New research has discovered a disturbing trend in the United States. Women 75-years-old and younger have been dying at higher rates than in previous years. Specialists are baffled by this news; women have outlived men for many years. Meanwhile, men’s life expectancy has either remained steady or improved. Although the latest numbers show that the average life span for a baby girl born today is 81, and for a baby boy, 76, the gap has been narrowing, and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown women’s longevity is not growing at the same pace as men’s. Even more bizarre is that this trend seems to be occurring in nearly half of the nation’s states; mostly in rural areas, the South and the West. This phenomenon appears to have begun in the late 1980s, though studies have begun to pay attention to it only in the last few years.

Although the cause for this strange revelation is a mystery, some physicians believe obesity, heart disease, stress, higher smoking rates, and less education are to blame for this trend. Current obesity rates are very alarming, with more and more young women with children becoming obese. Further, heart disease is the current leading cause of death in women, and stress can cause problems later in life. While some doctors think these are potential causes of the decline in life expectancy, some admit they aren’t sure. Hopefully, doctors will determine the reason for this decline in female life expectancy and help mitigate it.