Centers for Disease Control and Prevention life expectancy COVID-19 pandemic AIAN other wealthy industrialized countries suicide high-income countries Poverty JAMA India high-income highest income Alaska wealth
In a preliminary report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that U.S. life expectancy at birth had dropped to 76.4 years in 2021 (73.2 years for men and 79.1 years for women), down 0.9 years from 2020. This was the second year of overall decline, and the chief causes listed were the COVID-19 pandemic, accidents, drug overdoses, heart and liver disease, and suicides. Life expectancy was highest among Asians and Hispanics and lowest among Blacks and American Indian–Alaskan Native (AIAN) peoples. Starting in 1998, the life expectancy in the U.S. fell behind that of other wealthy industrialized countries, and Americans' "health disadvantage" gap has been increasing ever since. The U.S. also has one of the highest suicide rates among high-income countries, which reached record levels in 2022. Approximately one-third of the U.S. adult population is obese and another third is overweight. According to CDC data, mortality rates among children and adolescents increased by 20% from 2019 to 2021. Poverty is the 4th leading risk factor for premature death in the United States annually, according to a 2023 study published in JAMA.
