In a Half-Century Life Expectancy for Americans Climbs Eight Years - in Infectious Disease, Public Health from MedPage Today

Medical News: In a Half-Century Life Expectancy for Americans Climbs Eight Years - in Infectious Disease, Public Health from MedPage Today: "ATLANTA, Sept. 13 -- In the past 50 years, life expectancy has risen to the point that many American born in 2005 can expect to live to the age of about 78, which is eight years longer than for those born in 1955 when Eisenhower was president. According to the latest report form the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics the average live expectancy for a white American born in 2005 is 78.3 years and for black American born in 2005 average live expectancy is 73.2 years. But at the same time, preliminary figures also indicate an increase in the U.S. infant mortality rate from 6.79 per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 6.89 in 2005. The CDC said, however, that the increase was not statistically significant. "