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US Life Expectancy Declines For the First Time Since 1993 (washingtonpost.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Washington Post: For the first time in more than two decades, life expectancy for Americans declined last year (Warning: may be paywalled; alternate source) -- a troubling development linked to a panoply of worsening health problems in the United States. Rising fatalities from heart disease and stroke, diabetes, drug overdoses, accidents and other conditions caused the lower life expectancy revealed in a report released Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics. In all, death rates rose for eight of the top 10 leading causes of death. The new report raises the possibility that major illnesses may be eroding prospects for an even wider group of Americans. Its findings show increases in "virtually every cause of death. It's all ages," said David Weir, director of the health and retirement study at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Over the past five years, he noted, improvements in death rates were among the smallest of the past four decades. "There's this just across-the-board [phenomenon] of not doing very well in the United States." Overall, life expectancy fell by one-tenth of a year, from 78.9 in 2014 to 78.8 in 2015, according to the latest data. The last time U.S. life expectancy at birth declined was in 1993, when it dropped from 75.6 to 75.4, according to World Bank data. The overall death rate rose 1.2 percent in 2015, its first uptick since 1999. More than 2.7 million people died, about 45 percent of them from heart disease or cancer.

3 of 497 comments (clear)

  1. Re:defense versus health and human services. by quenda · · Score: 5, Informative

    The only problem (compared to other countries) with US healthcare is its outrageous cost.
    There is zero evidence that healthcare quality is to blame for the slightly lower life expectancy.

    Looking at the data, things like obesity, motor vehicle accidents and gun violence are contributors.
    Perhaps the money could be better spent on roads and nutritional education than healthcare?

  2. Re:Welcome to the Trump future... by RghtHndSd · · Score: 5, Informative

    The horrors do not end there. If Air Force one crashes into the atlantic tomorrow with both Trump and Pence on board... the presidency goes to the speaker of the House.

    The Vice President doesn't fly on Air Force One, he flies on Air Force Two. In fact, the President and Vice President don't spend much time together precisely for this reason.

  3. Re:Welcome to the Trump future... by dywolf · · Score: 5, Informative

    the US does not have the worlds most advanced medicine.
    nor does it have the best system.

    the systems in place throughout Europe are not "demonstrably inferior".

    our quality, outcomes, and life expectancy are all below average, while our costs are the highest in the world.
    most of Europe enjoys better outcomes, better quality of care, and higher life expectancies, for between 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of comparable care in the US.

    All you've done is prove you don't know what you're talking about, nor do you know the definitions of socialism or fascism.
    Again.

    --
    The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.