Montez-led study linking state policies to life expectancy in the Los Angeles Times

August 5, 2020

Los Angeles Times,The Daily Democrat,WAER

Jennifer Karas Montez

Sociology Department

Aging Studies Institute

Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health

Longevity

Political Parties

State & Local

U.S. Health Policy

Jennifer Karas Montez

Could where you live dictate how long you live? A new study led by Professor of Sociology Jennifer Karas Montez, published in the Milbank Quarterly, illustrates how state-level policies impact life expectancy, with residents of blue states living longer on average than their red state counterparts. “The difference between the highest and lowest life expectancy states has grown to 7.0 years—the largest ever recorded.”

Montez tells the Los Angeles Times, “When we look at what is happening with life expectancy, the tendency is to focus on individual explanations about what Americans are doing,” she said, noting obesity and smoking behaviors as well as drug use. “But state policies are so important.” She is quoted in the article People live longer in blue states than red; new study points to impact of state policies.

More coverage:

WAER: SU Maxwell Professor: State Policies Driving Gaps in Life Expectancy

Daily Democrat: Liberal policies, like California’s, keep blue-state residents living longer, study finds