Newspaper Page Text
2A
OCTOBER 18, 2001
Nation World
Life expectancy in U.S. reaches all-time high
By ERIN McCLAM
Associated Press Writer
» ATLANTA
. Lifeexpectancyinthe United
States has climbed to an all
time high of nearly 77 years,
while infant mortality nas
dropped to the lowest level on
record, the government re
ported Wednesday.
Agovernment study of death
‘certificatesnationwide put U.S.
lifeexpectancy at 76.9 years for
someoneborn in 2000, up from
76.7 in 1999, the National Cen
ter for Health Statistics said.
Infant mortality dropped last
year to 6.9 deaths for every
1,000 live births, down from
71
Death rates also fell for the
nation’sleadingkillers, includ
ing heart disease, cancer and
stroke.
“It’s a relatively optimistic
report,” said Ari Minino, an
NCHS statistician and an au
thor of the study. “It shows if
you follow what’s generally
deemed a good lifestyle, and
you have good genes, you can
beatalot of stuffthat can getin
your way.”
Life expectancy hasbeen ris
ing steadily for years.
Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson
credited advances in fighting
disease, and urged Americans
to eat right and exercise regu
iarly to stay healthy.
But even as life expectancy
creeps up, surveys continually
show Americans getting less
active and more obese, putting
them at risk for heart disease
and diabetes, among other ill-
NESSes.
. Another worry: Death rates
From page one
In big cities, about one in
59,000 people is killed by a
husband, wife, boyfriend or
girlfriend each year, the data
showed. In small towns, the
rate is about one in every
156,000.
The CDC gave no explana
tion for the difference.
Janet Carter, managing di
rector of the Family Violence
Prevention Fund, said cities
can harbor people — particu
larly minorities — who are
afraid to turn to the justice
system for help.
“There just might not be as
many places toturn,” she said.
The CDC also did not ex
plain why far higher rates of
tleadly domestic violence show
up in the South and Rocky
Mountains.
In all, women were about 60
percent more likely tobe killed
by a partner than men, and
blacks were more than four
times more likely to be killed
than whites.
For men and women alike,
guns were the weapon of choice
in the killings. About 60 per
cent of men and more than 64
percent of women were killed
by firearms in disputes with
spouses and lovers. Knives
were a distant second.
Men are much morelikely to
own guns than women, a key
reason why deadly domestic
violence is committed more
often against women, said Dr.
. Len Paulozzi, a CDC epidemi
ologist.
The study considered both
same- and opposite-sex rela
tionships.
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are rising for some diseases
that afflict primarily older
people, including Alzheimer’s
diseaseand pneumonitis, which
scars the lungs.
“It may be just a product of
the fact that a larger propor
tion of us are older,” Minino
said. “The challenge is going to
be toimplement the changesin
the health caredelivery system
to meet these diseases.”
Tofigurelife expectancy, stat
isticiansconsidered a hypotheti
cal group of peopleborn in 2000,
then projected how long they
would live based on today’s
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ceremony to stop the violence in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001. Residents of
this troubled Kingston neighborhood marched to the site of recentviolence and prayed
after a week that included multiple shootings and the bombing of a police station. AP
Photo/Tomas van Houtryve
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health risksand demographics.
The number does not take
into account medical break
throughs that might happen
years from now to extend those
lives even further.
Amongwhites, lifeexpectancy
was put at 77.4 last year, com
pared with 71.8 among blacks.
Both races had higher life ex
pectanciesthan they didin 1999,
with blacks narrowing the gap
by about four months.
Thecontinued drop in infant
mortality is largely because
mortality for black infants has
declinedsignificantly. That may
be because thebooming 1990 s
economy expanded the avail
ability of quality health care,
Minino said.
Still,the U.S. infant mortal
ity rate remains higher than
in many other developed na
tions. InSweden, forexample,
therateisroughly threedeaths
for every 1,000 live births, ac
cording to UNICEF-.
The gender gap for life ex
pectancy also narrowed, but
women continue to live con
siderably longer than men _
79.5 years versus 74.1.
Zell Miller: response
From page one
Saudi prince, Rep. Cynthia
McKinney invokes the words
of Robert Kennedy, who urged
Americanstospeak plainlyand
reveal our frustration. So let
me speak as plainly as I can
and reveal my frustration.
“Noone, certainly notamem
ber, should say anything in a
time of war that could even
remotely be interpreted as
Survival Guide available
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ATLANTA
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“Accordingtogovernment
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Ivy League inauguration
From page one
In her inaugural address
Sunday, Simmons spoke pas
sionately to more than 5,000
people, emphasizing the im
portance of teaching.
“Universitiesaredutybound
to honor the best students to
become teachers,” she said.
Simmons wasintroduced by
Brown Chancellor Stephen
Robert as the “exemplification
ofhow education can changea
life.”
Her appointment has been
almost universally applauded
by students, said Rodrick
For those with instinct.
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agreeing with the position of
our enemy. McKinney’s letter
crossed that line.
“This letter is a slap in the
face to Mayor Giuliani, to the
victims of the September 11
attackand all Americans. Even
worse, it threatens to poison
the unity of this country at a
time when we need it most.
“Therearesomethings that
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The booklet includes a sec
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Consumers can receive a
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Echols, a junior from Mem
phis, Tennessee, and president
of the student council.
“At Brown we expect our
president to be a moral com
pass for the campus,” he said.
“She’s done that profoundly.
Not only has she been vocal,
she’s been someone that stu
dents can point to as a symbol
of what Brown represents.”
Simmons took over from
Sheila Blumstein, chairwoman
of the Department of Linguis
tic Sciences, who served as
interim president after Gor
don Gee left to become chan
cellor of Vanderbilt Univer
sity.