Washington ? Americans are living more prudently when it comes to their health, suggest new government numbers on what killed people in 2003.

The figures, released this week by the Centers for Disease Control, predict a record-high life expectancy of 77.6 years for Americans born in 2003. That’s nearly four months longer than the life expectancy for Americans born in 2002 and more than health demographers had expected.

But the big surprise was an almost across-the-board decline in mortality from the causes of death over which people have the greatest personal control. For example, while the overall U.S. death rate declined 1.7 percent:

• Alcohol-induced deaths declined 4.3 percent.
• Drug-induced deaths dropped 3.3 percent.
• Homicides dropped 4.9 percent.
• Deaths due to firearm injuries dropped 2.9 percent.
• Suicides dropped 3.7 percent.

In addition, accidental deaths of all kinds were down 2.2 percent.

The figures are age-adjusted to offset distortions caused by the U.S. population as it ages. They’re also just preliminary numbers for one year that could be revised, not evidence of a trend. But the range and depth of the declines impressed Richard Rogers, a health sociologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

“As a country, we can pat ourselves on the back for engaging in more positive health behaviors,” Rogers said. “We’re making some progress.”

For now, less smoking is the most important behavior change, several analysts said. Smoking dropped from 42 percent of all adults in 1965 to 22.5 percent in 2002, according to the latest CDC figures.

The decline is cutting death rates from the three leading U.S. killers — heart disease, cancer and stroke — whose lethality can be affected by behavior as well as the victim’s genes and the quality of available drugs and medical care.

Of the two leading U.S. causes of death that are surging, one can be influenced by diet, drinking and exercise. That’s hypertension, up 5.7 percent between 2002 and 2003. The other — Alzheimer’s disease, up 5.9 percent — isn’t something victims can do much to prevent.