BRAF: Higher rate of heart disease, homicide leads to Baton Rouge's lower-than-average life expectancy

BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Parish residents live, on average, four years shorter than the national average, a new study commissioned by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation shows. Baton Rougeians live an average of 74 years, which is also significantly lower than in other Louisiana parishes. The study, from data collected as part of BRAF's Opportunity Data Project, shows that more than half of premature deaths in the parish are caused by cardiovascular disease, accide