WHITES WIDEN GAP IN LIFESPAN

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992                   TAG: 9201080185
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
WHITES WIDEN GAP IN LIFESPAN
The difference in life expectancy between black and white Americans widened in 1989, continuing a trend that has been evident for half a decade, the government reported Tuesday.
The rising death rate of young black men - primarily because of homicide and AIDS - probably is the reason blacks have a lower life expectancy than whites, officials said. But they said significant differences between the races in infant mortality and the mortality of older persons also contribute.
"We are seeing a persistent and growing difference in health between the black population and the white population. Probably one of the more perplexing aspects of that growing differential is that it is striking all age groups," said Harry M. Rosenberg, chief of mortality statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control.
The report was the final tabulation of death rates for 1989, the last year for which complete statistics are available.
The most striking finding was the difference in death rates between blacks and whites in the 25-to-34 age bracket, where the effect of AIDS and homicide is most evident.
For blacks, the rate was 280.6 deaths per 100,000 population in 1989. For whites, it was 118.3 per 100,000 the same year. For both races, the mortality rate in this age group declined until the middle 1980s then began to rise again. However, for blacks, the increase has been much steeper.
Among findings from 1988 to 1989:
Life expectancy for all Americans rose from 74.9 years to 75.3 years. For whites, the life expectancy was 76.0 years, up from 75.6 years in 1988. For blacks it was 69.2 years for 1988 and 1989.
Life expectancy of black men dropped slightly, from 64.9 to 64.8 years. This downward trend was first seen from 1984 to 1985. Before that, the life expectancy of black men had risen each year for decades. For black women, life expectancy rose slightly, from 73.4 to 73.5 years.
Life expectancy for white men rose from 72.3 to 72.7 years. For white women, it rose from 78.9 years to 79.2 years.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB