Life Expectancy Gap Due to Smoking, HIV, Diabetes

Blacks and the less educated in the US have life expectancies about 6 years shorter than their white and better-educated counterparts, respectively. Now a new report suggests that smoking-related diseases are largely to blame when it comes to cutting the life expectancy of people with lower levels of education. And high blood pressure, HIV, diabetes and homicide appear to be the greatest contributors to the discrepancy in death rates among blacks versus whites, according to a team of California researchers.