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Low Income People in This City Don't Live As Long As Others

Low income man walking

According to a recent study, low-income people living in Detroit do not live as long as similar low-income people living in other cities. If you are 40 years old, low income and live in Detroit, you can expect to live to 78, but if you are 40 years old, low income and live in Queens, New York, you can expect to live to about 83.

Detroit at the bottom

The study was called The Health Inequality Project which examined the differences in life expectancies by income across areas. The study found that life expectancies vary considerably across cities, particularly among low-income people.

Detroit was at the bottom of the heap, and some parts of Detroit were worse than others. Results for metro Detroit were 78 years, but Wayne County reported the lowest with a 77-year-old expected lifespan.

Where you live matters

The study, therefore, established a link between people's income and how long they are expected to live. Associate director of research at Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health, Derek Chapman, said that in some parts of Detroit, the life expectancy is only 69 years. "That is just a little bit worse than in Russia and North Korea.”

The results of the study by The Health Inequality Project were published earlier this year by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Low-income people were identified as those earning less than $28,000 per year.

Read more by visiting www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2016/06/02/life-span-detroits-poor-among-shortest-nation/85325864/


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