Preventable deaths
U.S. life expectancy is down for tragic reasons
It seems counterintuitive that Americans’ life expectancy should fall, given the nation’s superpower status, medical excellence and long history of giving aid to less fortunate nations.
Yet U.S. life expectancy has dropped again, for the third time in as many years, largely because of two diseases — opioids and suicide — grounded in hopelessness.
The figures, in a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are a reminder of the need to double down on the fight against opioids. They’re a reminder of the need to build a better mental health treatment system. And they’re a reminder of the need to treat the unemployment, isolation and other social problems that can lead people down the path to self-destruction.
CDC Director Robert R. Redfield had it right when he said we are “losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable.”
A person born in the U.S. last year has a life expectancy of 78.6 years, down one month from a person born in 2016 and two months from one born in 2015. But the trend wasn’t the same across all demographic groups. Death rates among young men pushed the average down, meaning interventions should be targeted for that age group. Life expectancy for women remained unchanged at 81.1 years, and it edged up a month for those 65 and older, perhaps a sign that medical advances in combating chronic diseases are paying a dividend.
The new life expectancy numbers are sad but not surprising. On Nov. 15, the CDC released a report showing suicides had increased 34 percent from 2000 to 2016 among working-age Americans. Also, opioid overdose deaths continue to decimate communities despite the wide range of strategies that have been deployed to counter them.
But suicide and opioids aren’t the only preventable deaths contributing to falling life expectancy. Flu and pneumonia also are to blame, and immunizations can help to prevent deaths from these diseases — provided people have access to health care. If health officials see spikes in flu and pneumonia deaths, they should ensure that those at risk know about flu and pneumonia shots and have the means to get them.
The CDC’s report also is an opportunity for communities to take stock of what else is ailing them. In much of the country, including Pittsburgh, that includes doing more to improve air quality; targeting obesity that leads to chronic diseases; removing lead from water, soil and homes; and making sure children get the vaccinations they need.
It’s one thing for cancer to strike down a person despite medicine’s best efforts to keep him alive. It’s another thing for communities to lose people because they couldn’t get clean air, a vaccination or help seeing the world through hopeful eyes.