Latest news with #lifeexpectancy
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'We are still here, yet invisible.' Study finds that U.S. government has overestimated Native American life expectancy
Official U.S. records dramatically underestimate mortality and life expectancy disparities for Native Americans, according to a new, groundbreaking study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research, led by the Boston University School of Public Health, provides compelling evidence of a profound discrepancy between actual and officially reported statistics on the health outcomes of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations in the U.S. The study, novel in its approach, tracks mortality outcomes over time among self-identified AI/AN individuals in a nationally representative cohort known as the Mortality Disparities in American Communities. The researchers linked data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey with official death certificates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics System from 2008 through 2019, and found that the life expectancy of AI/AN populations was 6.5 years lower than the national average. They then compared this to data from the CDC's WONDER database, and found that their numbers were nearly three times greater than the gap reported by the CDC. Indeed, the study found that the life expectancy for AI/AN individuals was just 72.7 years, comparable to that of developing countries. The researchers also uncovered widespread racial misclassification. The study reports that some 41% of AI/AN deaths were incorrectly classified in the CDC WONDER database, predominantly misrecorded as 'White.' These systemic misclassifications drastically skewed official statistics, presenting AI/AN mortality rates as only 5% higher than the national average. When they adjusted the data to account for those misclassifications, the researchers found that the actual rate was 42% higher than initially reported. The issue of racial misclassification 'is not new for us at all,' said Nanette Star, director of policy and planning at the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health. The recent tendency for journalists and politicians to use umbrella terms like 'Indigenous' rather than the more precise 'American Indian and Alaska Native' can obscure the unique needs, histories and political identities of AI/AN communities, Star noted, and contribute to their erasure in both data and public discourse. 'That is the word we use — erasure — and it really does result in that invisibility in our health statistics,' she said. Issues related to racial misclassification in public records persist across the entire life course for AI/AN individuals, from birth to early childhood interventions to chronic disease and death. Star noted that in California, especially in urban regions like Los Angeles, Native individuals are frequently misidentified as Latino or multiracial, which profoundly distorts public health data and masks the extent of health disparities. 'It really does mask the true scale of premature mortality and health disparities among our communities,' Star said. Further, said Star, the lack of accurate data exacerbates health disparities. 'It really is a public health and justice issue,' she said. 'If you don't have those numbers to support the targeted response, you don't get the funding for these interventions or even preventative measures.' According to U.S. Census data, California is home to the largest AI/AN population in the United States. That means it has a unique opportunity to lead the nation in addressing these systemic issues. With numerous federally and state-recognized tribes, as well as substantial urban AI/AN populations, California can prioritize collaborative and accurate public health data collection and reporting. Star noted that current distortions are not always malicious but often stem from a lack of training. She suggested that California implement targeted training programs for those charged with recording this data, including funeral directors, coroners, medical doctors and law enforcement agents; allocate dedicated resources to improve the accuracy of racial classification on vital records; and strengthen partnerships with tribal leaders. The study authors suggest similar approaches, and there are numerous examples of successful cases of Indigenous-led health partnerships seen across Canada and the U.S. that have helped reduce health disparities among AI/AN communities that could be used as a template. These efforts would not only help to move toward rectifying historical inaccuracies, but also ensure that AI/AN communities receive equitable health resources and policy attention. 'When AI/AN people are misclassified in life and in death, it distorts public health data and drives inequities even deeper,' said Star. 'Accurate data isn't just about numbers — it's about honoring lives, holding systems accountable and making sure our communities are seen and served.' This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Call for action after West Northants life expectancy gap revealed
A Labour councillor has called for more investment to bring down health inequalities, after a report showed a 15-year difference in life expectancy for men living in different parts of an authority Ismail, who oversees Castle ward on West Northamptonshire Council, said men in the part of Northampton she represented could expect to live to 72.6 in Brackley West in the south of the unitary authority area, they could expect to live until the age of West Northamptonshire Council said it was working with partners and was committed to reducing inequalities. The figures have been presented in a new report by West Northamptonshire's former director of public health, Sally Burns, and come from the 2021 Burns left her role earlier this year to take up a similar position in statistics showed women in Castle ward also died years earlier, at the age of 80.2, compared to women in Brackley West at the age of said: "This is shocking evidence of the health inequalities that persist in our council area despite the best efforts of health partners - almost 15 years difference in life expectancy for men, and six years for women."These are people who live just a few miles apart yet have big differences in their life chances. We must act now to change these statistics and help everyone lead longer, healthier lives."Ismail, who is a member of the Adult Social Care Health and Communities Scrutiny Committee, will be calling for an investigation to tackle the inequalities when the committee meets in has highlighted three areas of focus: establishing why some people in West Northants die much earlier than others; learning from local authorities that have reduced health inequalities; and putting in measures that can address differences in life expectancy and close the councillor Laura Couse, cabinet member for adult care, public health and regulatory services, said: "Health inequalities are long-standing in our society with so many varied reasons, from someone's diet, living environment or genetic disposition to their education, income and whether they are socially isolated. "There isn't a simple quick fix or 'one size fits all' solution. However, we are working closely with our communities and partners to improve opportunities for all residents to have the best outcomes possible." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
07-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
It's my goal to live to 100 – and it's not just diet and exercise that will help me achieve it
For much of the past century, life expectancy continually increased. In most countries in the world, children could hope to live, on average, longer, healthier lives than their parents. This expectation is still true of the mega-wealthy. In fact, tech billionaires and multimillionaires have recently been fixated on finding the secret to longer life, convinced that with enough money, technology and cutting-edge science, they can stave off the inevitable for a few more decades to reach 120 or even 150 years old. But their efforts aren't trickling down to the rest of us. The world's health crises are getting worse, with life expectancy going backwards in several high-income countries, such as the UK and US. In Britain, stagnation started before the Covid pandemic and has decreased by six months, and in the US by 2.33 years. Obesity rates are rising – not just in wealthy countries, but also in places like Ghana, which has experienced a 650% increase in obesity since 1980. Not 65%; 650%. Clean air is a rarity in most places in the world. Mental health conditions like depression are on the rise, worsened by financial precarity and stress. We've been told for decades that if we just optimise ourselves, we can live longer, healthier lives. So how can we explain the gap between our growing knowledge about living longer and our collective health going backwards? Personally, I've set myself a suitably ambitious goal: to live to 100 with good health and to help others to do the same. According to the ONS life expectancy calculator, I have a 9.3% chance of making it that long (although even more challenging is to have a quality life during this time). As someone who has a strong interest in and passion for health, I follow the latest research on superfoods and what to eat. I've tried sugar-free diets; I went vegan for a period. I've tried all kinds of different exercise regimes from running long distances to intervals to HIIT (high intensity interval training) to Hyrox, outdoor bootcamps, spin, hot pilates, barre and paddleboard yoga. In my mid-30s, I decided to become a personal trainer to combine my interest in fitness, nutrition and wellbeing. However, every time my mind goes down the 'optimisation' route, I'm reminded of my main job and lifelong career as a public health scientist, looking into the factors that affect how long we will live. Most of these are out of individual control and have to do with the country and community we live in. The truth is, this 'self-help' narrative doesn't reflect the reality of how health works. In fact, the focus on personal responsibility and self-improvement has distracted us from the real issue –the impact that public policy, infrastructure and community make in affecting our health chances and longevity. In public health, research projects have studied places where people live significantly longer, healthier lives – think of Japan or South Korea, or within Europe, Zurich, Madrid or Sardinia. In these places, chronic diseases like heart disease and obesity are far less common. Take Japan, which has 80% less breast and prostate cancer than North Americans and half the risk of hip fractures. Much work has gone into analysing the behaviours of people living within these cities and regions. Based on this, we get lists of changes we could be making at an individual level to live longer, such as moving to a largely plant-based diet, sleeping seven to nine hours a night and exposing yourself to a certain amount of sunlight each day. These are of course helpful, but I suspect that hardly anyone in the areas above has read a self-help book or has a daily health 'to do' list. What stands out about these places is that the people living there don't just make individual choices that lead to better health – they live in places where healthy lives