Alabama is one of eight Southern states that has shown the weakest growth in life expectancy over the last 125 years.

That’s according to a study which examined about 179 million deaths across the United States – 77 million female and 102 million male- from 1969 to 2020.

The paper, “All-Cause Mortality and Life Expectancy by Birth Cohort Across US States,” was published in JAMA Network Open.

It also found that residents in Northeast and West Coast states have gained decades of extra life over the same period.

Study Finds reports that researchers from Yale, the University of Michigan and the University of British Columbia tracked mortality by calendar year and by birth cohort; that is, they followed groups born in the same year throughout their lives.

The results were occasionally startling. For women in states like Oklahoma, life expectancy actually decreased by 0.7 years over the century studied.

Washington, D.C. showed the most dramatic improvement, with female life expectancy rising from 63.9 to 93 years. For men, New York State was the best place, going from 60.1 in 1900 to 87.8, an increase of 27.7 years.

The variations in life expectancy probably reflect lifestyle choice, but also could be affected by policy changes, such as tobacco control, healthcare access, and environmental protections.

Other factors could be in play. For example, the improvement in Washington, D.C.’s life expectancy came about because more affluent residents with better access to health care moved into the nation’s capital over the century.

Increases in life expectancy for men and women in Alabama were among the lowest in the nation, according to the study.

For Alabama, women saw the life expectancy increase by three years over the period from 1900 to 2020, according to the study, from 73.8 in 1900 to 77.6 in 1950. However, that number decreased to 76.8 in 2000.

Nationally, women’s life expectancy rose from 73.8 in 1900 to 84.1 in 2000.

For men in Alabama, life expectancy went from 62.1 in 1900 to 72.6 in 2000, an improvement of more than 10 years. Over that same time, men in the U.S. went from 62.8 to 80.3 in 2000.