Americans sicker than English, but live longer

Older Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts, but they live as long or even longer than their English peers, according to a study released in November by researchers from the RAND Corporation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London.

Researchers analyzed information from two comparable surveys of people aged 50 and older in the United States and England.

Researchers found that among Americans aged 55 to 64 diabetes rates were almost twice as high in the United States as in England (17.2% versus 10.4%) and cancer prevalence was more than twice as high in the United States (17.9% compared to 7.8%) for people in their 70s.