Key points from article :
2008 saw first drop in average life expectancy since 1993.
Why are new treatments being discovered yet overall life expectancy rate makes very modest gains, if any, each year?
An often overlooked reason for lowered life expectancy in Americans is accidental death.
Motor vehicle accidents, firearms deaths, and drug overdoses combined were responsible for 6 percent of deaths among U.S. men and 3 percent among U.S. women.
The study was published in the JAMA medical journal.
