Das Journal der American Medical Association publizierte am 10.4.2016 die Ergebnisse einer Studie über „The Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in the United States, 2001-2014″ . Zwei Ergebnisse sind besonders dramatisch:
First, higher income was associated with greater longevity throughout the income distribution. The gap in life expectancy between the richest 1% and poorest 1% of individuals was 14.6 years (95% CI, 14.4 to 14.8 years) for men and 10.1 years (95% CI, 9.9 to 10.3 years) for women. Second, inequality in life expectancy increased over time. Between 2001 and 2014, life expectancy increased by 2.34 years for men and 2.91 years for women in the top 5% of the income distribution, but by only 0.32 years for men and 0.04 years for women in the bottom 5% (P < .001 for the differences for both sexes).
Kurz und in den Worten der New York Times gesagt:
These rich Americans have gained three years of longevity just in this century. They live longer almost without regard to where they live.