New health data show that Lake County is among the longest-living counties in South Dakota. In 2007, men in the greater Madison metro area could expect to hang around for 76.8 years, tying with Moody County men for the ninth-highest life expectancy in the state. Like women everywhere, our local ladies did fewer stupid things like falling off roofs and could expect 82.3 years on Earth, tying with Moody and Minnehaha ladies for sixth-best in the state.
Here's a chart of the top eleven South Dakota counties as ranked by male and female life expectancy in 2007:
| Male | Female | ||
| County | Life Expectancy (2007) | County | Life Expectancy (2007) |
| Clay | 77.4 | Clay | 82.7 |
| Union | 77.4 | Union | 82.7 |
| Lincoln | 77.3 | Brown | 82.4 |
| Minnehaha | 77.1 | Faulk | 82.4 |
| Brookings | 77.0 | Hyde | 82.4 |
| Lawrence | 77.0 | Minnehaha | 82.3 |
| Turner | 76.9 | Lake | 82.3 |
| Yankton | 76.9 | Moody | 82.3 |
| Lake | 76.8 | Codington | 82.2 |
| Moody | 76.8 | Deuel | 82.2 |
| Haakon Jones Pennington Stanley Sully |
76.6 | Grant | 82.2 |
[Table Source: Sandeep C. Kulkarni et al., "Falling Behind: Life Expectancy In US Counties From 2000 To 2007 In an International Context," Population Health Metrics 9.1, 2011.]
Note these top counties lean heavily East River. Check out the list of counties with the lowest life expectancy:
| Male | Female | ||
| County | Life Expectancy (2007) | County | Life Expectancy (2007) |
| Bennett | 71.0 | Bennett | 78.3 |
| Jackson | 71.0 | Jackson | 78.3 |
| Mellette | 71.0 | Mellette | 78.3 |
| Todd | 71.0 | Todd | 78.3 |
| Custer | 71.1 | Custer | 78.5 |
| Fall River | 71.1 | Fall River | 78.5 |
| Shannon | 71.1 | Shannon | 78.5 |
| Corson | 72.9 | Corson | 79.9 |
| Dewey | 72.9 | Dewey | 79.9 |
| Potter | 72.9 | Potter | 79.9 |
| Ziebach | 72.9 | Ziebach | 79.9 |
What's going on West River? Snake bites? Buffalo tromplings? The clap?
Also interesting: compared with life expectancy in 2000, ten counties saw their men dying sooner, while seventeen counties saw their women dying sooner. Most of those decreases were West River, but a cluster of East River counties---Clark, Hamlin, and Kingsbury---saw female life expectancy drop by half a year, the second-largest drop in the state. Compare that to a full year gain in life expectancy for women in Lake and Moody counties.
Permit me to say that I'm more than happy to have the Lake County ladies in my life around for another year. And hey! We Lake County fellas added 1.6 years to our life spans, so you ladies get to enjoy us fellas more, too! Yahoo! Let's go celebrate... carefully!
The study authors draw some unpleasant conclusions about life expectancy nationwide. First, here are the maps for life expectancy in counties nationwide in 2007. First the ladies:
Then the gentlemen:
The authors find 85% of American counties falling farther behind the best-performing countries (this assumes, of course, that living long and prospering are generally equivalent). They see disparities in American health care based on race and geography. The authors mention national legislation to ban trans-fats and raise tobacco taxes could help, but they also see an essential role for measurement, financial incentives, and local innovation in extending our life spans.
That, and not falling off your bicycle. Be careful out there!
It is simply the fact that the elderly in rural counties have to move at the end of their lifespan closer to health care facilities. That leaves the majority of deaths in these counties to accidental and premature deaths.
The data for Hyde County women, tied for third, simply confirms my late father-in-law's assessment. "There are 121 old widow ladies in Highmore and every damn one moved to town with her husband."
A lot of those counties are on or near reservations and the way the reservation relationships have been handled isn't overly great as far as health care etc.
They are also very poor counties. Many are the poorest in the State.
I see a lot our state can do to improve those counties for the good people who live there.