A recent study has found that the median age of survival for Americans diagnosed with cystic fibrosis was 40, while 50 for Canadians.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder resulting in persistent lung infections and difficulty to breathe over time amid a thick buildup of mucus.A research team from St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada found that the stunning gap persisted even in the most severe cases. 

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"In a way, people should be alarmed. It will make people motivated to reduce that gap," said Dr. Anne Stephenson, the lead physician-researcher of the team.

The team also highlighted the difference between the two countries' transplant system showing that fewer Americans with the disease are receiving new lungs than their Canadian counterparts.

Moreover, aside from the lack of treatment, the study also found that fewer Americans are covered by health insurance.

 A sample of 32,699 Americans living with cystic fibrosis from 2009 to 2013 was compared with their 4,662 Canadian counterparts based on their insurance coverage and the results were pretty telling.

Both have the same risk of dying but that of Americans is 66% higher. The gap is even greater for underinsured Americans.

Latest statistics from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry show that there are over 30,000 Americans living with cystic fibrosis. Of which, 75 percent are diagnosed by age two and over 50% of the population are at least 18 years old. Around 1,000 new cases are diagnosed annually and affect 1 in 3,400 live births in the United States.

When the disease was first described, most children affected died in infancy and early childhood. In an aim to reduce early deaths, all states started to require newborn screening for cystic fibrosis.

in 2010.Americans living with cystic fibrosis have an average cost of care amounting to over $48,000 which is more than 20 times higher than those without the disease.