How long do people live in East Brunswick?

Residents of East Brunswick have an average life expectancy of 80.9 years, ranking them and their fellow residents of the 12th Congressional district at number 98 in the country, according to a new study.

The study, called Geographies of Opportunity, was published last week by the Social Science Research Council, as part of their ongoing effort to track disparities in quality of life across America.

According to the study, the average life expectancy in the United States is now 79.1 years, an increase of almost four years over life expectancy in 1990. But according to the researchers, some Americans, especially African Americans and some Southerners, have seen far less of an increase. A few parts of the South have seen no increase at all.

The longest life expectancy in the U.S. is in California’s 19th Congressional district, which includes San Jose and part of Santa Clara County, where people live 83.9 years on average, or roughly as long as people in Japan.

The lowest life expectancy is in rural southeastern Kentucky, where people live just under 73 years, or about as long as residents of the Gaza Strip. That district was ranked at number 436.

Residents of the 12th Congressional district, which includes East Brunswick and South Brunswick, ranked lower than their counterparts in the 6th district, which came in at number 87 and includes Woodbridge and New Brunswick. Residents in that district live an average of 81 years.

But the nearby 4th Congressional district, which includes Colts Neck and Holmdel, was ranked at 150, with an average life expectancy of 80 years.

The study’s authors say a variety of factors affect life expectancy, from access to health insurance to race and employment opportunities. But the study also lists four factors it dubs the “fatal four,” which can shorten lifespan dramatically: smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and alcohol abuse.

Photo: Geographies of Opportunity, The Social Science Research Council, Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis.