Life Expectancy in U.S. Increasing

The latest news on life expectancy is good. In fact, the average life expectancy for a 70-year-old woman increased by one-tenth of a percent between 2008 and 2009, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. A woman who was 70 years old in 2009 may have another 16.1 years of life left, according to the statistics.

Additional positive news that comes out of this same report reveals that the age-adjusted death rate for the U.S. fell to an all-time low of 741 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009. That’s 2.3 percent lower than the 2008 rate.  Here are more statistics that might be of interest to you:

·         Life expectancy for the U.S. white population increased by two-tenths of a year.

·         Life expectancy was up two-tenths of a year for males (75.7 years) and up one-tenth of a year for females (80.6 years).

·         Age-adjusted death rates declined significantly for 10 of the 15 leading causes of death in 2009:
      *  heart disease (declined by 3.7 percent),
      *  cancer (1.1 percent),
      *  chronic lower respiratory diseases (4.1 percent),
      *  stroke (4.2 percent),
      *  accidents/unintentional injuries (4.1 percent),
      *  Alzheimer's disease (4.1 percent),
      *  diabetes (4.1 percent),
      *  influenza and pneumonia (4.7 percent),
      *  septicemia (1.8 percent), and
      *  homicide (6.8 percent).

·         Overall, there were 2.4 million deaths in the United States in 2009 – 36,336 fewer than in 2008 (a 1.5 percent decrease).

Regular visits to your doctor may help ensure that you are doing all you can to care for yourself. Routine examinations can help you prevent illness and increase the opportunity for your doctor to diagnose diseases at their earliest stages.

Staying both physically and socially active also is an important part of healthy aging. Why not consider part-time employment as a CAREGiver^SM for Home Instead Senior Care^®. Older adults make great CAREGivers because they share many of the same interests as the senior clients they serve. Non-medical care includes companionship and assistance with meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, errands and shopping.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact us 570-586-3135 or toll-free at 1-888-294-678.  Information can also be found at www.homeinstead.com/nepa. For more about the study, visit http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/p0316_deathrate.html.