Journal article
"Spatial Variability and Clustering of Life Expectancy in the US: 1990-2019"
Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), v 36(5)
28 May 2025
PMID: 40433983
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Longevity has stagnated during the last decade in the US, but this stagnation has not been homogeneous. We aimed to explore the spatial variation of life expectancy by sex across commuting zones in the contiguous US from 1990 to 2019.
We computed sex-specific life expectancy at birth for US commuting zones across six 5-year periods (1990-1994 to 2015-2019) and examined the spatial variability of life expectancy and clustering of baseline and changes in life expectancy during the study period.
Overall life expectancy increased over time for both males and females and recently stagnated, while variability has increased for females. Regardless of sex, commuting zones with low baseline life expectancy that worsened over time were concentrated in the Appalachian region and Deep South. Areas with high baseline life expectancy and improved the most over time were scattered throughout the Midwest, Northwest, and West.
The recent stagnation in life expectancy reflects wide spatial heterogeneity in changes in longevity. Growing spatial differences in longevity render males and females in the South, specifically the Appalachia and along the Mississippi River, to consistently live disproportionate short lives. Further studies should explore the contribution of different causes of death and the potential contextual drivers of these patterns.
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Details
- Title
- "Spatial Variability and Clustering of Life Expectancy in the US: 1990-2019"
- Creators
- Isabel P De Ramos - Drexel UniversityTara McAlexander - Drexel UniversityUsama Bilal - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), v 36(5)
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health: DP5OD26429
U.B. was supported by the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health under grant number DP5OD26429. The funder had no role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, and on the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative; Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001539349100007
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105006583054
- Other Identifier
- 991022054236004721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health