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04/22/2008: "Lifespan shortens in parts of the US"
For the first time since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, life expectancy for a significant proportion of the United States is on the decline largely because of an increase in chronic diseases related to obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.
Although life expectancy for all other Western nations and for most of the U.S. has continued to improve over the past several decades, researchers at Harvard University and the University of Washington say many of the worst-off here are getting much worse.
"It is what you would expect to see in a developing country, not here," said Dr. Majid Ezzati, a Harvard professor and lead author of a study published in the open-access journal Public Library of Science Medicine.
[ How many times do we hear that the present day is so wonderful because people live longer and healthier lives? It is nonsense, some are living longer medically assisted lives (healthier!?) and more and more people are not even salvagable. ]
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/359985_dyingsooner22.html