Medford has the lowest life expectancy in the state of Oregon

Medford, Ore. — A new national report of life expectancy revealed that residents of the city of Medford, Oregon have the lowest life expectancy of the entire state with only sixty-six years.

The life expectancy of Medford does not reflect that of the state.

Northwest residents of Portland have the highest life expectancy in Oregon with eighty-nine years, while the entire state averaged out eighty years.

The study was the first of its kind that allowed the Oregon Health Authority Center for Health Statistics to study the differences in how long people live at the neighborhood level.

This allowed the report to specifically indicate the exact area to which the life expectancy is so low.

In Medford, the title belongs in the center of town, west of interstate 5.

"We need to continue examining factors that affect neighborhood-by-neighborhood differences we see in this data."

Said Katrina Hedberg, M.D., M.P.H., state health officer and epidemiologist at the public health division.