Although the United States had a more-than-a-year increase in life expectancy last year, it is still much lower than it was before the COVID-19 outbreak hit.
Life expectancy is a statistical metric that predicts how long someone may be expected to live.
The Statistics Throughout the Years
On Wednesday, November 29, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that the diminishing pandemic was the major cause of the 2022 increase. Life expectancy in the US is back to 77 years and six months, almost the same as 20 years ago.
With the assumption that mortality rates remain constant, life expectancy provides an approximate measure of how many years, on average, a baby born in a certain year may anticipate to survive. Nevertheless, the numbers for 2022 that were revealed on Wednesday are preliminary and may be subject to small adjustments when the calculations are completed, said AP News.
Life expectancy in the US rose a bit annually over a number of decades. Deaths from overdoses and suicides caused the tendency to level off and even fall for a few years about ten years ago.
Then the coronavirus hit, and since early 2020, over 1.1 million Americans have lost their lives. The American longevity metric fell dramatically from 78 years and ten months in 2019 to 77 years and five months in 2020 and 76 years and five months in 2021. "We basically have lost 20 years of gains," said Elizabeth Arias of the CDC.
The improvement in 2022 was driven by a decrease in COVID-19 fatalities.
Also Read : Study Finds Men Have 6-Year Shorter Life Expectancy Compared to Women Following COVID-19 Crisis
Biggest Cause of Death in the US
After cancer and heart disease, COVID-19 ranked as the third major killer in the US in 2021. It dropped to number four last year. Preliminary evidence shows that COVID-19 might wind up being the ninth or tenth biggest cause of death in 2023, with more than a month remaining in the present year.
Yet, other problems, such as drug overdose fatalities and suicides, are a problem in the US.
According to a second study issued on Wednesday by the CDC, the number of suicides in the US hit an all-time high last year, and the national suicide rate was the highest observed since 1941.
Following two significant spikes at the outset of the pandemic, drug overdose fatalities in the US increased little last year. Deaths from overdoses were projected to have gone up a little over the first half of this year.
The life expectancy in the US remains comparatively lower than that of several other nations. Its recovery was slower than in other countries, such as Sweden, France, Italy, and Spain.
