Los Angeles Times

Declining US life expectancy fell further in 2021 due to COVID and drug overdoses

If the length of our lives is a good measure of our well-being, the United States is in some trouble. The average life expectancy for an American born in 2021 was just shy of 76 years and 5 months — more than half a year shorter than it was in 2020, according to a new government report. It was the lowest such figure since 1996 and follows roughly a decade of stagnation in adding years to our ...
Family and friends of people who died after taking pills with fentanyl, hold signs as they protest against illicit drug availability to children on the app Snapchat near the Snap, Inc. headquarters, in Santa Monica, Californiaon Jan. 21, 2022.

If the length of our lives is a good measure of our well-being, the United States is in some trouble.

The average life expectancy for an American born in 2021 was just shy of 76 years and 5 months — more than half a year shorter than it was in 2020, according to a new government report. It was the lowest such figure since 1996 and follows roughly a decade of stagnation in adding years to our lifespans.

The numbers, released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mark the second consecutive year of decline in average life expectancy, a

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