Blue Crab Boulevard

Want To Live Longer? Move.

There's an old joke where a mom tells her son (in a letter) that the father had read that most automobile accidents occurred within 25 miles of home. So, the punchline goes, "We're moving." Oddly, a new study indicates that there are certain areas where you are statistically more likely to die younger and other areas where the odds are that you will live longer. Researchers have no clue why this is so.

Mortality, like real estate, can be all about location.

People living in the parts of the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, the Coastal Plains along the southern East Coast, as well as residents of northern Nevada have the highest mortality rates nationwide.

Alternatively, if you're committed to longevity, your best locational bet is a move to the certain counties in Montana, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota, according to a new study comparing mortality rates in counties nationwide.

Sociologist Lynne Cossman of Mississippi State University describes the situation in this month's issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

It's a mystery as to exactly why lifespan is related to where you live, she said.

"There's no easy way to explain, so far, how death is rooted in place," Cossman said. "But, place matters; that's clearly the case."

Cossman wonders if it might be related to access to health care. But that doesn't seem to make sense - it isn't like there is a clinic on every corner in North Dakota. Even if there were, it can be a long way between corners up there. Armed with this study, some sharp entrepreneur will start hyping a retirement village in one of the long-life expectancy areas.

Hmmm. Blue Crab Village. It has a certain ring to it…. Anyone want to buy some stock?

Science | Gaius Wednesday, 12 December , 2007

By feeblemind, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 2:37 pm

Circa 1970 there was an article in Reader’s Digest about the longevity of people in Nebraska. No one could explain it then either. There was speculation that it was due to the northern European ancestory that most Nebraskans have and exercise due to the number of people involved in farming, but nothing was ever proven. Blue Crab Village? I don’t know. That name might just cause people’s nether regions to itch.
By Mockin'bird, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 3:53 pm

I certainly will add my two bits.
I live on the Southern East Coast-Jacksonville, Florida. Like alot of southern port towns, the general culture here is:tons of barbecue, fried food and plenty of sodas and sweet tea. Ahigher percentage of people dip and smoke. Also, we are a hard drinkin’ port city and the entertainment on weekends includes plenty of beer, and Jack. Lord, I can beerly type this response for all the spilled bourbon on my computer keyboard.

We do have excellent medical for most folks- Mayo Clinic to huge University of Florida Med. Center, but the lifestyle, well it’s not the abstemious sort that is in those counties in the states mentioned.

Although some will tell ya different, We kinda like it this way.
By NortonPete, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 4:20 pm

I think MockinBird is on to it. Having driven all around the US, you do wonder when you stop at some parts and go into a local eatery, as to how anyone could survive eating the food ( dumplings & gravey, fried everything etc. ).
But in some areas of the country the simple struggle to survive doesn’t leave alot of time for partying.
Struggle to survive the cold and eat small portions of food and you will outlast someone down in Sun belt but the question is Why?
By Evil Hr Lady, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 5:32 pm

My bet is it has more to do with demographics. Where do old people go? Where it is warm. If you are old and decrepit do you really want to stay in Nebraska? No. You move somewhere else.

Therefore, healthy people choose to live in South Dakota, Nebraska, etc. Unhealthy people move “for their health” to the warm gulf states.
By Dakota Lifestyle: Beyond the Weather, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 6:40 pm

What an interesting article. As someone who lives in North Dakota (which has one of the most aged populations in the nation), I can’t help but put my perspectives out here for the world to see.

In spite of the difficulty getting enough doctors and nurses in rural areas in North Dakota, the ones that we do have are excellent. Almost all the small towns I write about have assisted living centers where our seniors can form their own supportive communities. Good Samaritan centers are sprinkled all over the state.

In the small cities of Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck, Minot, etc., the health care is even better (Just drive down Rosser Avenue in Bismarck and count the number of clinics in addition to the two large hospitals there). The state has at least three nursing schools that I know of and UND has a great medical program, too.

Transits bring elderly from the rural areas into larger towns for specialist visits. Other transits take elderly and handicapped around town. Family support is strong, as well, and elderly housing is being taken very seriously. A beautiful example of an elderly community is the Waterford in Bismarck.

There is even talk across the state about a new trend of very old people who have moved away from North Dakota (we call them snowbirds) who are coming back for the healthcare and to be with their families. I don’t know whether or not that’s being studied, but the folks at North Dakota State Data Center could have information on that.

But I really think the top indicator of long lives here in North Dakota is the slower pace of life. North Dakota has it’s stressful moments, but for the most part it’s a very relaxing place to live. We all live longer when our stress is moderated.
By Dakota Lifestyle: Beyond the Weather, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 6:48 pm

I’m not sure if my last, long-winded, happily-describing-North-Dakota-health-systems comment went through or not. So I’m trying it again.

To make a long story short, I think a major reason people live longer here is because North Dakota has a slower pace of life. We all live longer with less stress.
By Gaius, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 7:10 pm

It got caught in the spam filters. I’ve retrieved it now.
By Bleepless, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 8:39 pm

Does the longevity include those who move there? If so, it probably is not genetic. If not, it almost certainly includes such a component.
By tom, Wednesday, 12 December , 2007 @ 11:10 pm

Friends, to quote Mr. T - Fools

In the Midwest roads run N-S or E-W. There are exceptions. One road in NW Missouri runs straight E-W for 10 miles. It then takes a sharp turn around a really old tree, then straightens out for another 10 miles. There are are very many roads in the plains like this.

I’ve driven US 2 end to end.

I-94 end to end.

I-80 end to end

I-90 end to end.

Etc.

As an aside, US 1, almost end to end.

Dang, US highways on the East and West Coast curve and curve, but in the middle they are straight.

If you’ve been to Japan you’ll understand. The Kanto Plain is mostly flat. For driving thats nothing out of the ordinary for Americans. If you go North or South, It’s driving in the hardest parts of our mountains.

So I suspect that most of the comments on diet, slower life style, health care (good),

“Fools”

It’s the roads.

Study the maps.
By sestamibi, Thursday, 13 December , 2007 @ 6:42 pm

As a resident of northern Nevada, I can vouch for our notoriety in that regard. It is always disconcerting to me (at 57) to see the unusually high obituaries in our local papers of individuals leaving us in their 40’s and 50’s.

Yet people keep moving here.