A child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live nearly 78 years (77.9) – a new high – according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2005.”
The report from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is based on approximately 99 percent of death records reported in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for 2005 and documents the latest trends in the leading causes of death and infant mortality.
The increase in life expectancy represents a continuation of a long-running trend. Over the past decade, life expectancy has increased from 75.8 years in 1995, and from 69.6 years in 1955.
“This report highlights the continued reduction in deaths from the three leading killers in the United States - heart disease, cancer and stroke - which is most likely due to better prevention efforts and medical advances in the treatments of these diseases,” said Hsiang-Ching Kung, a survey statistician with NCHS and one of the report’s authors. “If death rates from certain leading causes of death continue to decline, we should continue to see improvements in life expectancy.”
Highlights of the report include:
Preliminary figures also indicate an increase in the U.S. infant mortality rate from 6.79 per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 6.89 in 2005. However, this increase is not considered statistically significant. Congenital malformations, or birth defects, were the leading cause of infant mortality in 2005, followed by disorders related to preterm birth and low birthweight. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) was the third leading cause of infant death in the United States.
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Materials provided by Centers For Disease Control. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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