America's richest die sooner than Europe's poorest

America's record income and lifespan

Median household income hit eighty seven thousand four hundred sixty dollars in twenty twenty five, the highest since nineteen sixty seven. Life expectancy reached seventy nine years in twenty twenty four, also a record.

The plot twist

A Brown University study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found Americans die sooner than Europeans at every wealth level.The richest Americans fare no better than the poorest in much of Western Europe.

“The plot twist is that even the wealthiest quartile of Americans does not have better outcomes than most of northern and Western Europeans.”

Study tracked 73,000 adults

Researchers followed more than seventy three thousand adults ages fifty to eighty five in the U.S.and sixteen European countries starting in twenty ten for about a decade, using the U.S.

Mortality gap between richest

The wealthiest people in northern and western Europe had a mortality rate about thirty five percent lower than the wealthiest Americans.

Continental Europe's death rate advantage

Across the board, people in continental Europe died at rates about forty percent lower than Americans over the study period. In southern Europe, death rates were about thirty percent lower.

U.S. spends far more on healthcare

The U.S.spent an estimated fourteen thousand seven hundred seventy five dollars per person on healthcare in twenty twenty four, nearly seven thousand dollars more than comparable wealthy countries.

Lifestyle and structural factors

Americans tend to have less healthy diets and more sedentary lifestyles.Smoking and rural living, both tied to poorer health, were more common in the U.S.

Researchers call for systemic change

Researchers say improving U.S. health requires understanding underlying factors contributing to differences with Europe, particularly among similar socioeconomic groups. They emphasize learning from other countries rather than simply spending more money on healthcare.

“It's not necessarily about spending more, it's about addressing the factors we're overlooking, which could deliver far greater benefits than we realize.”