The life expectancy of the USA increased last year, but in 2020 it could decrease by the largest amount since the Second World War, as Covid-19 becomes the third leading cause of death for the nation.
Data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that life expectancy rose to 78.8 years in 2019, a tenth increase in a year, marking the second consecutive year of progress on the key measure of national welfare.
The main driving factors were lower death rates due to heart disease and cancer, the number of the country. 1 and no. Two causes of death, respectively, said Robert Anderson, head of the mortality statistics branch of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The mortality rate from drug overdoses increased after falling the previous year, while the suicide mortality rate fell for the first time since 2005.
Last year’s slim gain will be offset by a significant drop in longevity when the government releases its 2020 figures next year. Mr Anderson said he had performed a simple simulation based on mortality figures through August and found that life expectancy had fallen by about 1½ years. For the entire year, he expects life expectancy to drop by two to three years.
“We’ve had a lot of deaths added since August, so I think a two- to three-year decrease for 2020 isn’t ruled out,” Mr Anderson said. He said his figures are rough estimates and the government needs comprehensive data to measure the exact impact of the pandemic on US mortality.