A Matter of Life and Death

For estate planners and estate administrators, the statistics of death are an unfortunate reality that we work with. The following are key findings on death in the United States in 2007 and is taken from the National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief (Dec. 2009):

• In 2007, the age-adjusted death rate for the United States reached a record low of 760.3 per 100,000 population. Life expectancy at birth reached a record high of 77.9 years. 
• States in the Southeast have higher death rates than those in other regions of the country. 
• In 2007, the five leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and accidents. These accounted for over 64 percent of all deaths in the United States. 
• White females have the longest life expectancy (80.7 years), followed by black females (77.0 years). 
• The gap in life expectancy between white persons and black persons declined by 35 percent between 1989 and 2007. The race differential was 4.6 years in 2007.

Special thanks to Edwin J. Cook for bringing this to my attention.