March 6, 2023 · 7:29 AM
From NPR:
The average life expectancy for Americans is shortened by over seven months [in 2021]according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That decrease follows an already big decline of 1.8 years in 2020. As a result, the expected life span of someone born in the US is now 76.4 years — the shortest it has been in nearly two decades.
But we still have the best healthcare system in the world, right? Not if you judge it by life expectancy. From Health System Tracker:
Life expectancy in the US and peer countries generally increased from 1980-2019, but decreased in most countries in 2020 due to COVID-19. From 2020 to 2021, life expectancy at birth began to rebound in most comparable countries while it continued to decline in the US The CDC estimates life expectancy at birth in the US decreased to 76.1 years in 2021, down 2.7 years from 78.8 years in 2019 and down 0.9 years from 2020. The average life expectancy at birth among comparable countries was 82.4 years in 2021, down 0.2 years from 2019 and up 0.4 years from 2020.
Click the article links for potential explanations.
Steve Parker, M.D
PS: Healthy diet, exercise, and weight management improve longevity. Let me help.
