Differences In Life Expectancy Due To Race And Educational Differences Are Widening, And Many May Not Catch Up

TLDR

Despite overall longevity gains, significant racial and educational disparities in life expectancy persist in the United States. The study aims to update estimates of race and education effects on life expectancy, examine disparity trends from 1990 to 2008, and assess their implications for an aging society. The authors analyze life expectancy data across racial and educational groups, tracking changes over time and contextualizing them within broader demographic shifts. In 2008, adults with fewer than 12 years of education had life expectancies comparable to 1950s–60s levels, and when race and education are combined, white individuals with 16 or more years of schooling outlived black individuals with fewer than 12 years by 14.2 years for men and 10.3 years for women, a widening gap that now creates distinct “Americas” of longevity and underscores the need for educational interventions across all ages.

Abstract

It has long been known that despite well-documented improvements in longevity for most Americans, alarming disparities persist among racial groups and between the well-educated and those with less education. In this article we update estimates of the impact of race and education on past and present life expectancy, examine trends in disparities from 1990 through 2008, and place observed disparities in the context of a rapidly aging society that is emerging at a time of optimism about the next revolution in longevity. We found that in 2008 US adult men and women with fewer than twelve years of education had life expectancies not much better than those of all adults in the 1950s and 1960s. When race and education are combined, the disparity is even more striking. In 2008 white US men and women with 16 years or more of schooling had life expectancies far greater than black Americans with fewer than 12 years of education-14.2 years more for white men than black men, and 10.3 years more for white women than black women. These gaps have widened over time and have led to at least two "Americas," if not multiple others, in terms of life expectancy, demarcated by level of education and racial-group membership. The message for policy makers is clear: implement educational enhancements at young, middle, and older ages for people of all races, to reduce the large gap in health and longevity that persists today.