New York, Dec 28 (IANS) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday that babies born in the city in 2009 have the record high life expectancy of 80.6 years, an increase of nearly three years since 2000.

The rate of 80.6 years is also above the US national rate of 78.2 years.

Life expectancy for 40-year-olds in New York increased by 2.5 years (79.5 to 82) from 2000 to 2009, outpacing the national trend of 1.2 year-increase for the same age group in the US as a whole, reports Xinhua.

"If you have friends and relatives that you deeply care about, and they live elsewhere, on average if they move to New York City, they will live longer," said Mayor Bloomberg at Lincoln Hospital in Bronx.

Bloomberg attributed the life expectancy progress to the city's health interventions, including its anti-smoking campaign and expanded testing and treatment for the HIV virus.

Despite the progress, heart disease, cancer and influenza/ pneumonia continue to rank as the top three leading causes of death in New York City, followed by lung disease and diabetes.