Life expectancy in the United States is reduced for the second year in a row

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For the second year in a row, the average life expectancy in the United States has been falling.

Prior to this, this figure has been constantly growing for more than 50 years, writes USA Today.

According to researchers, one of the reasons for the decline in life expectancy is the massive use of opioids by residents of the United States, which leads to an increase in the mortality rate among young people.

The National Center for Health Statistics released two reports on U.S. deaths on Dec. 21. One focused on common causes of death in the country, and the other focused on drug overdose deaths. The center’s specialists called the figures “very alarming.”

A child born in the United States in 2016 can expect to live 78,6 years, a reduction of more than a month from 2015 and more than two months from 2014.

This is the first decline in this indicator for two years in a row since 1962-63, when the flu epidemic caused the decrease in the projected life expectancy.

Before 2015, the last decline in projected life expectancy in the US was in 1993, and was partly due to the AIDS epidemic.

Public health experts say that the decline in life expectancy in the United States is contrary to the global trend - in recent years, life expectancy and health levels of people in most countries of the world have been constantly increasing, while this trend is observed not only in developed countries, but also in countries with low income level.

The difference in predicted life expectancy between the United States and many other countries is very large.

According to the World Health Organization, the projected life expectancy of 2015-born children in 29 countries, including Japan, Australia and Spain, was more than 80 years. The average life expectancy in the world in 2015 was 71,4 and then increased.

Statistics and forecasts for the United States look rather paradoxical: the overall mortality rates in the country in 2016 have decreased, including deaths from 7 from 10 of the biggest “killers” of Americans, including cancer and heart disease.

But life expectancy has fallen as Americans under 65 are dying more frequently.

The report of the National Center for Statistics contains encouraging news for older Americans: if you reach the 65 age, you can still live 18 for years, if you are a man and 20,6 for years, if you are a woman.

But more Americans are dying before age 65. And their biggest killer is what statistics call “unintentional injuries,” a category that covers drug overdoses, motor vehicle accidents and accidents. Mortality from these causes increased by 2016% in 9,7.

The Center's second report shows that drug overdose is the leading cause of death in this category; in 2016, 63 killed 600 people. Overdose mortality rates have tripled from 6,1 to 100 000 people in 1999 year to 19,8 in 2016 year.

From 2015 to 2016, the level of overdose-related deaths rose by 21%.

The report states that death-causing drugs increasingly include synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, heroin and other drugs.

However, the increase in opioid use is not the only reason for the decline in life expectancy in the United States. Heart diseases, which are very common in the country, also contributed to this figure, despite the fact that the mortality rate from them decreased in 2016.

In 2016, the number of deaths from suicides as well as from Alzheimer's disease increased in the United States, which also affected the predicted longevity.

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