New Yorkers Live Longer, Still Battle Alcohol, Drug Problems, City Health Report Says Updated January 25, 2010 3:34pm

Happy hours and an influx of bars may be driving down New York's health expectancy rates. (Flickr user Northcountry Boy)

By Nina Mandell

DNAinfo Producer/Reporter

MANHATTAN — New Yorkers are living longer, but they still have a drinking problem, a study released by the city's Department of Health on Monday shows.

The life expectancy for Big Apple residents born in 2007 rose by five months from the previous year, up to 82 years for women and 76.3 years for men, according to the department report. The report also said that leading killers, such as heart disease and cancer, were dropping.

But drug overdoses and alcohol-related diseases, such as liver disease, as well as violence and unintentional injuries, were still among the leading causes of premature deaths for New Yorkers, according to the report.

New Yorkers as a whole, however, out-survive the rest of the country.

Women in New York live on average three years longer than their national counterparts, while New York men live 4.3 years longer, according to a 2009 study at University of California-Berkeley.

HIV infections dropped 4 percent in 2008, the report also said, largely due to expanded screenings and needle-exchange programs.

Also, the report said 127,680 babies were born in New York City in 2008, a drop of 1,300 infants from the year before.

The Bloomberg administration touted the lower heart disease results as a sign that the city's ban on smoking and transfats is working.

“The steady, continued increase in life expectancy demonstrates the remarkable progress we have made and the need to continue to press forward with bold health policies," Bloomberg said in a statement.