In 1950 men and women in the United States had a combined life expectancy of 68.9 years, the 12th highest life expectancy at birth in the world.
Today, life expectancy is up to 79.2 years, yet the country is now 28th on the list, behind the United Kingdom, Korea, Canada, and France, among others.
The United States does have higher rates of infant mortality and violent deaths than in other developed countries, but these factors do not fully account for the country's relatively poor ranking in life expectancy. International Differences in Mortality at Older Ages: Dimensions and Sources examines patterns in international differences in life expectancy above age 50 and assesses the evidence and arguments that have been advanced to explain the poor position of the United States relative to other countries.
The papers in this deeply researched volume identify gaps in measurement, data, theory, and research design and pinpoint areas for future high-priority research in this area. In addition to examining the differences in mortality around the world, the papers in International Differences in Mortality at Older Ages look at health factors and life-style choices commonly believed to contribute to the observed international differences in life expectancy.
They also identify strategic opportunities for health-related interventions.
This book offers a wide variety of disciplinary and scholarly perspectives to the study of mortality, and it offers in-depth analyses that can serve health professionals, policy makers, statisticians, and researchers. Table of ContentsFront Matter1 Introduction and Overview--Eileen M.
Crimmins, Samuel H. Preston,and Barney CohenPart I: Levels and Trends2 Diverging Trends in Life Expectancy at Age 50: A Look at Causesof Death--Dana A.
Glei, France Mesle, and Jacques Vallin3 Are International Differences in Health Similar to InternationalDifferences in Life Expectancy?--Eileen M.
Crimmins, Krista Garcia,and Jung Ki KimPart II: Identifying Causal Explanations4 Contribution of Smoking to International Differences in LifeExpectancy--Samuel H.
Preston, Dana A. Glei, and John R. Wilmoth5 Divergent Patterns of Smoking Across High-Income Nations--FredPampel6 Can Obesity Account for Cross-National Differences inLife-Expectancy Trends?--Dawn E.
Alley, Jennifer Lloyd, andMichelle Shardell7 The Contribution of Physical Activity to Divergent Trends inLongevity--Andrew Steptoe and Anna Wikman8 Do Cross-Country Variations in Social Integration and SocialInteractions Explain Differences in Life Expectancy inIndustrialized Countries?--James Banks, Lisa Berkman, and James P. Smith with Mauricio Avendano and Maria GlymourPart III: The U.S.
Health System9 Low Life Expectancy in the United States: Is the Health CareSystem at Fault?--Samuel H.
Preston and Jessica Ho10 Can Hormone Therapy Account for American Women's SurvivalDisadvantage?--Noreen GoldmanPart IV: Inequality11 Do Americans Have Higher Mortality Than Europeans at All Levelsof the Education Distribution?: A Comparison of the United Statesand 14 European Countries--Mauricio Avendano, Renske Kok, MariaGlymour, Lisa Berkman, Ichiro Kawachi, Anton Kunst, and JohanMackenbach with support from members of the Eurothine Consortium12 Geographic Differences in Life Expectancy at Age 50 in theUnited States Compared with Other High-Income Countries--John R. Wilmoth, Carl Boe, and Magali BarbieriPart V: International Case Studies13 Renewed Progress in Life Expectancy: The Case of theNetherlands--Johan Mackenbach and Joop Garssen14 The Divergent Life-Expectancy Trends in Denmark and Sweden - andSome Potential Explanations--Kaare Christensen, Michael Davidsen,Knud Juel, Laust Mortensen, Roland Rau, and James W.
VaupelBiographical Sketches of Contributors
