These 8 Kentucky counties had the biggest decline in life expectancy in the country
By Bill Estep
Eight counties in Eastern Kentucky had the biggest decline in life expectancy in the country between 1980 and 2014, according to a study released Monday.
Owsley County had the biggest drop in the nation at 2.3 years, or 3 percent, the study said, followed by Lee, Leslie, Breathitt, Clay, Powell, Estill and Perry. The other two counties with the biggest declines were in Oklahoma and Alabama.
The study found that people born in those places today can expect to live shorter lives than their parents. It attributed the decline to a variety of factors: poverty; health risks, including obesity and smoking; inactivity; and lack of access to health care.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article149366469.html#storylink=cpy