Mass. life expectancy reaches a record high

BOSTON – A report this month from the Mass. Department of Public Health shows that life expectancy in the Bay State is as high as ever: 80 years. But health disparities persist and opioid overdose deaths are on the rise, as are fall-related deaths in the elderly.
The report, titled Massachusetts Deaths 2006, shows cancer is now the No. 1 killer in Massachusetts, overtaking heart disease. Death rates from both continue to decline, but cancer deaths have not declined as fast as heart-disease deaths.
Death rates for stroke and diabetes continue to drop, the report says; the stroke death rate has decreased 27 percent since 2000, and the diabetes death rate has decreased 22 percent. Black and Hispanic residents continue to have higher death rates from these diseases, however, sometimes substantially higher. &#8226