for Parkinson's disease, chronic liver disease and
cirrhosis, and Alzheimer's, but these gains are not statistically
significant.
* There were an estimated 11,061 deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2007, and
mortality rates from the disease declined 10 percent from 2006, the
biggest one-year decline since 1998. HIV remains the sixth leading
cause of death among 25-44 year-olds.
* The preliminary infant mortality rate for 2007 was 6.77 infant deaths
per 1,000 live births, a 1.2 percent increase from the 2006 rate of
6.69, though not considered statistically significant. Birth defects
were the leading cause of infant death in 2007, followed by disorders
related to preterm birth and low birthweight. Sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS) was the third leading cause of infant death in the
United States.
