VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Life Expectancy (EQ6)

FULL MEASURE NAME Life Expectancy

LAST UPDATED April 2017

DESCRIPTION Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns remain the same. The measure reflects the mortality rate across a population for a point in time.

DATA SOURCE State of California, Department of Health: Death Records (1990-2013) No link

California Department of Finance: Population Estimates Annual Intercensal Population Estimates (1990-2010) Table P-2: County Population by Age (2010-2013) http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Life expectancy is commonly used as a measure of the health of a population. Life expectancy does not reflect how long any given individual is expected to live; rather, it is an artificial measure that captures an aspect of the mortality rates across a population. Vital Signs measures life expectancy at birth (as opposed to cohort life expectancy). A statistical model was used to estimate life expectancy for Bay Area counties and Zip codes based on current life tables which require both age and mortality data. A life table is a table which shows, for each age, the survivorship of a people from a certain population.

Current life tables were created using death records and population estimates by age. The California Department of Public Health provided death records based on the California death certificate information. Records include age at death and residential Zip code. Single-year age population estimates at the regional- and county-level comes from the California Department of Finance population estimates and projections for ages 0-100+. Population estimates for ages 100 and over are aggregated to a single age interval. Using this data, death rates in a population within age groups for a given year are computed to form unabridged life tables (as opposed to abridged life tables). To calculate life expectancy, the probability of dying between the jth and (j+1)st birthday is assumed uniform after age 1. Special consideration is taken to account for infant mortality. For the Zip code-level life expectancy calculation, it is assumed that postal Zip codes share the same boundaries as Zip Code Census Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs). More information on the relationship between Zip codes and ZCTAs can be found at https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/zctas.html. Zip code-level data uses three years of mortality data to make robust estimates due to small sample size. Year 2013 Zip code life expectancy estimates reflects death records from 2011 through 2013. 2013 is the last year with available mortality data. Death records for Zip codes with zero population (like those associated with P.O. Boxes) were assigned to the nearest Zip code with population. Zip code population for 2000 estimates comes from the Decennial Census. Zip code population for 2013 estimates are from the American Community Survey (5-Year Average). The ACS provides Zip code population by age in five-year age intervals. Single-year age population estimates were calculated by distributing population within an age interval to single-year ages using the county distribution. Counties were assigned to Zip codes based on majority land-area.

Zip codes in the Bay Area vary in population from over 10,000 residents to less than 20 residents. Traditional life expectancy estimation (like the one used for the regional- and county-level Vital Signs estimates) cannot be used because they are highly inaccurate for small populations and may result in over/underestimation of life expectancy. To avoid inaccurate estimates, Zip codes with populations of less than 5,000 were aggregated with neighboring Zip codes until the merged areas had a population of more than 5,000. In this way, the original 305 Bay Area Zip codes were reduced to 218 Zip code areas for 2013 estimates. Next, a form of Bayesian random-effects analysis was used which established a prior distribution of the probability of death at each age using the regional distribution. This prior is used to shore up the life expectancy calculations where data were sparse.

County-level life expectancy estimates for men and women, by income quartile

Life expectancy by sex, race/ethnicity, age; trends if available. Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department, VRBIS, 2007-2016. Data as of 05/26/2017; U.S. Census Bureau; 2010 Census, Tables PCT12, PCT12H, PCT12I, PCT12J, PCT12K, PCT12L, PCT12M; generated by Baath M.; using American FactFinder; Accessed June 20, 2017. METADATA:Notes (String): Lists table title, notes and sourcesYear (Numeric): Year of dataCategory (String): Lists the category representing the data: Santa Clara County is for total population, sex: Male and Female, race/ethnicity: African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino and White (non-Hispanic White only); United StatesAge, in years (Numeric): Life expectancy

This dataset provides estimates for life expectancy at birth at the county level for each state, the District of Columbia, and the United States as a whole for 1980-2014, as well as the changes in life expectancy and mortality risk for each location during this period.

This data package contains datasets on causes, risk factor, deaths, death rate, years of life lost (YLL), years lived with disability (YLD), disability-adjusted life years (DALY), life expectancy and health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) from the global burden of disease in the United States.

