Demographic demons

A large majority of women who give birth in Upper St. Clair are married. Four of five women who have babies in McKeesport aren’t.

The city population is 31.6 percent African-American, with their median age of death at only 65 years. Less than 1 percent of Upper St. Clair’s population is African-American, with a growing number of Asians, especially from India.

“These statistics are startling and help make the point,” said Ms. Matthews, the Pitt professor of psychology who contributed to the health report. The impacts aren’t limited by race. She noted the growing number of less-educated white males with ever-fewer jobs offering living wages. Their lifespans, too, are in decline.

Depression related to lower income and education level also results in lower average lifespan, she said.

“Pessimism is related to a shorter life and optimism is related to higher lifespan,” said Ms. Matthews, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology.

While nearly all Americans live with stress, those in more affluent communities generally have occupational stress focused on meeting personal goals and family expectations. A person has more control over that type of stress, she said.

The stress of poverty typically is beyond the person’s control, Ms. Matthews said, and can lead to obesity, a condition more prevalent in lowincome communities, due to the higher cost of quality food, increased levels of depression and lack of places to exercise, amongother factors.

“You see the impact of poverty on health very early in life,” she said. “The way to think about it is, kids who come from a poor community have less opportunity for education and are on a trajectory of risk.”

With the most lamentable results — a shorter life by nearly a decade.