Social Policy | |
Life Expectancy Increasing |
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that life
expectancy in the United States has hit a new high, while the infant death
rate has hit an all-time low.
The report noted that the gap in life expectancy between blacks and whites
-- and men and women -- is narrowing. The infant mortality rate declined to 7.2 deaths per 1,000 births --
with a reduction in the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome responsible
for one-third of the drop. The report also found that AIDS -- once the leading cause of death among
those aged 25 to 44 -- is now the second leading cause of death in that
group, just behind accidents and directly ahead of cancer. Source: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "U.S. Life Expectancy Hits New High,"
New York Times, September 12, 1997. |