Commentary: The decline in American life expectancy harms more than our health
American life expectancy started dropping even before the pandemic. It’s a critical barometer of our nation’s health and a sign that all is not well in the U.S.
Much of the increase in preventable, premature death is attributable to drug overdose, which increased five-fold over the last couple decades. But this malaise is far broader, driven largely by growing chronic illness.
Rates of depression are reaching . rates among adults have risen from 30% to 42% since the turn of the century, with severe obesity nearly doubling and driving up the risk of cardiovascular disease, of vaccine-preventable illnesses has been a concern since the 2010s. Sexually transmitted infections have in the last decade. And for the , an infectious disease, COVID-19, became one of the top three .
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