The life expectancy of a newborn in Onondaga County increased 5 1/2 years between 1980 and 2014, according to a new study

(Mindy Pavone)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The life expectancy of a baby born in Manhattan increased at twice the rate of a baby born in Syracuse between 1980 and 2014, according to a new study.

Life expectancy has increased everywhere in New York, but the amount of improvement depends on where you live in the state, the study by the University of Washington shows.

The study, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, tracked life expectancy changes for every county in the U.S.

Life expectancy in New York County, or Manhattan, rose from 71 years in 1980 to 81.8 years in 2014, an increase of nearly 11 years or 15.2 percent, the third biggest increase in the nation.

Onondaga County saw its life expectancy go up from 74.2 years in 1980 to 79.7 in 2014, an increase of 5 1/2 years.

Average life expectancy in New York state is 80.36 years, slightly better than the U.S. average, 79.08 years.

Dr. Ali Mokdad, an author of the study, attributed New York County's dramatic improvement in life expectancy to New York City's aggressive public health programs designed to prevent disease. Those efforts include forcing restaurants to post calorie counts on menus and eliminate trans fats from food, banning smoking in public areas, building bike lanes, installing hybrid buses to reduce air pollution and expanding HIV testing and treatment.

"New York City initiated lots of public health initiatives that leveled the playing field and made it easier for people who were left behind to improve their health," Mokdad said.

The study says obesity, lack of exercise, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and socioeconomic factors such as poverty and education contribute to variations in life expectancy among counties.

Rockland County had the state's highest life expectancy in 2014 -- 82.54 years, while Sullivan County had the lowest, 78.03 years. Oswego County had the state's second lowest life expectancy, 78.3 years.

Oglaga Lakota County in South Dakota, a county which includes the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, had the nation's lowest life expectancy in 2014 at 66.8 years - comparable to countries like Sudan (67.2), India (66.9) and Iraq (67.7)

Summit County, Colorado had the nation's highest life expectancy at 86.8 years.

The study found life expectancy decreased in 13 U.S. counties, most of them in Kentucky, between 1980 and 2014. For example, life expectancy in Owsley County, Kentucky, was 72.4 years in 1980, down from 70.2 in 2014.

Mokdad said what surprised him most about the study is the degree of health disparities in the U.S. "Many people are going backwards instead of forward," he said.

When it comes to life expectancy, the U.S. is falling behind other developed countries, even though the U.S. spends significantly more on health care, he said.

The U.S., with a life expectancy of 79.08 years, spent $9,237 per person on health care in 2014.

By comparison, Australia, which spent $4,032 per person, has a life expectancy of 82.3 years. Japan, which spent $3,816 per person, has a life expectancy of 83.1 years.

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