Delco Resident Life Span Shorter Than Neighboring Counties

Delaware County residents tend to live longer than many counties of the United States but shorter than surrounding counties, according to the latest life expectancy findings by a University of Washington study cited and mapped in the Washington Post last week.

In general, the study, which was an analysis that began in 1987 and completed in 2007, showed that women lived an average 2.5 years longer than men in the United States. However, those in the southern regions of the country received more alarming news: "both men and women in certain counties, particularly in the South and Southeast, can expect to die more than a decade sooner than others," reports the Post.

The average life expectancy of a Delco woman in 2007 was 80, up 2.3 percent from 78.2 in 1987, according to the study. For a man, it rose 3.3 percent, from 72.3 years in 1987 to 74.8 in 2007. The average life expectancy for a Pennsylvania woman in 2007 was 80.6 years, up from 78years in 1987, while the average life expectancy for a man in 2007 was 75.1, up from 71.1 in 1987.

The new life expectancy for women in Delco of 80 years tied with several other counties in the state, including Adams, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Susquehanna and Tioga counties, to name a few.

The figure for men in Delco of 74.8 years also tied with several other counties in the state, including Dauphin, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Susquehanna and Lebanon counties, to name a few.

However, in comparison with neighboring counties, Delco had a shorter life expectancy number than many–except in Philadelphia, where 77.6 years was calculated for women and 69.2 years for men in 2007.

In Lancaster County, women had a life expectancy of 81.4 years while men had an expectancy of 76.8 years. In Montgomery County, women could see an average life expectancy of 82 years and men 77.7 years. In Chester County, the numbers were just slightly higher: 82.2 years for women and 77.9 years for men.

The Post states that the average life expectancy for American men was 75.6 years in 2007, up from 73.7 years in 1997. And, for women, the study states it was 80.8 years in 2007, in comparison to 79.6  years in 1997. Both rank the United States as 37th in the world in 2007, according to the Post.