We used individual-level death data to estimate county-level life expectancy at 25 (e25) for Whites, Black, AIAN and Asian in the contiguous US for 2000-2005. Race-sex-stratified models were used to examine the associations among e25, rurality and specific race proportion, adjusted for socioeconomic variables. Individual death data from the National Center for Health Statistics were aggregated as death counts into five-year age groups by county and race-sex groups for the contiguous US for years 2000-2005 (National Center for Health Statistics 2000-2005). We used bridged-race population estimates to calculate five-year mortality rates. The bridged population data mapped 31 race categories, as specified in the 1997 Office of Management and Budget standards for the collection of data on race and ethnicity, to the four race categories specified under the 1977 standards (the same as race categories in mortality registration) (Ingram et al. 2003). The urban-rural gradient was represented by the 2003 Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC), which distinguished metropolitan counties by population size, and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area (United States Department of Agriculture 2016). We obtained county-level sociodemographic data for 2000-2005 from the US Census Bureau. These included median household income, percent of population attaining greater than high school education (high school%), and percent of county occupied rental units (rent%). We obtained county violent crime from Uniform Crime Reports and used it to calculate mean number of violent crimes per capita (Federal Bureau of Investigation 2010). This dataset is not publicly accessible because: EPA cannot release personally identifiable information regarding living individuals, according to the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This dataset contains information about human research subjects. Because there is potential to identify individual participants and disclose personal information, either alone or in combination with other datasets, individual level data are not appropriate to post for public access. Restricted access may be granted to authorized persons by contacting the party listed. It can be accessed through the following means: Request to author. Format: Data are stored as csv files. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Jian, Y., L. Neas, L. Messer, C. Gray, J. Jagai, K. Rappazzo, and D. Lobdell. Divergent trends in life expectancy across the rural-urban gradient among races in the contiguous United States. International Journal of Public Health. Springer Basel AG, Basel, SWITZERLAND, 64(9): 1367-1374, (2019).

This multi-scale map shows life expectancy - a widely-used measure of health and mortality. From the County Health Rankings page about Life Expectancy:"Life Expectancy is an AverageLife Expectancy measures the average number of years from birth a person can expect to live, according to the current mortality experience (age-specific death rates) of the population. Life Expectancy takes into account the number of deaths in a given time period and the average number of people at risk of dying during that period, allowing us to compare data across counties with different population sizes.Life Expectancy is Age-AdjustedAge is a non-modifiable risk factor, and as age increases, poor health outcomes are more likely. Life Expectancy is age-adjusted in order to fairly compare counties with differing age structures.What Deaths Count Toward Life Expectancy?Deaths are counted in the county where the individual lived. So, even if an individual dies in a car crash on the other side of the state, that death is attributed to his/her home county.Some Data are SuppressedA missing value is reported for counties with fewer than 5,000 population-years-at-risk in the time frame.Measure LimitationsLife Expectancy includes mortality of all age groups in a population instead of focusing just on premature deaths and thus can be dominated by deaths of the elderly.[1] This could draw attention to areas with higher mortality rates among the oldest segment of the population, where there may be little that can be done to change chronic health problems that have developed over many years. However, this captures the burden of chronic disease in a population better than premature death measures.[2]Furthermore, the calculation of life expectancy is complex and not easy to communicate. Methodologically, it can produce misleading results caused by hidden differences in age structure, is sensitive to infant and child mortality, and tends to be overestimated in small populations."Breakdown by race/ethnicity in pop-up: (This map has been updated with new data, so figures may vary from those in this image.)There are many factors that play into life expectancy: rates of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity, prevalence of tobacco use, prevalence of domestic violence, and many more.Proven strategies to improve life expectancy and health in general A database of dozens of strategies can be found at County Health Rankings' What Works for Health site, sorted by Health Behaviors, Clinical Care, Social & Economic Factors, and Physical Environment. Policies and Programs listed here have been evaluated as to their effectiveness. For example, consumer-directed health plans received an evidence rating of "mixed evidence" whereas cultural competence training for health care professionals received a rating of "scientifically supported." Data from County Health Rankings (layer referenced below), available for nation, state, and county, and available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

Access to healthcare, lifestyle, diet, and exercise are some of the determining factors considering life expectancy. In 2023, men and women had the highest life expectancy at birth in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, measuring at almost 75 years for men, while women at **** years, respectively. During the same year, the life expectancy for both men and women was the lowest in the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén. Are Hungarians in good health? According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, in 2021, ** percent of men and ** percent of women perceived their state of health as good or very good, which represented an increase compared to the preceding period. However, considering their body mass index (BMI), over a third of the country’s adult population qualified as overweight and every fourth person as obese. In addition to weight problems, the country also recorded a considerable number of alcoholics over the past decade with their number totaling *** individuals as of 2020. Chronic diseases As of 2023, ** percent of Hungarian men and ** percent of women suffered from chronic diseases while the number of chronically ill people in the country totaled *** million. Malignant neoplasms, in other words cancerous tumors became the leading cause of death over the past years, accounting for ** thousand deaths in 2023. In the same year, prostate cancer accounted for a considerable share of new cancer cases in men while a significant number of newly diagnosed women patients suffered from breast cancer.

Abstract

The Health Inequality Project uses big data to measure differences in life expectancy by income across areas and identify strategies to improve health outcomes for low-income Americans.

Section 7

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each percentile of the national income distribution. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported.

Source

Section 13

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each percentile of the national income distribution separately by year. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported.

Source

Section 6

This dataset was created on 2020-01-10 18:53:00.508 by merging multiple datasets together. The source datasets for this version were:

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy Estimates by year: CZ-level by-year life expectancy estimates for men and women, by income quartile

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy: Commuting zone (CZ)-level life expectancy estimates for men and women, by income quartile

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy Trends: CZ-level estimates of trends in life expectancy for men and women, by income quartile

Commuting Zone Characteristics: CZ-level characteristics

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy for larger populations: CZ-level life expectancy estimates for men and women, by income ventile

Section 15

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution by state of residence and year. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported.

Source

Section 11

This table reports US mortality rates by gender, age, year and household income percentile. Household incomes are measured two years prior to the mortality rate for mortality rates at ages 40-63, and at age 61 for mortality rates at ages 64-76. The “lag” variable indicates the number of years between measurement of income and mortality.

Observations with 1 or 2 deaths have been masked: all mortality rates that reflect only 1 or 2 deaths have been recoded to reflect 3 deaths

Source

Section 3

This table reports coefficients and standard errors from regressions of life expectancy estimates for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution on calendar year by commuting zone of residence. Only the slope coefficient, representing the average increase or decrease in life expectancy per year, is reported. Trend estimates for both race-adjusted and unadjusted life expectancies are reported. Estimates are reported for the 100 largest CZs (populations greater than 590,000) only.

Source

Section 9

This table reports life expectancy estimates at age 40 for Males and Females for all countries. Source: World Health Organization, accessed at: http://apps.who.int/gho/athena/

Source

Section 10

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution by county of residence. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported. Estimates are reported for counties with populations larger than 25,000 only

Source

Section 2

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution by commuting zone of residence and year. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported. Estimates are reported for the 100 largest CZs (populations greater than 590,000) only.

Source

Section 8

This table reports US population and death counts by age, year, and sex from various sources. Counts labelled “dm1” are derived from the Social Security Administration Data Master 1 file. Counts labelled “irs” are derived from tax data. Counts labelled “cdc” are derived from NCHS life tables.

Source

Section 12

This table reports numerous county characteristics, compiled from various sources. These characteristics are described in the county life expectancy table.

Two variables constructed by the Cen

Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Total data was reported at 77.725 Year in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 76.508 Year for 2022. Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 68.768 Year from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 77.725 Year in 2023 and a record low of 56.609 Year in 1960. Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision; or derived from male and female life expectancy at birth from sources such as: (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.;Weighted average;

Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Female data was reported at 80.452 Year in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 79.471 Year for 2022. Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 73.432 Year from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 80.452 Year in 2023 and a record low of 58.459 Year in 1960. Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.;Weighted average;

This dataset includes estimates of U.S. life expectancy at birth by state and census tract for the period 2010-2015 (1). Estimates were produced for 65,662 census tracts, covering the District of Columbia (D.C.) and all states, excluding Maine and Wisconsin, representing 88.7% of all U.S. census tracts (see notes). These estimates are the result of the collaborative project, “U.S. Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project (USALEEP),” between the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) (2).

This table contains 2754 series, with data for years 2005/2007 - 2012/2014 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (153 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority, Newfoundland and Labrador; Central Regional Integrated Health Authority, Newfoundland and Labrador; ...); Age group (2 items: At birth; At age 65); Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Males; Females); Characteristics (3 items: Life expectancy; Low 95% confidence interval, life expectancy; High 95% confidence interval, life expectancy).

Between 2021 and 2023, life expectancy for women in the United Kingdom was highest in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, at 86.46 years, while for men it was highest in Hart, at 83.44.

Context

The geo URI scheme is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) . https://data.gov.uk/dataset/27cb8743-a623-424c-b097-12c398697828/life-expectancy

Licence: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Enquiries : https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/contact
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests: CustomerInformationService@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Content

Life expectancy is a summary measure of the all-cause mortality rates in an area in a given period. It shows an estimate of the average number of years a newborn baby would survive if he or she experienced the age-specific mortality rates for that area and time period throughout his or her life. Figures reflect mortality among those living in an area in the given time period, not the life expectancy of newborn children. That is because both the mortality rates of the area are likely to change in the future, and because many of those born in the area will live elsewhere for at least some part of their lives. Life expectancy is a summary measure of a population's health. It may be influenced by premature mortalities and health inequalities. Data source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Acknowledgements

https://data.gov.uk/dataset/27cb8743-a623-424c-b097-12c398697828/life-expectancy

Photo by Amir Hanna on Unsplash

Inspiration

Lincs Inspire Limited a registered charity committed to inspiring people in and around North East Lincolnshire to lead more active and healthy lives through a wide range of sporting, leisure, cultural and learning services.

Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a group of infants would live if they were to experience, throughout their lives, the age-specific death rates prevailing during a specified period. Life expectancy at birth estimates were calculated using abridged period life tables according to the Chiang method. Estimates are based on provisional data and subject to change. Unstable estimates are excluded and are defined as having confidence intervals greater than 6 years, i.e., +/-3.0 years. The average life expectancy of a population is one of the most basic and important measures of the health of a community. Life expectancy is heavily driven by the social determinants of health, including social, economic, and environmental conditions, with Black and low-income individuals experiencing much lower life expectancies compared to White and more affluent individuals.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

Life expectancy at birth in Kenya was registered at **** years for women and **** years for men in 2019. In some Kenyan counties, the estimate surpassed the average. In Nyeri, for instance, women lived longer, some **** years, and men had the highest life expectancy in the same country, at **** years. On the other hand, Tana River registered the lowest expectancy for women (**** years) and Migori and Homa Bay for men (**** years). In general, women lived longer than men overall in Kenya, with Isiolo county as the only exception.

Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data was reported at 74.950 Year in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 73.560 Year for 2022. Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 65.010 Year from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 74.950 Year in 2023 and a record low of 54.775 Year in 1960. Colombia CO: Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.;Weighted average;

This multi-scale map shows life expectancy - a widely-used measure of health and mortality. From the 2020 County Health Rankings page about Life Expectancy:"Life Expectancy is an AverageLife Expectancy measures the average number of years from birth a person can expect to live, according to the current mortality experience (age-specific death rates) of the population. Life Expectancy takes into account the number of deaths in a given time period and the average number of people at risk of dying during that period, allowing us to compare data across counties with different population sizes.Life Expectancy is Age-AdjustedAge is a non-modifiable risk factor, and as age increases, poor health outcomes are more likely. Life Expectancy is age-adjusted in order to fairly compare counties with differing age structures.What Deaths Count Toward Life Expectancy?Deaths are counted in the county where the individual lived. So, even if an individual dies in a car crash on the other side of the state, that death is attributed to his/her home county.Some Data are SuppressedA missing value is reported for counties with fewer than 5,000 population-years-at-risk in the time frame.Measure LimitationsLife Expectancy includes mortality of all age groups in a population instead of focusing just on premature deaths and thus can be dominated by deaths of the elderly.[1] This could draw attention to areas with higher mortality rates among the oldest segment of the population, where there may be little that can be done to change chronic health problems that have developed over many years. However, this captures the burden of chronic disease in a population better than premature death measures.[2]Furthermore, the calculation of life expectancy is complex and not easy to communicate. Methodologically, it can produce misleading results caused by hidden differences in age structure, is sensitive to infant and child mortality, and tends to be overestimated in small populations."Click on the map to see a breakdown by race/ethnicity in the pop-up: Full details about this measureThere are many factors that play into life expectancy: rates of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity, prevalence of tobacco use, prevalence of domestic violence, and many more.Data from County Health Rankings 2020 (in this layer and referenced below), available for nation, state, and county, and available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World

There are two types of life tables –cohort/generational and current/period life tables. Cohort life tables are constructed using the mortality experience of the cohort and may not be useful for the cohort itself because every member of the cohort has to die before such a table can be constructed. A current or period life table uses current mortality experience applied to a cohort of births to compute the life table. On the basis of age intervals, life tables are classified as complete or abridged. A complete life table uses exact single years and an abridged life table uses age intervals. This report presents five-year age interval abridged current life tables. Computation of an abridged life table from which life expectancy is derived requires mainly population and death data by age and sex. In this report, population data consist of the 1990, 2000, and 2010 census counts of residents of each Illinois County and the city of Chicago. These data were aggregated into five-year age groups and by sex and used as denominators in computing mortality rates. The death data were received from the Illinois Center for Health Statistics (ICHS) of the Office of Health Informatics (OHI). ICHS receives these data from the Illinois Vital Records System (IVRS). Number of deaths by sex and specific age for each county were obtained from 1989 to 2011 and aggregated at county level by five-year age groups for each sex. Three-year averages were then computed for the periods 1989-1991, 1999-2001, and 2009-2011 and were used as numerators in computing mortality rates. The overall life tables were constructed using Chiang’s (1984) Method II. This method assumes a homogeneous population in which all individuals are subjected to the same force of mortality, and in which survival of an individual is independent of the survival of any other individual in the group. The method does not remove fluctuations in observed data; therefore, the 2 produced life tables exhibit more the factual mortality pattern in the actual data and less the underlying mortality picture of the populations. Margin of errors were computed to provide basis for evaluating the accuracy of the estimated life expectancies.