U.S. average life expectancy falls due to rise in suicides, drug overdoses

Suicide and drug overdose rates rose in 2017, leading to a lower average life expectancy in the United States, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control.

Life expectancy at birth was 78.6 in 2017, down from 78.7 in 2016.

In 2017, the total number of resident deaths in the U.S. was 2,813,503, an increase of 69,255 from 2016. The following groups saw a rise in the age-specific death rates: 25-34, 35-44 and 85 and over. Death rates also grew for non-Hispanic white males and females, with a minor rise in non-Hispanic black males.

There were 70,237 recorded drug overdose deaths in 2017, with the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths 9.6 percent higher than in 2016. West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania had the highest age-adjusted drug overdose rates.

“Tragically, this troubling trend is largely driven by deaths from drug overdose and suicide,” CDC director Robert Redfield said in a statement. “Life expectancy gives us a snapshot of the nation’s overall health and these sobering statistics are a wake-up call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable.”

Earlier this month, the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that the suicide rate grew 34 percent among the U.S. working age population from 2000-2016. (If you know somebody at risk of suicide, get in touch with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline online at their website or by calling 800-273-TALK.)

10 leading causes of death in the U.S.

• Heart disease

• Cancer

• Unintentional injuries

• Chronic lower respiratory diseases

• Stroke

• Alzheimer disease

• Diabetes

• Influenza and pneumonia

• Kidney disease

• Suicide

Top Life Expectancy by Country

1. Monaco (89.4)

2. Japan (85.3)

3. Singapore (85.2)

4. Macau (84.6)

5. San Marino (83.3)

6. Iceland (83.1)

7. Hong Kong (83.0)

8. Andorra (82.9)

9T. Guernsey (82.6)

9T. Switzerland (82.6)

Worst life expectancy by country

215. Mozambique (53.7)

216. Lesotho (53.0)

217T. Central African Republic (52.8)

217T. Somalia (52.8)

219. Zambia (52.7)

220T. Swaziland (52.1)

220T. Gabon (52.1)

222. Afghanistan (51.7)

223. Guinea-Bissau (51.0)

224. Chad (50.6)

Source: The World Factbook

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