8/06/2007

Want to live longer ? Go south

Many people move to southern states after their retirements. According a recent research paper, this is a smart move for reasons beyond what people already know. In essence, this paper found that cold kills people more than does heat. "increases in mortality caused by cold temperature are long lasting. We find evidence of a large and statistically significant permanent effect on mortality of cold waves. By contrast, the increases in mortality associated with heat waves are short lived."
In summary, "every year, 5,400 deaths are delayed by the changing exposure to cold temperature. Such effect on longevity accounts for 8%-15% of the overall increase in longevity experienced by the US population over the last 30 years."

2 comments:

John A Hill said...

Plant me on a sunny beach with a cool drink, a good book and a library card (guess I'll be reading for longer than I thought!)

Bilbo said...

That's fine, but I need my four seasons. Too much snow is bad; no snow is bad, too.