Longevity gains continue.

1990 was an excellent year for life expectancy. Average future lifetime for both infant boys and girls rose to all-time highs. However, the gender gap in expectation of life at birth widened for the first time in more than a decade. The increase may be a statistical aberration or, more likely, a reflection of the growing mortality toll from AIDS, especially among males. If so, then the outlook is for widening longevity gaps between the sexes. On the other hand, there was more good news, as the infant mortality rate decreased dramatically, falling to a record low. Also encouraging is the continued, if somewhat unsteady, long-term trend toward gradual narrowing of the white/non-white/black life expectancy differentials.