Life Shorter in Louisiana, Study Finds; Minnesota Expectancy Longest at 77
A national health statistics study reports that Louisiana residents have the shortest life expectancy of those in any other state, and residents of the nation’s capital have even shorter expectations.
The study by the National Center for Health Statistics said Louisiana residents live an average of 71.7 years. District residents average only 69.2 years.
Minnesotans live longest--77 years.
Paul Gunderson, director of the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics in St. Paul, credited genetics, health care and “risk-taking” behavior for Minnesota’s high rating and Louisiana’s low one.
He said the greater percentage of nonwhites in Louisiana probably lowered average life expectancies, because minorities traditionally “do not enjoy the same health care when they’re infants and young children.”
He also said minorities seem to be exposed to more risks because a greater number of them live in high-crime areas.
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