UT-EPHT - Health Indicator Report - Life expectancy at birth

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Why Is This Important?

Life expectancy is a measure that is often used to gauge the overall health of a community. Life expectancy at birth measures health status across all age groups.

Shifts in life expectancy are often used to describe trends in mortality. Being able to predict how populations will age has enormous implications for the planning and provision of services and support. Small increases in life expectancy translate into large increases in the population.

As the life expectancy of a population lengthens, the number of people living with chronic illnesses tends to increase because chronic illnesses are more common among older persons.

Graph

Data Table

	UT M, UT F, US M, US F Series Value	UT M, UT F, US M, US F	Year	Age in years
Utah Males
	1	Utah Males	1980	72.4
	1	Utah Males	1981	72.7
	1	Utah Males	1982	73.4
	1	Utah Males	1983	73.9
	1	Utah Males	1984	73.3
	1	Utah Males	1985	73.6
	1	Utah Males	1986	74.1
	1	Utah Males	1987	74.4
	1	Utah Males	1988	74.5
	1	Utah Males	1989	74.8
	1	Utah Males	1990	74.9
	1	Utah Males	1991	75.0
	1	Utah Males	1992	75.3
	1	Utah Males	1993	74.9
	1	Utah Males	1994	74.8
	1	Utah Males	1995	75.2
	1	Utah Males	1996	75.5
	1	Utah Males	1997	75.5
	1	Utah Males	1998	75.4
	1	Utah Males	1999	75.6
	1	Utah Males	2000	76.7
	1	Utah Males	2001	76.8
	1	Utah Males	2002	76.7
	1	Utah Males	2003	76.8
	1	Utah Males	2004	76.9
	1	Utah Males	2005	77.5
	1	Utah Males	2006	77.7
	1	Utah Males	2007	77.6
	1	Utah Males	2008	78.2
	1	Utah Males	2009	78.4
	1	Utah Males	2010	78.1
	1	Utah Males	2011	78.4
	1	Utah Males	2012	78.4
	1	Utah Males	2013	78.2
	1	Utah Males	2014	78.3
	1	Utah Males	2015	78.2
	1	Utah Males	2016	77.8
	1	Utah Males	2017	78.0
	1	Utah Males	2018	78.2
	1	Utah Males	2019	78.4
	1	Utah Males	2020	77.0
	1	Utah Males	2021	76.4
	1	Utah Males	2022	77.6
	1	Utah Males	2023	78.2
Utah Females
	2	Utah Females	1980	78.6
	2	Utah Females	1981	78.8
	2	Utah Females	1982	78.7
	2	Utah Females	1983	79.0
	2	Utah Females	1984	79.2
	2	Utah Females	1985	79.2
	2	Utah Females	1986	79.6
	2	Utah Females	1987	79.2
	2	Utah Females	1988	79.3
	2	Utah Females	1989	79.1
	2	Utah Females	1990	80.1
	2	Utah Females	1991	79.6
	2	Utah Females	1992	80.0
	2	Utah Females	1993	79.5
	2	Utah Females	1994	79.8
	2	Utah Females	1995	79.5
	2	Utah Females	1996	79.9
	2	Utah Females	1997	79.6
	2	Utah Females	1998	79.6
	2	Utah Females	1999	79.8
	2	Utah Females	2000	80.8
	2	Utah Females	2001	80.8
	2	Utah Females	2002	80.7
	2	Utah Females	2003	80.6
	2	Utah Females	2004	81.0
	2	Utah Females	2005	81.3
	2	Utah Females	2006	81.3
	2	Utah Females	2007	81.5
	2	Utah Females	2008	81.9
	2	Utah Females	2009	82.2
	2	Utah Females	2010	82.2
	2	Utah Females	2011	81.9
	2	Utah Females	2012	82.0
	2	Utah Females	2013	81.7
	2	Utah Females	2014	81.6
	2	Utah Females	2015	81.4
	2	Utah Females	2016	81.7
	2	Utah Females	2017	81.8
	2	Utah Females	2018	81.9
	2	Utah Females	2019	81.9
	2	Utah Females	2020	80.8
	2	Utah Females	2021	80.5
	2	Utah Females	2022	81.2
	2	Utah Females	2023	82.1
U.S. Males
	3	U.S. Males	1980	70.0
	3	U.S. Males	1981	70.4
	3	U.S. Males	1982	70.8
	3	U.S. Males	1983	71.0
	3	U.S. Males	1984	71.1
	3	U.S. Males	1985	70.1
	3	U.S. Males	1986	71.2
	3	U.S. Males	1987	71.4
	3	U.S. Males	1988	71.4
	3	U.S. Males	1989	71.7
	3	U.S. Males	1990	71.8
	3	U.S. Males	1991	72.0
	3	U.S. Males	1992	72.3
	3	U.S. Males	1993	72.2
	3	U.S. Males	1994	72.4
	3	U.S. Males	1995	72.5
	3	U.S. Males	1996	73.1
	3	U.S. Males	1997	73.6
	3	U.S. Males	1998	73.8
	3	U.S. Males	1999	73.9
	3	U.S. Males	2000	74.1
	3	U.S. Males	2001	74.3
	3	U.S. Males	2002	74.4
	3	U.S. Males	2003	74.5
	3	U.S. Males	2004	75.0
	3	U.S. Males	2005	75.0
	3	U.S. Males	2006	75.2
	3	U.S. Males	2007	75.5
	3	U.S. Males	2008	75.6
	3	U.S. Males	2009	76.0
	3	U.S. Males	2010	76.2
	3	U.S. Males	2011	76.3
	3	U.S. Males	2012	76.4
	3	U.S. Males	2013	76.4
	3	U.S. Males	2014	76.5
	3	U.S. Males	2015	76.3
	3	U.S. Males	2016	76.2
	3	U.S. Males	2017	76.1
	3	U.S. Males	2018	76.2
	3	U.S. Males	2019	76.3
	3	U.S. Males	2020	74.2
	3	U.S. Males	2021	73.5
	3	U.S. Males	2022	74.8
	3	U.S. Males	2023
U.S. Females
	4	U.S. Females	1980	77.4
	4	U.S. Females	1981	77.8
	4	U.S. Females	1982	78.1
	4	U.S. Females	1983	78.1
	4	U.S. Females	1984	78.2
	4	U.S. Females	1985	78.2
	4	U.S. Females	1986	78.2
	4	U.S. Females	1987	78.3
	4	U.S. Females	1988	78.3
	4	U.S. Females	1989	78.5
	4	U.S. Females	1990	78.8
	4	U.S. Females	1991	78.9
	4	U.S. Females	1992	79.1
	4	U.S. Females	1993	78.8
	4	U.S. Females	1994	79.0
	4	U.S. Females	1995	78.9
	4	U.S. Females	1996	79.1
	4	U.S. Females	1997	79.4
	4	U.S. Females	1998	79.5
	4	U.S. Females	1999	79.4
	4	U.S. Females	2000	79.3
	4	U.S. Females	2001	79.5
	4	U.S. Females	2002	79.6
	4	U.S. Females	2003	79.7
	4	U.S. Females	2004	80.1
	4	U.S. Females	2005	80.1
	4	U.S. Females	2006	80.3
	4	U.S. Females	2007	80.6
	4	U.S. Females	2008	80.6
	4	U.S. Females	2009	80.9
	4	U.S. Females	2010	81.0
	4	U.S. Females	2011	81.1
	4	U.S. Females	2012	81.2
	4	U.S. Females	2013	81.2
	4	U.S. Females	2014	81.3
	4	U.S. Females	2015	81.1
	4	U.S. Females	2016	81.1
	4	U.S. Females	2017	81.1
	4	U.S. Females	2018	81.2
	4	U.S. Females	2019	81.4
	4	U.S. Females	2020	79.1
	4	U.S. Females	2021	79.3
	4	U.S. Females	2022	80.2
	4	U.S. Females	2023

Data Notes

Notes

The method developed by C.L. Chiang was used to compute life expectancy.

U.S. 2022 estimate from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db492.pdf

Data Sources

Utah Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health and Human Services
Population Estimates for 1999 and earlier: Utah Governor's Office of Planning and Budget
For years 2010 and later, the population estimates are provided by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, Utah state and county annual population estimates are by single year of age and sex, IBIS Version 2023
Population estimates for 2000-2009: National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) through a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau, IBIS Version 2020
National Center for Health Statistics

Data Interpretation Issues

Life expectancy at birth is strongly influenced by infant and child mortality; life expectancy later in life reflects death rates at or above a given age and is independent of mortality at younger ages.

Health Indicator Definition

Definition

Life expectancy is an estimate of the expected average number of years of life (or a person's age at death) for individuals who were born into a particular population. The method developed by C.L. Chiang was used to compute life expectancy.

Numerator

n/a

Denominator

n/a

Health Objectives and Targets

Other Objectives

One of Utah's 42 Community Health Status Indicators

One of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) Chronic Disease Indicators: "Life Expectancy at Birth"

Current Outlook

How Are We Doing?

Prevention and control of infectious diseases have had a profound impact on life expectancy during the 20th century. Improvements in nutrition, hygiene, and medical care also contributed to decreases in death rates throughout the lifespan. In the U.S., life expectancy at birth from 1900 to 2022 increased from 46.3 to 74.8 years for men, and from 48.3 to 80.2 years for women. However, with the outbreak of COVID-19, life expectancy in the U.S. decreased in 2021 to 76.4, declining by over two years from 78.8 in 2019. This same trend was seen in Utah. In 2020 and 2021, Utah life expectancy at birth were 78.9 years and 78.4 respectively, declining by 1.2 and 1.7 years from 80.1 in 2019. In Utah, the life expectancy rate increased back to 80.1 in 2023, which is the same as what it was in 2019.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Women typically outlive men. Females born in Utah today can expect to live 82.1 years, and males born in Utah can expect to live 78.2 years. This becomes evident in later years as individuals survive from their early sixties into their eighties and older. The population of Utahns aged 65+ was 53% female and 47% male according to the 2023 population estimate IBIS version 2023.

Health Improvement Resources

What Is Being Done?

Now that people are living longer, it is important to look at ways that those added years can be lived in good health. Exercise, healthy diet and weight, not smoking, moderate use of alcohol, and injury prevention habits such as wearing seat belts all contribute to a healthy life span.

Improvements in life expectancy increase the proportion of older individuals living in society. Policy-makers must be aware of this trend in order to provide viable and attractive options for elderly persons who require assistance with activities of daily living.

Page Content Updated On 10/04/2024, Published on 10/23/2024

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Health Indicator Report of Life expectancy at birth