2000-2010: Life expectancy rose worldwide

ATLANTA, June 23 (UPI) -- The average life expectancy at birth in high-income countries rose from age 78 to 80 between 2000 and 2010, U.S. health officials said.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, said the average life expectancy at birth in low-income countries increased from age 55 to 57 during the same period.

Investments in scientific, technical, legal and political resources to improve living conditions and activities have helped combat major infectious causes of death such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV, health officials said.

The report said the gains in life expectancy were made because of the near-eradication of Guinea worm disease and children age 5 and younger being vaccinated against measles, polio and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines.

"Americans can be proud that people around the world are living longer, healthier lives because of the United States' commitment to global health," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said in a statement. "But there are still far too many people who die from conditions that are easily preventable."

During the first decade of the 21st century, the major causes of death shifted from infectious to non-infectious diseases. Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer are expected to cause more than 75 percent of the world's deaths by 2030, regardless of a country's income, the report said.