States with the lowest life expectancies Alexander E.M.

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States with the lowest life expectancies

Alexander E.M. Hess, 24/7 Wall St.Published 7:02 a.m. ET Dec. 27, 2014

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The United States has a health problem. Across the country, life expectancies routinely fail to meet the standards set by other developed nations. Differences in life expectancy between the United States and other developed nations, such as Switzerland and Japan, are dramatic.

One major problem facing the United States is the extreme disparity in life expectancies. In Mississippi, the life expectancy at birth in was just 75 years as of 2010, the lowest in the nation. In both Hawaii and Minnesota, a resident born in 2010 could expect to live 81 years on average, six years more than in Mississippi.

The consequences of a shortened life expectancy are severe. Mortality rates are highest in the states with the lowest life expectancies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In four of these states, the 2012 age-adjusted mortality rate was greater than 900 deaths per 100,000 people. By comparison, the nationwide rate was 732.8 deaths per 100,000 people.

Poor health can have an intergenerational effect as well. In the states with the lowest life expectancies at birth, infants were far more likely to suffer from low birthweight. A low birthweight points to two issues: possibly poor parental health and potential future health problems for the infant.

Some contributors to poor health, and the resulting low life expectancies, are preventable. Smoking, for instance, was far more prevalent in the states with the lowest life expectancies. In West Virginia, more than 27% of adults smoked as of last year. By comparison, just 19% of Americans were smokers. Physical inactivity is also quite high in such states, led by Mississippi, where 35% of people did not exercise regularly.

In order to identify the states with the lowest life expectancies at birth in 2010 24/7 Wall St. reviewed figures from the OECD's 2014 study on regional well-being. Data on age-adjusted mortality rates are from the CDC for 2012. Figures on poverty and health insurance coverage are from the Census Bureau's 2013 American Community Survey. Other figures cited are from the 2014 edition of America's Health Rankings, an annual study from the United Health Foundation.

These are the states with the lowest life expectancy.

1. Mississippi

> Life expectancy: 75.0 years
> Obesity rate: 35.1% (tied-the highest)
> Poverty rate: 24.0% (the highest)

Mississippi had the lowest life expectancy at birth in the United States, at just 75 years in 2010. Contributing to this, MIssissippi was tied for the nation's most obese state in 2013, with an obesity rate greater than 35%. Mississippians are also the least physically active Americans. Poor health behaviors may contribute to alarmingly high numbers of children born at low birthweights, as well as to premature deaths. As of 2012, there were 10,354 years of life lost prematurely for every 100,000 people, the highest rate in the nation.

MORE: America's most (and least) healthy states

2. Alabama

> Life expectancy: 75.4 years (tied-2nd highest)
> Obesity rate: 32.4% (8th highest)
> Poverty rate: 18.7% (7th highest)

In 2012, Alabama was one of three states where more than 10,000 years of life were lost prematurely, which is the number of years lost by people who died before they reached age 75. Poor health outcomes, such as the nation's highest rates of diabetes and cardiovascular deaths, contributed to the high level of years of life lost prematurely. There were 329.2 cardiovascular-related deaths per 100,000 people from 2010 to 2012, the second highest rate nationally.

3. West Virginia

> Life expectancy: 75.4 years (tied-2nd highest)
> Obesity rate: 35.1% (tied-the highest)
> Poverty rate: 18.5% (10th highest)

In 2012, West Virginia had 93.3 preventable hospitalizations for every 1,000 Medicare enrollees, more than in almost any other state. This marks a dramatic improvement from the prior year, when there were more than 103 such hospitalizations per 1,000 enrollees. Still, West Virginia had one of the nation's worst smoking rates and was tied for the nation's most obese state, at 35.1% of all adults. It also had 31.3 drug-related deaths for every 100,000 people from 2010 to 2012, by far the worst rate in the nation.

4. Louisiana

> Life expectancy: 75.7 years
> Obesity rate: 33.1% (6th highest)
> Poverty rate: 19.8% (3rd highest)

Louisiana had some of the highest rates of smoking, inactivity, and obesity in the nation. More than 33% of people in the state were obese in 2013, versus 29.4% of all Americans. Poverty is a major factor contributing to obesity, and Louisianans are quite poor. Nearly 20% of the state's population lived in poverty in 2013, the third highest rate nationwide. Obesity, in turn, contributes to the state's high level of diabetes, which afflicted 11.6% of the population in 2013.

5. Oklahoma

> Life expectancy: 75.9 years
> Obesity rate: 32.5% (7th highest)
> Poverty rate: 16.8% (16th highest)

A combination of unhealthy behaviors contributed to Oklahoma's low life expectancy. Worse still, the state has comparatively few general physicians taking care of the population and encouraging people to be healthy. There were just 84.8 primary care physicians per 100,000 people, third fewest of any state. Nearly 18% of the state did not have health care coverage last year, one of the worst rates in the nation.

24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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