Life spans of American women not increasing proportionate to that of men: Report

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDApr 23 2012

Life spans of the women in the USA are improving at a slower pace than men's and are shorter in many U.S. counties than they were 20 years ago, according to a report released last Thursday.

Life expectancy for U.S. men improved by 4.6 years on average, but only by 2.7 years for women. Life spans county to county across the USA range on average from 66.1 to 81.6 years for men and 73.5 to 86 years for women.

These figures are alarming even though women are still expected to outlive men by four years, says the report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation - a health research center at the University of Washington. The study is based on mortality data by age, sex and county from 1989 to 2009.

“A gain in life expectancy should be equal among men and women,” said Ali Mokdad, director of the research team. “This is a wake-up call for all of us. It's tragic that in a country as wealthy as the United States, and with all the medical expertise we have, that so many girls will live shorter lives than their mothers.”

Figures reveal that life expectancy stopped improving or reversed for women since 1999 in 661 U.S. counties and in 166 counties for men. The declining rates appear in 84% of Oklahoma counties, 58% of Tennessee counties and 33% of Georgia counties. One of the biggest decreases for women was in Harmon County, Okla., where life expectancy dropped by nearly two years (from 79.1 to 77.4) from 1989 to 2009. Women in three counties in Tennessee saw decreases of more than a year: Smith (78.5-77.4), Rhea and Meigs (78.7-77.5). Across the country, there's nearly a 12-year gap in women's life spans. Women live the longest in Collier, Fla., (85.8) but had the shortest life spans in McDowell, W.Va. (74.1). In 1989, the gap was 8.7 years.

Despite the gender gaps, the life expectancy gap between African Americans and white Americans is growing smaller. In 1989, African Americans could expect to live 63.8 years on average, while white Americans had an average lifespan of 72.5 years - a difference of 8.7 years. In 2009, African American male life expectancy improved by nearly a decade to 71.2 years, and white male life expectancy improved at a slower rate to 76.7 years, narrowing the gap to 5.5 years. For women, the gap is even narrower, at 3.6 years. African American women on average in 2009 had a life expectancy of 77.9 years, compared with 81.5 years for white women.

A larger percentage of women than men are not adequately treating high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the researchers said. “Women aren't as encouraged by their doctors to get medication to ward off heart disease,” said physician Gina Lundberg, national spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, who is not associated with the study. “And many doctors don't treat their symptoms as aggressively as they do in men. They'll say you have an upset stomach and send you home.”

Key reasons for the disparities are preventable causes of death, including tobacco, obesity and alcohol. “Heart blockages progress faster in women who smoke,” Lundberg said. “And studies show women who smoke who have heart attacks are more likely to die from the heart attack.” According to the researchers, an estimated 54,000 women's lives could be saved by reducing salt consumption alone.

“So much of this can be corrected,” Mokdad said. “We need to do a better job educating people about lifestyle and getting good health care. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country, and other countries are doing a better job than us.” When it comes to life span, U.S. men rank 37th out of 196 countries, women rank 38^th he added.