1. Americans are a highly mobile population. Most people don't live in the same place their whole lives. The women in a given county at the beginning of the survey period are not the same women at the end of the survey period.
2. The period of the survey was a period of high levels of immigration. Women at the end of the survey period were not even in America at the beginning of the survey period.
3. There is no accounting for lifestyle issues. Nothing about smoking, drug use etc.
4. There is no accounting for socioeconomic level of the women.
5. There is no accounting for genes and their influence on lifespan. There is no comparison of women's lifespan and their parent's lifespan.
5. It is assumed that there is some flaw in the medical care available in the U.S. The assumption in the write up is medical care for women has gotten worse.
The only thing that breaks my heart about this is the researchers dishonesty.
White,liberal woman,with graduate degrees and zero to one kid live in cities like New York, Chicago, San Fran. They tend not to smoke belong,to gyms, walk more and have 1st class medical centers nearby. No surprise.