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Life expectancy is a widely accepted and standard measure of health outcomes. It is revised annually based on mortality data collected from the States. The latest published data, for 1994, show a life expectancy in the United States of 75.7 years (72.4 years for males and 79.0 years for females). This level has changed slowly in recent years.
Life expectancy is included in this set of U.S. sustainable development indicators as a broad-based measure of health. Human health is one of the most important parameters of sustainable development; if poor health prevents us from working and being able to contribute to society as a whole, we may be unable to meet our own needs and to lay a solid foundation for future generations.
There is a direct and substantial relationship between economic development, life expectancy, and other measures of health such as infant mortality and other types of premature death. As might be expected, developing countries with withspread poverty often lack the resources to provide for such basic needs as food, shelter, clothing, and medical care and this can adversely impact on life expectancy at birth. However, even for developed countries, protracted changes in life expectancy can result from significant shifts in a variety of social, economic and environmental factors important to maintaining a healthy population. Unfavorable changes in U.S. life expectancy at birth would indicate the need to consider other indicators linked to the overall health of the population.
Link(s) to be added, when feasible, to data at level of detail suitable
for use at the community level.
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http://www.sdi.gov/indicators/lc_lspan.htm Last Modified: May 13, 2002 |