Not only coronavirus kills: 2020 became the deadliest in US history

By the end of this year, the total number of deaths in the United States may reach 3,2 million. This is the deadliest year in US history, with deaths expected to surpass 3 million for the first time, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic, but more people are dying for other reasons as well. Writes about it CNBC.

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Final mortality data for this year will not be available for several months. But preliminary figures show the U.S. is expected to have more than 3,2 million deaths this year, or at least 400 more than in 000.

US deaths have been increasing over the past few years, but the 2020 figures are a jump of about 15% and may rise when all cases are counted. This will be the largest percentage jump in a year since 1918, when tens of thousands of American soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands of Americans died in a flu pandemic. The mortality rate that year increased by 46% compared to 1917.

Life expectancy before a pandemic

COVID-19 has killed more than 318 Americans and the death toll continues to rise. Before the advent of the coronavirus, there was hope for mortality trends in the US.

The country's overall death rate fell slightly in 2019 due to a decrease in deaths from heart disease and cancer. Life expectancy has been gradually increasing (by several weeks) for the second year in a row, according to death certificate data released Tuesday, December 22 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But life expectancy could drop by as much as three years in 2020, said Robert Anderson of the CDC.

Center specialists counted 2 deaths in the United States last year, which is almost 854 more than in 838. This is relatively good news: the number of deaths usually increases by about 16-000 annually, mainly due to the aging and increasing population of the country.

In 2019, the age-adjusted mortality rate fell by about 1%, and life expectancy rose by nearly six weeks, to 78,8 years, according to the CDC.

The coronavirus pandemic has been a contributing factor to the number of deaths this year, both directly and indirectly. COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. This virus has been the # 1 killer at certain times this year.

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But deaths from other causes also increased.

The spike in pneumonia cases earlier this year may have been linked to deaths from COVID-19, which was simply not recognized as such early in the epidemic. But there has also been an unexpected number of deaths from certain types of heart and cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia, Anderson explained.

Record number of overdose deaths

Many of these can also be associated with COVID-19. The virus could weaken patients who are already battling diseases or reduce the amount of care they receive, Anderson said.

At the start of the epidemic, some were optimistic that car crash deaths would decline as people stop commuting to work or social gatherings. There is no data on this yet, but some reports suggest that no such decline has occurred.

Experts believe that in 2019, deaths from suicides have decreased compared to 2018, but early information suggests that in 2020 it did not continue to decline.

Meanwhile, the number of drug overdose deaths has increased significantly. Even before the advent of coronavirus infection, the United States was at the epicenter of the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in history.

Data for the entire 2020 is not yet available. But last week, the CDC reported more than 81 drug overdose deaths in the 000 months ended May, the highest number ever recorded in a year.

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Experts believe the pandemic may have impacted medical care and recovery services. People are also more likely to use drugs alone - without the help of a friend or family member who can call emergency services or administer overdose medication.

But perhaps a more important factor is the drugs themselves: COVID-19 has caused supply problems for dealers, so they are increasingly mixing cheap and deadly fentanyl with heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, experts say.

“I don't think there are many new people who suddenly started using drugs because of COVID-19. Chances are, the supply for people who already use drugs has become more contaminated, ”said Shannon Monnat, a Syracuse University researcher who studies drug overdose trends.

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