Americans To Live Longer Still !

Thanks to ever-enhancing medical facilities, the babies born in 2006 are expected to live to a new record high, 78.1 years, CDC stats report.

Moreover, the death rate for 11 of the top 15 causes of death, including heart disease, cancerdefine and stroke slowed in 2006, the federal authorities reveal.

Surpassing previous figures, the average life expectancy for babies born in 2006 was about four months greater than that for children born in 2005.

As the infant mortality rate in the U.S. dropped more than 2 percent, from 6.9 to 6.7 infant deaths per 1,000 births, the overall death rate also fell from 799 per 100,000 in 2005 to 776 in 2006.

Following the patterns since 1976, white women continue to live the longest, 81 years. Following closely are African-American women, 76.9 years, white men, 76 years and African-American men who live up to an average of 70 years.

While 11 of the 15 leading causes of death showed a huge plunge, the decreases in the death rate from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, kidney disease and homicide, however, remained steady, CDC revealed.

The deaths from the chronic lower respiratory diseases (lung diseases) posted the highest plunge of 6.5 percent, closely followed by stroke, down 6.4 percent and heart disease, down 5.5 percent.

Geographically, Hawaii had the lowest age-adjusted death rate and Mississippi had the highest death rate in 2006, according to the CDC data.

According to CDC figures, about 2.4 million Americans died in 2006. Interestingly, the mild flu season of 2006 took the credit of the 22,000 fewer deaths in 2006 from 2005. 13 percent lesser people succumbed to flu and pneumonia this season.