Oklahoma City — Through all the turmoil of the last century — wars, social upheaval and technological changes that rendered one generation's work nearly incomprehensible to their grandparents — there was one thing Oklahomans and all Americans could count on: Children would live longer, healthier lives than their parents.

They can't take that for granted that anymore.

If nothing changes, baby girls born in Oklahoma in 2016 can expect to live sicker, slightly shorter lives than those born in 1990, a cohort that includes some of their mothers. West Virginia was the only other state where women's life expectancy went down, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Females born in 2016 have a life expectancy that's about one month shorter than those born in 1990 and can expect to develop major illnesses or disabilities about 10 months earlier, on average. That may not seem like a massive loss, but any reversal in life expectancy is a shock after decades of lengthening lives, said Dr. Ali Mokdad, one of the researchers who wrote the study examining rates of death and disability in the 50 states.