are normalised by government and culture. Take the issue of obesity: the UK isn't fatter than Japan because it is a country filled with fundamentally different people who choose to be overweight or are lazy or stupid – that kind of logic is not only naive, but it stigmatises overweight people. In fact it seems like at the level of choice, the UK is more interested in dieting, with a diet industry estimated to be worth £2bn annually and diet books selling millions of copies each year. In contrast, Japan's diet industry is tiny, worth only $42.8m. The main difference is actually in the food environment – including affordable fruit and vegetables, nutritious school meals and support from the government – meaning that it's far easier for an individual to stay within a healthy weight living in Japan. The odds are stacked against you in Britain. You can become the healthy 'outlier' or bubble yourself off from larger societal challenges if you have wealth, time and resources. You can carry an air purifier, drink a matcha latte, swim in expensive leisure centres, even hire a chef to bake you fresh bread and prepare nutritious meals. There's a reason that being a royal or marrying into royalty is one of the surest ways to live a long and healthy life. But for those of us who are commoners, there's no fully opting out of the societal factors completely: we have to go outside to breathe air, walk and cycle the streets, drink tapwater and eat the foods available near where we live or at school. As I talk about in my new book, if I'm going to live to 100, I need more than fastidiously counting my calories and posting pictures of myself exercising on Instagram (which I am guilty of). I need to live in a world where health is a collective responsibility, not an individual one. This means supporting policies that make us all healthier – and politicians who prioritise the conditions for good health such as nutritious food especially for children, active cities, clean air policies, preventive healthcare and public provision of water, which should be at the core of what a government provides its citizens. There are lessons in how to improve life in all of these areas across the world: these are places where good health is built into daily life. If we think of Ponce de León's quest for immortality in the 16th century – at a time when life expectancy in his native Spain was just 25 to 30 years, perhaps the lesson is that the answer for longer, healthier lives wasn't in a fountain of youth but in the rise of stable government, public services, science and community. Tech billionaires could take note. Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, and the author of How Not to Die (Too Soon)
The Verge
30-05-2025
- Health
- The Verge
RFK Jr.'s ‘Make America Healthy Again' report seems riddled with AI slop
There are some questionable sources underpinning Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s controversial 'Make America Healthy Again' commission report. Signs point to AI tomfoolery, and the use of ChatGPT specifically, which calls into question the veracity of the White House report meant to address reasons for the decline in US life expectancy. An investigation by NOTUS found dozens of errors in the MAHA report, including broken links, wrong issue numbers, and missing or incorrect authors. Some studies were misstated to back up the report's conclusions or, more damningly, didn't exist at all. At least seven of the cited sources were entirely fictitious, according to NOTUS. Another investigation by The Washington Post found that at least 37 of the 522 citations appeared multiple times throughout the report. Notably, the URLs of several references included 'oaicite,' a marker that OpenAI applies to responses provided by artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT, which strongly suggests it was used in developing the report. Generative AI tools have a tendency to spit out false or incorrect information, known as 'hallucinations.' That would certainly explain the various errors throughout the report — chatbots have been found responsible for similar citation issues in legal filings submitted by AI experts and even the companies building the models. Nevertheless, RFK Jr. has long advocated for the 'AI revolution,' and announced during a House committee meeting in May that 'we are already using these new technologies to manage health care data more efficiently and securely.' In a briefing on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to concerns about the accuracy of the citations while evading any mention of AI tools. Leavitt described the errors as 'formatting issues' and defended the health report for being 'backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government.' The Washington Post notes that the MAHA report file was updated on Thursday to remove some of the oaicite markers and replace some of the nonexistent sources with alternative citations. In a statement given to the publication, Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said 'minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected, but the substance of the MAHA report remains the same — a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children.'
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE How many days do YOU have left to live? Use Daily Mail's interactive tool to see if you'll make your next birthday
A new interactive tool from the Daily Mail reveals how long you can expect to live based on your age in the US and UK. You can see what your chances are of dying before your next birthday, based on the latest official life expectancy data in both America and Britain. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes.
