In comparison, rural women get 18.7 years of good health. The researchers investigated a range of factors, including chronic diseases, health behaviors like smoking, and disability rates, to learn more about the disparities.
They found that rural Americans had higher rates of obesity, smoking, and chronic conditions at age 60.
There was also a major contrast based on education and geography. Rural communities in the South fared the worst.
Regardless of location, college graduates saw significantly better health outcomes. But even when comparing similarly educated groups, rural residents still fell behind their urban peers in health-adjusted life expectancy.
Since the late 1990s, the health-adjusted life expectancy of urban men has increased by an entire year, while rural men have seen no gains whatsoever. So, it seems that rural areas are getting left behind as the health of the overall population improves.
The researchers used simulated scenarios to explore potential solutions to this problem. They concluded that addressing obesity and smoking could be especially beneficial for rural communities.
Managing chronic conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease can also improve health outcomes.
The study authors suggest that health interventions should not only be targeted toward older adults but younger ones as well in order to close the gap.
“Closing the gap in healthy life expectancy between urban and rural areas for older adults would require encouraging health behavior changes earlier in life and making broader social and economic improvements in rural areas,” said Bryan Tysinger, a study co-author and the director of health policy simulation at the Schaeffer Center.
The study was published in The Journal of Rural Health.
