Americans Healthier--and They’re Paying for It

Americans are healthier and living longer, but they are also paying steeply for it, the government said Wednesday in its annual report on the nation’s health.

Life expectancy is at a record high and infant mortality at a new low, the report said.

Although infant mortality fell to an estimated 10.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 1984, health experts said they continue to worry about the slowing pace of the decline and a persistent gap between the rate at which white and black infants die.

A child born in 1983 could expect to live 74.6 years, a new high, the study said. The longest life expectancy is enjoyed by white females, 78.7 years; the shortest by black males, 65.4 years.

On average, a man who turned 45 in 1983 could expect to live to age 74.7, more than three years longer than his 1950 counterpart, while a woman celebrating her 45th birthday in 1983 could expect to live to 80.4, more than 4 1/2 years longer than the 45-year-old woman of 1950.

Gains in the nation’s health have not come cheaply, however.

Per-capita spending on health reached $1,580 in 1984, three times the amount spent 10 years earlier, the report said. And medical inflation continues to surpass the overall rise in consumer prices, although at a slower pace than in recent years.

Gains in life expectancy were attributed in large part to the decline in cigarette smoking and to improved treatment of high blood pressure.

While more than half of all adult males smoked in 1965, that figure dropped to about 35% in 1983. Statistics for women showed a much smaller decline in smoking, from 34.2% to 29.9%--and black women showed an increase.

The gap between white and black infant mortality continues. Black infants are almost twice as likely to die in their first year as white infants.

And, while infant mortality is dropping, the rate of decline appears to have slowed. During the 1970s, infant mortality declined by about 4.5% a year. But over the last three years, the report said, the rate has slowed to an average of about 2.6% a year.