Life expectancy in the U.S. has returned to near pre-pandemic levels

CNN
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Life expectancy in the U.S. is about the same as it was at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, as deaths from Covid-19 and drug overdoses declined. are growing at the same speed.

Average life expectancy decreased by 2.4 years from 2019 to 2021, but it will increase by more than one year in 2022, with a new data It increased by nearly an additional year in 2023, according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, the life expectancy of a person born in 2023 is currently estimated at 78.4 years. Although this is still below the average life expectancy of 78.8 years in 2019, it is a significant improvement due to lower mortality rates for each of the 10 leading causes of death.

of The mortality rate from COVID-19 (approximately 12 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, adjusting for different age distributions of population groups) will be about a quarter of what it was in 2022, making it the leading cause of death. It rose from 4th place to 2nd place. 10th place.

“One of the main reasons why life expectancy has declined so drastically has been the huge number of deaths from COVID-19. So once we start to control the mortality rate from COVID-19 through vaccination, life expectancy It was expected that the population would begin to recover,” said Dr. Stephen Wolf, director emeritus of the Center for Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University. Although he did not scrutinize the CDC's new data, he did extensively examine trends in life expectancy.

Drug overdose deaths also decreased by 4% between 2022 and 2023, according to the CDC. data is shown. This decline will reduce the number of deaths per 100,000 people from 32.6 in 2022 to 31.3 in 2023, the first decline in more than five years.

People aged 35 to 44 are most likely to die from a drug overdose, at a rate almost double the overall age-adjusted rate.

Reducing mortality rates from causes that particularly affect younger age groups Wolf said it could have a huge impact on life expectancy.

“Drug overdose deaths have a significant impact on trends in life expectancy and all-cause mortality,” he said. “If we can significantly reduce drug overdose deaths, it could have a very positive impact on our health trends.”

promising trends Overdose deaths have continued their steepest downward trajectory in recent months, with fewer people dying from COVID-19 this year than during the same period last year, new preliminary data shows. It is shown that the number has decreased by 1,000 people.

Death rates from heart disease, the most common cause of death in the United States, decreased by 3% from 2022 to 2023. Death rates from diabetes, kidney disease, and chronic liver disease decreased by more than 5%, and death rates from cancer, stroke, and chronic liver disease decreased by more than 5%. Lower respiratory tract disease and Alzheimer's disease were less common.

But Wolf cautions that the goal is not to return U.S. life expectancy to pre-pandemic levels. According to his research, this country fall behind Life expectancy has been increasing for decades, and the recovery is thought to be slower than in many other countries. other the study It suggests that life expectancy in the United States could stall by 2050.

“For a decade before the pandemic, we were concerned about life expectancy in the U.S. because while life expectancy continued to increase in other countries, it did not increase significantly. And the causes of death It didn’t go away during the pandemic,” Wolf said.

“It's important for Americans to understand that returning to pre-pandemic conditions is still not very good. We're not out of the woods yet,” he said. “And the difference in life expectancy between the U.S. and other countries means, simply put, that Americans die at a much higher rate than their peers in other high-income countries.”

Clear disparities persist even within the United States.

Although women are still expected to live at least five years longer than men, the gap is narrowing, although life expectancy at birth was 81.1 years for women and 75.8 years for men in 2023.

And although death rates decreased for all racial and ethnic groups analyzed in 2023, age-adjusted death rates remained by far the highest for American Indian men and black men. Mortality rates were also higher than average for American Indian women, white men, and black women.

after a notable event increase Infant mortality rates in 2022 remained flat in 2023, according to new data from the CDC. However, the incidence of congenital malformations and low birth weight babies, the leading causes of infant death in the United States, have both increased. According to other studies, The number of births has increased Abortion is prohibited in states where it is prohibited, and experts say part of the increase is related to a disproportionate increase in the number of women who give birth to fetuses with fatal birth defects. It states that

Mortality rates decreased in all other age groups, according to a new report from the CDC.

But Wolf said mortality rates among children and young people have increased in recent years, and the U.S.'s mortality rate for the youngest age group is significantly higher than in other countries.

“A return to high life expectancy means we are not seeing the high numbers of deaths we saw during the pandemic,” he said, but added, “American children are dying like no other country. children are less likely to survive to adulthood, so the public should not be complacent by returning to those places.”