Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
For 1st Time in 4 Years, US Life Expectancy Rises — a Little
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 30, 2020

Share

NEW YORK — Life expectancy in the United States is up for the first time in four years.
The increase is small — just a month — but marks at least a temporary halt to a downward trend. The rise is due to lower death rates for cancer and drug overdoses.

For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing, rising a few months nearly every year. But from 2014 to 2017, it fell slightly or held steady. That was blamed largely on surges in overdose deaths and suicides.
“Let’s just hope it continues,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees the report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest calculation is for 2018 and factors in current death trends and other issues. On average, an infant born that year is expected to live about 78 years and 8 months, the CDC said.
For males, it’s about 76 years and 2 months; for females 81 years and 1 month.
For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing, rising a few months nearly every year. But from 2014 to 2017, it fell slightly or held steady. That was blamed largely on surges in overdose deaths and suicides.
Suicides continued to increase in 2018, as did deaths from the flu and pneumonia during what turned out to be an unusually bad flu year. But declines in some other causes of death — most notably cancer and drug overdoses — were enough to overcome all that, according to the report.
Cancer is the nation’s No. 2 killer, blamed for about 600,000 deaths a year, so even slight changes in the cancer death rate can have a big impact. The rate fell more than 2%, matching the drop in 2017.

Deaths From Heroin and Prescription Painkillers Went Down

“I’m a little surprised that rapid pace is continuing,” said Rebecca Siegel, a researcher for the American Cancer Society.
Most of the improvement is in lung cancer because of fewer smokers and better treatments, she said.
Also striking was the drop in drug overdose deaths that had skyrocketed through 2017. The death rate fell 4% in 2018 and the number of deaths dropped to about 67,400.
Deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers went down, however, deaths from other drugs — fentanyl, cocaine and meth — continued to go up. And preliminary data for the first half of 2019 suggest the overall decline in overdose deaths is already slowing down.
It’s still a crisis, said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University researcher. “But the fact that we have seen the first year where there’s not an additional increase is encouraging.”
The national decline was driven by dips in 14 states, the CDC’s Anderson said. Those include states where overdose deaths have been most common, like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
In Ohio’s Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, overdose deaths fell in 2018 and preliminary data indicates another drop last year. County health commissioner Tim Ingram credited efforts to try to expand access to treatment, and to widely distribute the overdose reversal drug Narcan.

More Than 2.8 Million Americans Died in 2018

“We almost saturated our community with Narcan,” he said.
Nationally, for all causes of death, more than 2.8 million Americans died in 2018. That’s about 26,000 more than the year before, the CDC report found. The number went up even as the death rate went down, because the population is growing and a large group are retirement age baby boomers.

Other findings:
— The 10 leading causes of death remained the same, with heart disease at No. 1. The death rate for heart disease declined slightly, by less than 1%.
— Death rates also dropped for stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic lower respiratory diseases and unintentional injuries, which includes drug overdoses.
— Americans who were 65 in 2018 are expected to live another 19 years and six months, on average.
— The infant mortality rate fell more than 2%, to 1 in 177 births.
— The suicide death rate hit its highest level since 1941 — about 14 per 100,000. The rate peaked during the Depression in 1932 then mostly declined until 2000. It’s been rising most years since then.
The U.S. has the highest suicide rate of 11 wealthy nations studied, according to a separate report released Thursday by the private Commonwealth Fund. That report also found U.S. life expectancy is two years lower that the average for the 10 other wealthy nations.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

One Person Killed in Explosion Outside Fertility Clinic; Police Say Act Was ‘Intentional’

DON'T MISS

Trump Wants a Deal With Iran, but It May Be Weaker Than His Supporters Demand

DON'T MISS

Duffy Blamed Biden for Air Traffic Woes. It’s a Decades-Old Problem.

DON'T MISS

The Day Grok Lost Its Mind

DON'T MISS

Police and Firefighters Respond to an Explosion Rocking the California City of Palm Springs

DON'T MISS

Clovis Goes Full Throttle With Biggest Old Town Motorama Yet

DON'T MISS

Israel Launches a New Military Operation in Gaza a Day After Trump Leaves the Middle East

DON'T MISS

Kristen Stewart Was Always Ready to Direct

DON'T MISS

Walz Calls Trump a ‘Tyrant’ Who Is Trampling Americans’ Rights and Violating the Rule of Law

DON'T MISS

Severe Weather Leaves at Least 23 Dead, Including 14 in Storm-Battered Kentucky

UP NEXT

Israel Launches a New Military Operation in Gaza a Day After Trump Leaves the Middle East

UP NEXT

Kristen Stewart Was Always Ready to Direct

UP NEXT

Severe Weather Leaves at Least 23 Dead, Including 14 in Storm-Battered Kentucky

UP NEXT

Student Loans Have Been Confusing Lately. Here’s a Guide to Know Where You Stand

UP NEXT

Bernie Sanders and AOC are Popular With Democrats. Here’s a Timeline of Their Alliance

UP NEXT

9 National Parks With Scenic Bike Trails Perfect for Kids and Parents

UP NEXT

US Cable Giants Charter and Cox Pursue $34.5 Billion Merger

UP NEXT

Republicans Reject Trump Tax-Cut Bill After President Calls for Unity

UP NEXT

WNBA Set for New Season With Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese Leading the Way

UP NEXT

Ohtani’s Big Night: Two Homers, Six RBIs Lead Dodgers Past Athletics

The Day Grok Lost Its Mind

2 days ago

Police and Firefighters Respond to an Explosion Rocking the California City of Palm Springs

2 days ago

Clovis Goes Full Throttle With Biggest Old Town Motorama Yet

2 days ago

Israel Launches a New Military Operation in Gaza a Day After Trump Leaves the Middle East

2 days ago

Kristen Stewart Was Always Ready to Direct

2 days ago

Walz Calls Trump a ‘Tyrant’ Who Is Trampling Americans’ Rights and Violating the Rule of Law

2 days ago

Severe Weather Leaves at Least 23 Dead, Including 14 in Storm-Battered Kentucky

2 days ago

Trump Says He Will Call Putin, Then Zelenskyy, on Monday to Push for Ukraine Ceasefire

2 days ago

‘Eat the Tariffs!’: Trump Warns Walmart Not to Pass Costs to Customers

2 days ago

Biden Audio Release Pressures Democrats Who Would Rather Talk About Trump

2 days ago

One Person Killed in Explosion Outside Fertility Clinic; Police Say Act Was ‘Intentional’

An explosion that heavily damaged a fertility clinic in the upscale California city of Palm Springs appears to have been intentional, local ...

2 days ago

2 days ago

One Person Killed in Explosion Outside Fertility Clinic; Police Say Act Was ‘Intentional’

2 days ago

Trump Wants a Deal With Iran, but It May Be Weaker Than His Supporters Demand

2 days ago

Duffy Blamed Biden for Air Traffic Woes. It’s a Decades-Old Problem.

2 days ago

The Day Grok Lost Its Mind

2 days ago

Police and Firefighters Respond to an Explosion Rocking the California City of Palm Springs

The Old Town Motorama in Clovis is expected to draw up to 35,000 people Saturday for its biggest classic car show yet.
2 days ago

Clovis Goes Full Throttle With Biggest Old Town Motorama Yet

2 days ago

Israel Launches a New Military Operation in Gaza a Day After Trump Leaves the Middle East

2 days ago

Kristen Stewart Was Always Ready to Direct

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend