A groundbreaking study by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers has uncovered a striking 10-year gap in life expectancy between the wealthiest and poorest individuals in a predominantly Black population.
Led by Dr. Wei Zheng, director of the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, the study analyzed data from 19,749 deaths over an 18-year period. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, revealed that participants earning less than $15,000 annually died over a decade earlier on average compared to those with incomes exceeding $50,000.
The research team emphasized the importance of addressing racial and income disparities in mortality through comprehensive measures. Despite some participants leading healthier lifestyles, the life expectancy gap ranged from about 10 years for Blacks to 14 years for whites between the lowest and highest income groups.
“Although tobacco smoking is the leading cause of death in the US, we found that in this low-income population, the excess risk of death due to low socioeconomic status was substantially larger than that due to smoking,” Zheng stated, underscoring the significance of their findings.
The study offers a rare glimpse into the profound impact of extreme poverty on mortality within a racially diverse, low-income population, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions to address these disparities.
See “Income inequality linked to 10-year gap in life expectancy, study reveals” (May 2, 2024)
