Life Expectancy News and Research

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Life expectancy is the expected (in the statistical sense) number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by e''x'', which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged ''x'', according to a particular mortality experience.

U.S. trails 16 other affluent countries in life expectancy, health status

It's no news that the U.S. has lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than most high-income countries. But a magisterial new report says Americans are actually less healthy across their entire life spans than citizens of 16 other wealthy nations.

11 Jan 2013

Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than others

On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. The report finds that this health disadvantage exists at all ages from birth to age 75 and that even advantaged Americans -- those who have health insurance, college educations, higher incomes, and healthy behaviors -- appear to be sicker than their peers in other rich nations.

11 Jan 2013

SLU researchers to test new screening method for MPS disorders among infants

Researchers at Saint Louis University have received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to test a new method of screening newborns for a group of rare, but serious genetic disorders that affect approximately 200 babies born in the U.S., each year.

11 Jan 2013

Reducing air pollution from wood stoves may increase life expectancy

Reducing a person’s exposure to wood or biomass smoke can help increase their life expectancy, suggest findings from a study published in the BMJ.

9 Jan 2013

Adolescents may lose hepatitis B virus protection despite vaccination as infants

New research reveals that a significant number of adolescents lose their protection from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, despite having received a complete vaccination series as infants. Results in the January 2013 issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, suggest teens with high-risk mothers (those positive for HBeAg) and teens whose immune system fails to remember a previous viral exposure (immunological memory) are behind HBV reinfection.

8 Jan 2013

Computed tomography-induced cancer risk may be overstated

Clinicians should be careful not to overemphasize the risk for radiation-induced cancer when counseling patients on undergoing surveillance computed tomography imaging, caution US scientists.

24 Dec 2012

PEPFAR scale-up linked to strengthening of health systems, study says

Noting "PEPFAR has been criticized for its vertical or 'stove-piping' structure, with resources targeting a specific disease rather than working to strengthen the underlying health system," a study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes "aimed to evaluate whether PEPFAR activities were associated with system-wide improvements in both proximal and distal indicators of health systems strengthening."

21 Dec 2012

Findings emphasize importance of counseling HIV patients on smoking cessation

Among HIV patients receiving well-organized care with free access to antiretroviral therapy, those who smoke lose more years of life to smoking than to HIV, according to a Danish study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The findings highlight the importance of smoking cessation efforts in the long-term, integrated care of patients infected with HIV.

19 Dec 2012

Sit–rise test may guide mortality risk stratification

Assessing how much support a middle-aged or elderly person requires to sit and rise from the floor could be an indicator of all-cause mortality risk, researchers say.

17 Dec 2012

Democrats wary of Medicare benefits cuts being discussed in fiscal talks

Talk of hiking costs for wealthier beneficiaries and increasing the program's eligibility age appear to make some Democrats nervous, and may be causing difficulties in the Democratic caucus.

17 Dec 2012

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Global lifespans have risen dramatically in the past 40 years, but the increased life expectancy is not benefitting everybody equally, say University of Toronto researchers. In particular, adult males from low- and middle-income countries are losing ground.

17 Dec 2012

Simple screening test of musculo-skeletal fitness proves predictive of all-cause mortality

A simple screening test of musculo-skeletal fitness has proved remarkably predictive of all-cause mortality in a study of more than 2000 middle-aged and older men and women.

14 Dec 2012

TUBB5 gene responsible for microcephaly: IMP study

Neurobiologists at the Research institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna have discovered one of the key genes required to make a brain. Mutations in this gene, called TUBB5, cause neurodevelopmental disease in children.

14 Dec 2012

Top-line results from AstraZeneca’s fostamatinib Phase IIb monotherapy study on RA

AstraZeneca today announced top-line results of OSKIRA-4, a Phase IIb monotherapy study of fostamatinib, the first kinase inhibitor with selectivity for SYK (spleen tyrosine kinase) in development as an oral treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

13 Dec 2012

Sirtex unveils new website to learn more about SIR-Spheres microspheres

Sirtex today unveiled a new, comprehensive and easy-to-use global website for doctors, nurses, patients and investors interested in learning more about SIR-Spheres microspheres, a form of radiotherapy targeting liver tumours that is gaining increasingly wide acceptance worldwide.

13 Dec 2012

Opioids already in the body can enhance malignant tendencies of human cancer cells

A study led by University of Chicago researcher Patrick A. Singleton, Ph.D. and published in the journal Anesthesiology has shown that, even without the addition of further opioids such as morphine, opioids already in the body can enhance the malignant tendencies of human cancer cells.

13 Dec 2012

Physical activity associated with longevity gains

Adults who include at least 150 minutes of physical activity in their routines each week live longer than those who don't, finds a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

12 Dec 2012

Decreased air pollution continues to increase life expectancy in USA

Significant reductions in air pollution over the past decade have improved life expectancy across various US counties, report researchers, although they stress that optimum air quality levels have not yet been reached.

12 Dec 2012

Research unveils key gaps in continuity of care for sickle cell patients

Research unveiling key gaps in continuity of care for sickle cell patients transitioning from pediatric to adult care will be presented this week during the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

11 Dec 2012

Celgene announces results from REVLIMID plus VIDAZA phase II study on AML

Celgene International Sàrl today announced that results from a study evaluating the combination of REVLIMID (lenalidomide) plus VIDAZA (azacitidine) in patients 60 years or older with untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Atlanta, GA.

11 Dec 2012