The main reason for the shortened life expectancy is the corona pandemic, but there are other factors as well.
Yrjö Kokkonen,
Katrina Laine
The life expectancy of Americans has decreased by almost three years in recent years. This is the sharpest drop in life expectancy in a century. Among other things, the news agency reports on the matter Bloomberg (you will switch to another service).
While the life expectancy of an American born in 2019 was estimated to be 79 years on average, last year the number was only 76.1 years.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that half of the drop was due to the corona pandemic. More than a million people have died in the United States as a result of the corona disease.
At the same time, the number of accidents has also increased, and this category also includes drug overdoses. In the USA, 109,000 overdose deaths were recorded during the statistical year that ended in March.
In addition, some standard of living diseases, such as heart and liver problems, as well as suicides have increased.
Among the various ethnic groups, life expectancy has decreased the most among the indigenous peoples of America, by no less than 6.6 years. Their life expectancy is now 65.2 years, which is the same level as the average American had during World War II in 1944.
Geographical differences are large in the United States. Life expectancy is highest in Hawaii at 80.7 years and lowest in southern Mississippi at 71.9 years.
Life expectancy in the United States is one of the lowest in industrialized countries. According to World Bank statistics, the highest figures are in Hong Kong and Japan, 85 years, and in Singapore 84. In Finland, life expectancy in 2020 was According to Duodecim (you will switch to another service) 82 years.