According to a new report on mortality in the U.S. from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the average life expectancy in the U.S. increased in 2012 to 78.8 years, representing an increase of 0.1 year from 2011.

However, there is a difference between life expectancy in men versus women. The new report specifies that life expectancy for females is 81.2 years, while for males, it’s 76.4 years.

Jiaquan Xu, a medical doctor and lead author of the report, says that it isn’t clear if genetics plays a role in the differences between the sexes, but behavior most likely does.

“Men usually take more risks, and they participate in risky outdoor activities like climbing and scuba diving. Also, teenage boys do more high-risk activities, and they get in more car wrecks, than girls,” said Xu in a statement.

Xu believes the overall health of Americans is improving, considering mortality rates from conditions like cancer and heart disease – the two leading causes of death in the U.S. – have been gradually decreasing since 1999.

Age-adjusted death rates dropped significantly from 2011 to 2012 for eight of the 10 leading causes of death, yet rose significantly for suicide. Infant mortality rate from SIDS was reduced by 1.5 percent percent from 2011 to 2012.

Black males have the highest death rates, while black females have higher death rates than Caucasian females. African Americans suffer higher rates of cardiovascular disease than other ethnicities, and have a much higher rate of high blood pressure compared to non-Hispanic whites.