The expected life expectancy among indigenous Americans in the Western United States has fallen below 64 years, similar to life expectations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti. For many Asian Americans he is about 84 years senior – on an equal footing with the expectations of life in Japan and Switzerland.
Americans’ health has long been uneven, but recent study It shows that the difference between the expectations of the lives of different populations has almost doubled since 2000. “It’s like comparing very different countries,” said Tom Bollyky, director of Global Health, a program at the Foreign Relations Council and the author of the study.
The analysis of “Ten Americas”, published at the end of last year in Lancet, showed that “the expected life expectancy varies dramatically depending on where you live, economic conditions in this location and racial and ethnic identity.” Deteriorating health of specific populations is a key reason for the country General life expectancy – At the age of 75 for men and 80 for women – it is the shortest among wealthy nations.
To make promises from the recent Trump administration, so that America is vigorous again, decision -makers will have to solve problems undermining life expectancy in all populations.
“As long as we have these really serious differences, we will have this very low life expectancy,” said Kathleen Harris, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina. “It shouldn’t be like this for a country as rich as the USA”
Since 2000, the average life expectancy of many American Indians and Alaska’s natives is constantly shrinking. The same applied since 2014 for black in low-income counties in the south-eastern United States
“Some groups in the United States are in the face of a health crisis,” said Bollyky, “and we must answer it because it gets worse.”
Heart diseases, car mortality, diabetes, Covid-19 and other common causes of death are guilty. But research shows that Life conditions of peopleTheir behavior and their environments strongly affect why some populations are more exposed to risk than others.
Native Americans in the West – defined in the study “Ten Americas” as a dozen or so states, excluding California, Washington and Oregon – were one of the poorest in the analysis, living in poviats in which the annual income of a person is an average of about USD 20,000. Economists have shown that low -income people in general Live a miniature life.
Research also associated stress related to poverty, trauma and discrimination for harmful behavior of coping smoking AND Disorders of the exploit of the substance. And reservations are often missing grocery stores and Clean, pipeline waterwhich makes it tough to buy and cook vigorous food.
About 1 out of 5 native Americans in the southwest there is no health insurance in accordance with KFF report. Although the Indian Health Service provides insurance, the report says that the program is faint due to chronic underfunding. This means that people can delay or ignore the treatment of chronic diseases. Deferred medical care has contributed to the augment in the number of Covid among native Americans: about 1 of each 188 people Navajo He died of disease at the peak of the pandemic.
“The combination of limited access to healthcare and higher healthcare was destructive,” said Bollyky.
At the other end of the spectrum, the category of Asian Americans research maintained the longest life expectations from 2000. From 2021 it was 84 years.
Education may partly be at the basis that some groups live longer. “People with greater education are more likely to look for and observe health advice,” said Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist from the Institute of Health and Assessment at the University of Washington and the author of the article. Education also offers more full -time work opportunities with health benefits. “Money allows you to take steps to take care of yourself,” said Mokdad.
A group with the highest income in most years of analysis consisted mainly of white people, and then mainly Asian groups. The latter, however, maintained the highest indicator of graduation. About half ended College, compared to less than a third of other populations.
The study suggests that education partly takes into account the differences between white people living in low income counties, where individual income was on average USD 32,363. From 2000, white people in low-income poviats in the southeastern states-marked as in Appalachia and Lower Lower Valley of the Mississippi-Miełi Miła much lower life expectations than in the upper Western Central States, including Montana, Nebraska and Iowa. (The authors provide detailed information on how groups were defined and designated Their report.)
Bollyky said that the exploit of opioids and HIV rates did not take into account the difference between these white groups with low income. But since 2010, over 90% of white people in the north group were graduates of high schools, compared to about 80% in the south -eastern United States
The effect of education was not true in the case of Latin groups compared to others. Latinos recorded lower high school graduation indicators than whites, but lived on average longer. This long -lasting trend has recently changed among Latinos in the southwest due to Covid. Latin or Latin and Black were Almost twice He will probably die because of illness.
On average, black people in the US have long experienced worse health than other races and ethnic origin in the United States, except for native Americans. But this analysis reveals a constant improvement in the life expectancy of black people in 2000 to around 2012. During this period, the gap between the black and white expectations of life shrunk.
This applies to all three black groups in the analysis: those in low income counties in south-eastern states, such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama; People in highly segregated and metropolitan counties, such as Queens, NY and Wayne, Michigan, where many districts are almost completely black or completely white; And black people everywhere else.
Better drugs in the treatment of high blood pressure and HIV lend a hand to take into account the improvements of many Americans in 2000–2010. In particular, the blacks noticed that during this period they achieved a rapid augment in high school graduation and profits at university education.
However, progress in stagnation for black populations until 2016. The differences in wealth have increased. Until 2021, Asians and many white Americans had the highest income in the study, living in poviats with income per capita of about USD 50,000. All three groups of black people in the analysis remained below USD 30,000.
The difference between the wealth between black and white people has historical roots, reaching the days of slavery, the rules of Jim Crow and politicians who prevented black people from having real estate in districts that better served public schools and other services. In the case of indigenous Americans, the historical gap of wealth can be traced to the almost annihilation of the population and mass resettlement in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Inequality is still growing for several reasons, such as expanding the gap in wages Between mainly white corporate leaders and low earnings who are disproportionately colorful people. And reporting with KFF Health News It shows that the decisions not to extend Medicaid threatened the health of hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty.
Scientists have examined the potential health benefits of payments from tasks to deal with historical injustices that led to gaps in racial wealth. One New study He estimates that such payments may reduce premature death among Black Americans by 29%.
The interventions adapted to the community are less controversial. For example, obesity often begins in childhood, so decision -makers could invest in non -school programs that give children a place for social, busy and eating vigorous food, said Harris. Such programs would have to be free for children whose parents cannot afford them, and ensure transport.
But without political changes, which augment low wages, reduce medical costs, put a protected apartment and robust public education at your fingertips and provide access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, said Harris, the general expected life expectancy of the country may deteriorate.
“If the federal government is really interested in America’s health,” she said, “they could evaluate you to their health indicators and encourage you to improve.”
