The State - News from April 30, 1987

Life expectancy for a Californian at birth in 1985 was 75.6 years, 3.6 years more than it was in 1970, the state health director said. Women are still living longer than men, but the gap is closing, said Health Director Kenneth Kizer. Life expectancy for a female at birth in California in 1985 was 78.9 years, while for a male it was 72.1 years. The gap of 6.8 years was less than it was in 1980, when it was more than seven years. Californians live almost a year longer than Americans in general. Life expectancy for the U.S. population was 74.7 years in 1985, Kizer said. The figures were taken from a new study by the Department of Health Services.