Latest Life expectancy Stories
Average life expectancy across much of the world is steadily climbing and infant deaths dropped across the world during the first decade of the 21st century, according to figures released by the World Health Organization.While the average life expectancy rate climbs in much of the world, men in Iraq and women in South Africa have life expectancies that are declining. WHO said the average life expectancy in Iraq for both sexes fell to 66 years in 2009 from 68 in 2000.The WHO said that while...
According to new figures released this week, and based on data produced by the Office for National Statistics, more than 25 percent of British children 16 and under can expect to live to 100 years old. Just 30 years ago, more than a quarter of newborn boys were expected to die by their 65th birthday. Ministers said the rapid rise in longevity will have huge implications for public policy in a wide range of areas such as health and transportation, leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab on the...
Churches will continue to attract older congregations as increasing life expectancy encourages people to put off involvement in religion, according to new research.The study, by Dr Elissaios Papyrakis at the University of East Anglia and Dr Geethanjali Selvaretnam from the University of St Andrews in the UK, suggests that religious organisations need to do more to highlight the social and spiritual benefits of participation in religion in present day life if they are to increase congregation...
LSHTM study of statewide bank crises finds no major impact of the depression on mortalityA study published today provides a new perspective on the Great Depression of the 1930s. A widely held view is that there were remarkable improvements in life expectancy of over five years. Using data from urban populations, researchers found that it was actually associated with an increase in suicides but reduction in motor-vehicle accidents, a pattern consistent with the impacts of the current recession...
(Ivanhoe Newswire) "“ We've heard again and again about the obesity epidemic, but according to this analysis of trends over the last 40 years, life expectancy in Europe is on the rise, with people in Britain reaching an older age than those living in the U.S.These findings oppose the belief that the rising life expectancy trend in high income countries may be coming to an end in the face of health problems arising from obesity.Epidemiologist and population health expert Professor David...
Despite what has been dubbed an obesity epidemic, life expectancy throughout Europe is on the rise, according to researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.According to BBC News, epidemiologist and population health expert David Leon studied trends over the past four decades, and discovered that a decline in deaths related to cardiovascular disease were mainly to credit for the increase.Furthermore, Leon, who published his findings in the International Journal of...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data on Wednesday that said children born today can expect to live longer than ever in U.S. history. Life expectancy at birth jumped to 78.2 years in 2009, which is up from 78 years in 2008. "What this means is that somebody born in 2009 can expect to live to an average of 78.2 years. This is a new record high for life expectancy," says Kenneth Kochanek, a statistician with the National Center for Health Statistics, which...
Despite spending more on healthcare than any other country, the US has worse life expeancy rates than many -- and a new report puts the blame mainly on smoking and obesity, according to an Associated Press (AP) report. The news may be surprising, considering that while smoking in public is being stamped out in the US while still common in other countries. And obesity is a growing problem around the world. The US led those unhealthy trends, smoking more and gaining more weight a few decades...
A study published this week says that dying young was not the reason Neanderthals went extinct, adding that that early modern humans had about the same life expectancy as their hairier kin. Scientists have been puzzled over why the Neanderthals disappeared just as modern humans were making huge gains and moving into new parts of Africa and Europe, and some have speculated that a difference in longevity may have been the reason. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...
U.S. health experts said on Thursday that American life expectancy slipped slightly in 2008 to 77.8 years, the first drop since 2004. According to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, stroke has slipped from its status as the third-leading cause of death, surpassed by chronic lower respiratory diseases like asthma, emphysema and bronchitis. Heart disease and cancer are still the top two killers for U.S. citizens and they...
