US life expectancy lags global peers

Editor's Note

Two recent reports highlight a widening gap in life expectancy between the US and other high-income nations. According to a December 6 article in Healio, the data point to modifiable risk factors and rising obesity rates as key contributors to what experts call a public health crisis.

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study, published in The Lancet, examined health trends across 371 diseases and 88 risk factors in the U.S. from 1990 to 2021. It forecasts that while U.S. health-adjusted life expectancy will increase slightly—from 78.3 years in 2022 to 80.4 years by 2050—its global ranking will plummet from 49th to 66th during the same period, Healio reports The decline is attributed to rising obesity rates, with over 260 million Americans projected to be affected by 2050, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Obesity is a major risk factor for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and diabetes.

Another report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health compared 2023 life expectancy data between the U.S. (78.6 years) and England and Wales (81.3 years). According to the Healio article, researchers found the 2.7-year gap is largely driven by higher U.S. death rates from CVD (38% higher), drug overdoses (3x higher), firearm-related incidents (20% of the gap), and motor vehicle crashes (6x higher). Young Americans under 25 face disproportionate risks, with firearm-related deaths nearly 486 times higher than their UK counterparts.

Researchers emphasize the need for policy-driven interventions to reverse these trends, Healio reports. Recommendations include:

• Reducing CVD through clinical and population health strategies.
• Combating drug overdoses with in-custody treatment and expanded methadone access.
• Addressing firearm violence through extreme risk protection orders and enhanced licensing laws.
• Expanding mental health services and preventive care.