Study Says People From Manhattan Live Long, Painful Lives
In a new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the health of all U.S counties was ranked based on factors like premature-death, morbidity, poverty levels, etc.
By Dan Hoffman
In a new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the health of all U.S counties was ranked based on factors like premature death, morbidity, poverty levels, etc. The study, which researchers hope will be a useful tool in addressing public health issues, reasserted the fact that socioeconomic factors go a long way in determining a community’s health.
There was a curious anomaly of sorts, however, that both the study and the New York Post pointed out: people from Manhattan, although they live long, aren’t doing so hot. From the Post:
Despite having low premature-death rates — in the bottom 10 percent in the nation — Manhattan residents overwhelmingly reported being in poor mental and physical health.
In one quality-of-life indicator, a hefty 19 percent of Manhattan residents reported being in poor or fair health. That’s almost twice the national average of 10 percent.
These findings reinforce popular conceptions about Manhattan that suggest New Yorkers are more likely to be in therapy and in need of fresh air and exercise. The other counties of New York City had predictable scores; the Bronx, for instance, was one of the lowest ranked counties in New York as the result of factors such as poverty and crime. 
