Zip Code Plays a Large Factor in Life Expectancy

“Photo” by Redd Angelo is licensed under CC0.
Recently, many news outlets (The New York Times, NPR, Albuquerque Journal, and others) have reported on the importance where you live plays in how long you live. Research has found it can play an even bigger role than genetics. Last week, the American Medical Association Wire shared the experience of Dr. Anthony Iton, senior vice president of healthy communities at the Community Endowment, when he moved to Baltimore for medical school at Johns Hopkins University years ago.
He was appalled at how run-down parts of the city were. He compared East Baltimore to Beirut, asking the upperclassman who was giving him a tour when the war happened there.
“In an ideal world … where you live shouldn’t predict how long you live,” Iton said, “but we do not live in an ideal world. What drives health is beyond just health behaviors and access to the doctor…. There’s a whole host of environmental and social determinants that are actually much more influential on our health trajectories, and we have no organized practice for dealing with them.”
Health Happens Here also released a video in April visually describing just how two zip codes can impact the life expectancy of two individuals. While focused on California, the video’s message rings true to many other areas within the U.S.
To learn more about how where you live determines how long you live, please visit “Death by ZIP code: When address matters more than genetics.”
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Source: Network News - August 30, 2016 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: NN/LM South Central Region Tags: General (all entries) Source Type: news