Average Life Expectancy in Seekonk, Swansea Longer Than National Average

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Seekonk and Swansea residents live longer than the average American.

The average life expectancy in the Massachusetts 9th Congressional District, which includes Seekonk and Swansea, is 80.6 years, according to a new study. The national average is 79.1.

The statistics are based on the Geographies of Opportunity study by the Social Science Research Council.

Here’s the life expectancy in Massachusetts’ nine congressional districts:

• 5th 81.6
• 3rd 81.2
• 6th 81.1
• 8th 80.9
• 7th 80.8
• 4th 80.6
• 2nd 80.3
• 9th 80.2
• 1st 79.7

The longest life expectancy can be found in California’s 19th Congressional district, where people live 83.9 years on average, or roughly as long as people in Japan, according to the study. The shortest life expectancy is in rural southeastern Kentucky, where people live just under 73 years, or about as long as residents of the Gaza Strip.

The study’s authors say a variety of factors affect life expectancy, from access to health insurance to race and employment opportunities. But the study also lists four factors it dubs the “fatal four,” which can shorten lifespan dramatically: smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and alcohol abuse.

According to the study, the average life expectancy in the United States is now 79.1 years, an increase of almost four years over life expectancy in 1990. But according to the researchers, some Americans, especially African Americans and some Southerners, have seen far less of an increase. A few parts of the South have seen no increase at all.

Photo credit: Matthew Fang via Flickr