Life Expectancy In US Recovering From Pandemic Dive But Has Ways To Go
U.S. life expectancy rose in 2022 for the first time since the covid pandemic started, according to new CDC data. That rebound does not compensate though for the years of life lost to the virus, as well as other causes like drug overdoses, homicides, and chronic illnesses.
Life expectancy in the United States has started to rebound after historic drops earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, but it鈥檚 far from recovering. In 2022, a 1.1-year increase brought overall life expectancy at birth to 77.5 years, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that offsets less than half of the 2.4 years of life lost in the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, and life expectancy is still lower than it鈥檚 been in about 20 years. (McPhillips, 11/29)
Drug overdoses, homicides and chronic illnesses such as heart disease continue to drive a long-term mortality crisis that has made this country an outlier in longevity among wealthy nations. ... The United States has dug itself into a huge life-expectancy hole, and not just because of the virus that slipped into the country in stealth fashion in 2020. In articles this year, The Washington Post has explored the many reasons this country lags peer nations in life expectancy, and a major finding is that chronic conditions such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer play an underappreciated role in suppressing life spans. (Achenbach and Keating, 11/29)
Life expectancy is now 鈥渨hat it was 20 years ago,鈥 said Elizabeth Arias, a health scientist and statistician who co-authored the report released Wednesday. (Santhanam, 11/29)
In related news 鈥
A new study published in Nature Food found that sustaining a healthier diet can increase life expectancy to 10 years. The study analyzed the lifespan projections for 467,354 individuals who recorded their dietary patterns as part of UK Biobank research that started in 2006. Each participant was put into a group depending on their eating patterns. 鈥淭he model found that people in their 40s who switched their unhealthy diet to a聽longevity-associated diet聽could add about 10 years to their life expectancy,鈥 per Business Insider. 鈥淭he change was associated with an extra 10.8 years for women and 10.4鈥墆ears for men.鈥 (Pitts, 11/27)