Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders still have shorter life spans than other Hawaii residents and a higher proportion suffer from diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

A new study released by the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine found that Native Hawaiians typically die six years earlier than other populations. This is an improvement from 1970 when the life expectancy of Native Hawaiians was 13 years less than that of other residents.

Thirty community groups across the state and in California participated in the two-year study, which focuses on programs that have improved health status and the challenges that remain for Native Hawaiians, Filipinos, Samoans, Tongans, Guamanian/Chamorro, Micronesians (Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) and Fijians.