Population Health Science in the United States Trends, Evidence, and Implications for Policy: Proceedings of a Joint Symposium (2022) / Chapter Skim
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2 Population Health in the United States
2 Population Health in the United States
Pages 5-16
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. Although life expectancy at birth for both men and women in the United States increased between 1980 and 2008, the data show that Americans live shorter lives relative to men and women in economically comparable countries.
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Where U.S. life expectancy actually ranks globally depends on the countries included in the comparison.
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counties, current life expectancy for women is actually lower than it was 30 years ago, which Crimmins said "is really quite shocking." Explaining Differences in Mortality Rates A variety of explanations have been offered to account for the differences in mortality rates between the United States and other economically comparable countries. Contributing factors include smoking history, obesity, access to medical care, policies that are not supportive of health, and a lack of social safety nets.
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Root Causes and Proposed Solutions Health and mortality in the United States continue to worsen relative to economically comparable countries, Crimmins summarized.
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In closing, Crimmins noted that she expected legislation on a life expectancy strategy to be proposed in the coming days.1 RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS DISPARITIES IN HEALTH Racial disparities in health have persisted over time, Williams said, and in his remarks he shared his perspective on priority areas to address this challenge. He reiterated the point made by Crimmins that the gap in life expectancy between white and black populations is much smaller today than it was in 1950, but there is still a gap.
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Disaggregated data are also needed to better understand the health stresses facing Hispanic populations and Asian populations in the United States, Williams stated. For example, the health of Mexican immigrants in the decade after arrival in the United States is similar to that of the U.S.born white population; however, their health profile changes negatively over their years of residence in the United States and becomes similar to that of the U.S.-born black and Mexican American populations (Kaestner et al., 2009)
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found that perceived discrimination against black adolescents in G eorgia (age 16 to 18) was associated with a higher allostatic load at age 20 (higher levels of stress hormones, and increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure, inflammation, and body mass index)
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These data suggest that the current environment is affecting health behaviors and potentially mental health among teens, Williams said. The American Psychological Association has found that the current political climate is a "very significant or somewhat significant source of stress" for many Americans across age and racial groups (APA, 2017)
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The United States currently ranks 34th in a ranking of child poverty in 35 economically comparable countries (UNICEF, 2012)
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Williams reiterated the need to secure the safety net and emphasized the importance of monitoring policy changes and studying their effect on health, including health inequities. These data are needed to inform advocacy efforts for strengthening the safety net.
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on life expectancy -- and about structural factors and systems that affect population health trends. A participant asked whether there are data to suggest that particular states or counties have been able improve on the life expectancy trends seen nationwide.
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"Earlylife exposures do affect adult health for all individuals, but they are not randomly distributed," he said, and he reiterated that health patterns are influenced by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and immigrant status. 2 See http://www.nationalcollaborative.org/our-programs/hope-initiative-project (ac cessed December 23, 2020)
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