According to a new government report, the life expectancy of an American citizen fell below 76 years and 5 months in 2021 – more than 6 months less than in 2020, writes Agerpres.

This is the lowest life expectancy recorded in the US since 1996, a decline after a nearly decade-long period during which Americans’ life expectancy stagnated.

Statistics released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mark the second consecutive year of declines in life expectancy. The US has not experienced two consecutive years of declining life expectancy in more than a century, DPA notes.

The pandemic played an important role in this trend. The number of deaths related to Covid-19 increased from 350,831 in 2020 to 416,893 in 2021. Thus, this viral disease remained the third leading cause of death in the US after cardiovascular disease (695,547 deaths) and cancer (605,213 deaths).

The number of deaths from drugs has increased 5 times

However, the CDC wanted to clarify that the new coronavirus is not the only factor that has reduced the life expectancy of Americans.

According to a separate report also released Thursday by the CDC, there were 106,699 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021. By comparison, there were 91,799 such deaths in 2020.

In 2021, the number of deaths from cocaine or methamphetamine overdoses increased, but the largest increase (22%) was due to overdoses of synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl.

New data shows that drug-related deaths have increased 5-fold in the past two decades, according to the CDC.

The death rate is higher among African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans

Taking into account total mortality, last year in the USA there were 879.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, which is 5.3% more than in 2020.

In every age group, death rates continue to be higher among African-American and Hispanic men, as well as among Native American women and men.

The age at which Americans died last year helps explain the drop in life expectancy from 77 years in 2020 to 76.4 years in 2021.

The pandemic has hit the elderly in American society, especially those over 75. In 2021, the death rate among adults and young people was higher compared to 2020.

Growth of premature mortality among young people

In both 2020 and 2021, drug overdose rates were higher among adults ages 25 to 54.

When the statisticians compared the historical probability of death at each age with the death rate recorded in 2021, they concluded that the 35- to 44-year-old age group saw a 16.1% increase in premature deaths, the most important increase recorded among age groups. The death rate in the age group of 25-34 years increased by 13.4%, and in the age group from 45 to 54 years – by 12.1%.

Even in the case of children aged 1 to 4 years, mortality in 2021 was 10% higher than in 2020.

Life expectancy in the US is the same as in developing countries

Overall, American life expectancy has continued to increase since 1900, when the average American lived 47.3 years. The exception to this growth occurred in 1917 and 1918 during World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. Life expectancy then fell from 54.5 years in 1915 to 39.1 years in 1918.

The average life expectancy of Americans reached a plateau around 2000, when the number of deaths from drugs, suicide, homicide and chronic diseases began to increase. By 2010, the United States had lost its lead over other developed countries, and the life expectancy of Americans began to fall behind.

By 2020, the average life expectancy of an American newborn was 4.7 years shorter than in other developed countries such as France, Israel or South Korea, being closer to the life expectancy recorded in developing countries such as Peru or Thailand.