The current differential in black and white life expectancy.

The 1980 National Center for Health Statistics life tables for the U.S. black and white populations reveal a difference in life expectancy of 7 years between black and white males and 6 years between black and white females. Using cause-substituted life tables, we show that a number of causes of death contribute to the difference. The largest contributors are cardiovascular disease for both sexes and homicide and cancer for males.