White girls born in the United States in 2014 can expect a slightly shorter life than those born the year before, according to a report issued last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
For non-Hispanic white girls, life expectancy shrank by .1 years between 2013 and 2014, from 81.2 to 81.1. Despite the seemingly minor change, the author of the report considered the finding significant. [1]
“These life tables are based on 2.6 million deaths every year — all the deaths in the U.S.,” said Elizabeth Arias, Ph.D., of the CDC’s Division of Vital Statistics. “It’s a snapshot of the mortality or health of the population.”
Arias said that the government has presented these data going back to 1900, generally showing life expectancy increasing every year, driven by factors such as medical advancements, safety policies, and changes in behavior such as the decline in smoking.
“Whenever it goes down or stays flat, we look at it,” she said. “They should be going up every year.”
The new report showed life expectancy for all Americans remained unchanged at 78.8 years. It also remained unchanged at 76.5 years for non-Hispanic white males and at 78.1 for non-Hispanic black females.
The numbers increased by .4 to 72.2 for non-Hispanic black males and by .2 to 84 for Hispanic females.
After analyzing the causes of death, Arias concluded that the decrease in white female life expectancy was caused by increases in chronic liver disease, suicide, and drug overdoses.
Despite the seemingly minor change, the author of the report considered the finding significant.
@WHRYale
She expressed caution that the results could be a temporary year-to-year blip in the data rather than evidence of a trend. But she said that the data fit with other research that shows the life expectancy of white women stagnating or shrinking. [2, 3]
Life expectancy measures the number of years a newborn should live on average based on the country’s death rate overall or for specific populations.
Women’s Health Research at Yale Director Carolyn M. Mazure, Ph.D., saw the CDC report as only the latest evidence that researchers must consistently consider sex and gender as a variable when collecting and analyzing data.
“Health conditions affect females and males in different ways,” Mazure said. “We must continue to explore these differences if we are to fully understand their root causes and to help build healthier lives for everyone.”
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