Americans Living Longer and U.S. Death Rate Falls for 10th Straight Year

We’re living longer according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and death rate is falling. Life expectancy at birth increased to 78.2 years in 2009, up slightly from 78.0 years in 2008. Life expectancy was up two-tenths of a year for males (75.7 years) and up one-tenth of a year for females (80.6 years). The age-adjusted death rate for the U.S. population fell to an all-time low of 741 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009 — 2.3 percent lower than the 2008 rate, according to preliminary 2009 death statistics released last week by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. This marks the 10th year in a row that U.S. deaths rates have declined. 

Read the CDC news release here and full report here.