Why Are Uneducated White Women Dying Sooner?

Authors of a new study published in last month’s edition of the Journal of Health Affairs found that White women lacking a high school diploma experienced a five-year decline in average life expectancy from 1990-2008, the largest of any demographic in the report “Differences In Life Expectancy Due to Race and Educational Differences Are Widening, And Many May Not Catch Up.”

When it comes to health in the U.S., researchers say there is a sharp divide in average life expectancy based upon income. Those with higher incomes and education tend to live longer than those who don’t. It’s a statistical reality that has been observed by medical researchers for many years.

The exact reasons for this sharp decline, however, have baffled researchers, including S. Jay Olshansky, the study’s lead researcher. “We actually don’t know the exact reasons why it’s happened,” said Olshansky, who studies human longevity at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “I wish we did.”

Olshansky notes that such a drop is almost unheard of for any demographic in the history of the U.S. Although racial minorities and poorer Americans have historically lagged behind White middle class citizens, gains or declines for any group are usually small and gradual.

“If you look at the history of longevity in the United States, there have been no dramatic negative or positive shocks,” Olshansky says. “With the exception of the 1918 influenza pandemic, everything has been relatively steady, slow changes. This is a five-year drop in an 18-year time period. That’s dramatic.”

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