Life expectancy has largest two-year drop in a century, new CDC data shows

The average life expectancy of Americans fell precipitously in 2020 and 2021, the sharpest two-year decline in nearly 100 years and a stark reminder of the toll exacted on the nation by the continuing coronavirus pandemic (Source: “U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Again in ‘Historic’ Setback,” New York Times, Aug. 31).

In 2021, the average American could expect to live until the age of 76, federal health researchers reported on Wednesday. The figure represents a loss of almost three years since 2019, when Americans could expect to live, on average, nearly 79 years.

While the pandemic has driven most of the decline in life expectancy, a rise in accidental deaths and drug overdoses also contributed, as did deaths from heart disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, the new report found.

Earlier this summer, HPIO released a data snapshot detailing death trends among working-age Ohioans, a major driver of lower life expectancy. “The increasing death rate for working-age Ohioans is part of a long-term trend, starting in the early 2000s, in which Ohio is doing worse than the U.S. overall,” the analysis found.