Interesting read..the article breaks down the various factors that account for the increasing disparity in life expectancy in America
bigthink.com
The researchers mostly hail from the Institute For Health Metrics and Evaluation, a leading public health research institution based at UW. They pored through numerous large datasets covering mortality between 2000 and 2021 and paired this information with detailed demographic data. Through this exhaustive analysis, they divided the country into ten Americas based on how long Americans can expect to live at birth.
When it comes to life expectancy, there are 10 Americas
Researchers at the University of Washington categorized Americans into ten different "countries" based on their life expectancy.
bigthink.com
- Researchers at the University of Washington categorized Americans into ten different “countries” based on their life expectancy.
- The disparity between the longest- and short-living “America” was roughly 20 years.
- This gap was 12.6 years just two decades ago.
The researchers mostly hail from the Institute For Health Metrics and Evaluation, a leading public health research institution based at UW. They pored through numerous large datasets covering mortality between 2000 and 2021 and paired this information with detailed demographic data. Through this exhaustive analysis, they divided the country into ten Americas based on how long Americans can expect to live at birth.
- America 1 comprises the roughly 21 million Asians and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders (NHPI) living in counties where the NHPI population was less than 30% of the total Asian and NHPI population in 2020. In 2021, they could expect to live 84 years at birth, compared to 83.1 years in 2000.
- America 2 is made up of Latinos living outside of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Its population is about 46 million. In 2021, these Latinos’ life expectancy was 79.4 years, down slightly from 80.4 in 2000.
- America 3 is essentially a catch-all group and includes the vast majority of white people as well as a sliver of Asians and American Indians who live in predominantly white counties. This group’s life expectancy was 77.2 years in 2021, essentially unchanged from 77.5 years in 2000.
- America 4 is made up of low-income white inhabitants of non-metropolitan counties in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. These roughly 300,000 Americans could expect to live 76.7 years at birth in 2021, down from 77.6 in 2000.
- America 5 comprises the 16.5 million Latinos dwelling in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. In 2021, they had a life expectancy of 76 years, a sizable decline from 77.8 years in 2000.
- America 6 is inhabited by black Americans living outside of large, segregated metropolitan areas and not in the rural parts of the Deep South. They number about 32 million and could expect to live 72.3 years in 2021, compared to 72 years in 2000.
- America 7 represents black Americans living in highly segregated, large metropolitan areas. Its population numbers a little over 10 million. People living here had a life expectancy of 71.5 years in 2021, up from 70.6 in 2000.
- America 8 is made up of whites living in poor parts of Appalachia and the Lower Mississippi Valley. Its 10.3 million residents could expect to live 71.1 years in 2021, sharply down from 74.8 years in 2000.
- America 9 comprises the 2.1 million black Americans living outside of big cities in low-income counties of the Lower Mississippi Valley or the Deep South. Their life expectancy was 68 years in 2021, versus 70.5 years in 2000.
- America 10 represents American Indians and Alaska Natives inhabiting the Midwest or western states not bordering the Pacific Ocean. These 1.3 million people had a shockingly low life expectancy of 63.6 years in 2021, cratering from 72.3 years in 200.
