Study: African Americans Likely To Die From Homocide or Heart Disease
CNN Health is reporting that the life expectancy of African Americans is shorter than whites because of homicide and heart disease.
White women have the longest life expectancy at birth - 81 .3 years - followed by black women at 78 years. The average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78.7 years. Black men have a life expectancy 4.7 years lower than white men, who live on average to the age of 76.5.
The Centers for Disease Control’s lead author for the study, Ken Kochanek, said: “The causes of death that account for these differences between the populations haven’t changed all that much. “Heart disease, diabetes, stroke – these differences always seem to be there. But what’s interesting in this particular report is just what a difference homicide plays … The difference between homicides for black and white men in particular are gigantic.”
The CDC says they will continue to study other life expectancy issues with ethnic and racial populations in the United States.
