Australia Ranked ‘Best Performer’ in Life Expectancy Among Wealthy Western Nations: Study

Australians have outlived their peers in other high-income English-speaking countries, with a study finding Aussie women living nearly four more years and Aussie men living five more years than their U.S. counterparts. Australia has also been ranked the “best performer” in life expectancy at birth since the 1990s, with the bulk of Aussies’ life expectancy advantage accruing between ages 45 and 84, a study by Penn State University published in the journal BMJ Open on Aug. 13 found. Key contributors to this trend include lower drug and alcohol death rates, lower rates of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, lower motor vehicle accidents, and higher rates of treatable cancers, researchers found....