Life expectancy in the United States has reached an all time high of 78, though at 30th on the list, we still lag behind many other countries. Japan is near the top of the list in life expectancy, 83 years for children born in 2006, according to World Health Organization data. Switzerland and Australia were ranked high.

Life expectancy is defined as the period a child born in 2006 is expected to live when assuming mortality trends remain constant. This increase in life expectancy is due to the falling mortality rates in almost all the leading causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.

Some interesting facts to note from this preliminary report from the National Center for Health Statistics are that Alzheimer’s disease passed diabetes to become the sixth leading cause of death in the United States in 2006 and death rates for flu and pneumonia had a 12.8 percent decline between 2005 and 2006.

Women still live longer than men, though the gap is closing, possibly due to an increase in female smokers.

People may be living longer, but the statistics don’t always speak to the state of health and the needs of seniors, and more people living longer will mean an increased demand for all types of senior care services.

Additionally, the increased demand for already limited nursing home beds may eventually mean that only the sickest seniors will be admitted, further taxing the system and the need for community based services will become even more important.