Massachusetts’ annual state death report is out with several striking findings. mass.gov/files/document… 
Mass. continues to avoid national drop in life expectancy. Average life expectancy inched upward to 80.7 yrs (vs 78.7 nationwide) in 2016 despite the state's persistently high opioid death rate. bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/12/…
The starkest differences in death rates are not by race or gender, but by level of education. People with only a high school degree or less have a *350%* higher annual rate of death than others. That's not a typo.
The data suggest that MA’s investments in high education levels, economic opportunity, public health measures (e.g., tobacco/gun control, pro-exercise and healthy food policies), and near-universal health coverage are working.
MA’s persistently high opioid death rates, however, has produced a stunning shift between 2014 and 2016: black MA residents now live longer than non-Hispanic white residents, even despite higher infant mortality rates, due to lower deaths from opioid overdose.
Finally, re the end of life: Almost 2/3 of MA deaths are now at one’s place of residence – a remarkable change from two decades ago when the hospital was the primary place of death.
Find the full 2016 MA death report here: mass.gov/files/document…
Find the full 2016 MA death report here: mass.gov/files/document…
