Recent data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reveals a concerning trend: life expectancy at birth in the United States experienced a significant decline, dropping nearly a year between 2020 and 2021. This decrease, from 77.0 to 76.1 years, represents the lowest average lifespan in the U.S. since 1996. When combined with the 1.8-year decrease in 2020, this marks the most substantial two-year decline in life expectancy since 1921-1923. So, What Is The Average Lifespan and what factors contribute to its fluctuation?
Declining Life Expectancy Across Demographics
The NCHS report, “Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates for 2021,” highlights the disparities in life expectancy changes across different racial and ethnic groups. The most significant drop was observed among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) populations, with a decrease of 1.9 years. In 2021, the life expectancy at birth for AIAN individuals was 65.2 years, a figure equivalent to the overall U.S. population’s life expectancy in 1944. Alarmingly, AIAN life expectancy has declined by 6.6 years between 2019 and 2021.
Non-Hispanic White individuals experienced the second-largest decline in life expectancy in 2021, with a full year decrease from 77.4 in 2020 to 76.4 in 2021. Non-Hispanic Black individuals saw a 0.7-year decrease, from 71.5 years in 2020 to 70.8 in 2021. For both of these groups, the average lifespan in 2021 reached its lowest point since 1995. The Hispanic population in the U.S. experienced a slight decrease of 0.2 years in 2021, bringing their life expectancy to 77.6 years, following a substantial 4.0-year drop from 2019 to 2020. Similarly, the life expectancy for non-Hispanic Asian individuals decreased marginally by 0.1 years in 2021, reaching 83.5 years, which remains the highest among all race/ethnic groups included in the analysis.
Gender Disparities in Average Lifespan
The report also reveals differences in life expectancy between men and women. Life expectancy at birth for women in the United States decreased by 0.8 years, from 79.9 years in 2020 to 79.1 in 2021. For men, the decrease was a full year, from 74.2 years in 2020 to 73.2 in 2021. This widened the disparity in life expectancy between men and women, increasing from 5.7 years in 2020 to 5.9 years in 2021. This gap had been narrowing from 2000 to 2010, reaching 4.8 years, but has gradually increased from 2010 to 2019, now representing the largest difference since 1996.
Key Factors Contributing to the Decline
The declines in life expectancy since 2019 are primarily attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 deaths accounted for nearly three-fourths (74%) of the decline from 2019 to 2020 and 50% of the decline from 2020 to 2021. Additionally, an estimated 16% of the decline in life expectancy from 2020 to 2021 can be attributed to increases in deaths from accidents and unintentional injuries. Drug overdose deaths represent nearly half of all unintentional injury deaths. The most recent data reported by NCHS showed more than 109,000 overdose deaths in the one-year period ending in March of 2022.
Other causes of death contributing to the decline in life expectancy from 2020 to 2021 include heart disease (4.1% of the decline), chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (3.0%), and suicide (2.1%). For men, the one-year decline in life expectancy was primarily attributed to mortality from COVID-19 (49.5% of the decline), unintentional injuries (19.1%), suicide (3.6%), chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (3.4%), and homicide (2.5%). For women, the 0.8-year decline in life expectancy was mainly attributed to mortality from COVID-19 (51.2% of the decline), unintentional injuries (14.8%), heart disease (5.7%), stroke (3.5%), and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (2.4%).
Understanding the Average Lifespan
The average lifespan, or life expectancy at birth, is a statistical measure indicating the average number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of their birth were to stay the same throughout their life. It’s a crucial indicator of a population’s health and well-being, reflecting factors such as access to healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and overall living conditions. When analyzing what is the average lifespan, it is important to note it is a dynamic metric influenced by numerous factors, and fluctuations can signal significant shifts in public health.
Conclusion
The recent decline in life expectancy in the United States is a serious concern, highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors such as drug overdoses and chronic diseases. Addressing these issues through public health initiatives, improved healthcare access, and preventative measures is crucial to reversing this trend and improving the overall health and well-being of the population. Understanding what is the average lifespan is the first step in identifying areas where improvements are needed and implementing effective strategies to promote longer, healthier lives for all Americans.
