U.S. Latinos Live Longer

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According to new findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Latinos in the United States live at least three years longer than black and white Americans. The CDC reported that Latinos in this country live an average of at least three years longer than other racial and ethnic minorities.

A Latino born in 2014 has a life expectancy of 81.8 years compared to 78.8 for whites and 75.2 for blacks. The new data reflects what is being called the “Hispanic mortality paradox,” in which Latino life expectancy has been steadily climbing since 2006 when it was 80.3 years.

“On average, [Latinos] are low-income and have a poverty rate similar to blacks, making it surprising they have lower mortality and then in turn higher life expectancy than the majority population,” said Dr. Elizabeth Arias, demographer at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and author of the new report.

The data indicated that Latino women tended to lead longer lives than Latino men, with their average lifespan being 84 years as opposed to 79.2 years. The CDC’s statistics showed that U.S. Latinos have lower instances of heart disease and cancer than blacks and whites. However, Latinos are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with diet-related illnesses, such as diabetes.

The report is based on national death certificate data. It wasn’t until 1997 that death certificates in all 50 states added “Hispanic” to descriptive categories for race and ethnicity. Accurate federal data for Latino life expectancy dates back to only 2006.

Read more about the report here.

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