Differences In Life Expectancy Due To Race And Educational Differences Are Widening, And Many May Not Catch Up
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.
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Educational, racial and income disparities in life expectancy have been stable or rising over the last decades.
“Educational, racial and income disparities in life expectancy have been stable or rising over the last decades (Olshansky et al., 2012).”
From Toward a More Comprehensive Concept of Successful Aging: Disability and Care Needs: Table 1. (2016) · cites this paper as Olshansky et al., 2012
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- Authors
- Olshansky, S. J., Antonucci, T., Berkman, L., Binstock, R. H., Boersch-Supan, A., Cacioppo, J. T., Carnes, B. A., Carstensen, L. L., Fried, L. P., Goldman, D. P., Jackson, J., Kohli, M., Rother, J., Zheng, Y., & Rowe, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Case Western Reserve University (US)
- Axel Boersch-Supan is director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, in Mannheim, Germany.
- University of Chicago (US)
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- Columbia University (US)
- University of Southern California (US)
- European University Institute (IT)
- John Rother is president and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, in Washington, D.C.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Health Affairs
- Publisher
- Health Affairs Publishing, LLC
- Published
- 2012-08
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1803-1813
- ISSN
- 0278-2715 (ISSN-L)
- 1544-5208
- OpenAlex
- W2004119037
- Cited by
- 693
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 58 · 2019: 63 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 64 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 77 · 2014: 48 · 2013: 36 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 60.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Affairs (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Cadmus - EUI Research Repository (European University Institute) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG008816)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Demography › Insurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Keywords
- life expectancy, racial disparities, educational inequality, health disparities, population aging, black-white gap, educational attainment, health policy
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Educational Status, Emigration and Immigration, Female, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Life Expectancy, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Factors, United States, Databases, Factual, Racial Groups, Health Status Disparities
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