Has U.S. life expectancy maxed out? Decline is first in decades
If only the good die young, Americans are unfortunately getting better.
U.S. life expectancy dipped by about a month last year from 2014, to 78.8 years, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics. It's the first decline in more than two decades. And after years of gains, U.S. life expectancy has been essentially flat for a few years, which means an inauspicious trend could be in the works.
The decline "could be a blip, but even if it’s flat, we have a real problem," Jonathan Skinner, a professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, told USA TODAY. Skinner noted that the U.S. is spending 18% of GDP on health care....
...The culprits for our declining years were increases in mortality from heart disease, chronic lower respiratory diseases, unintentional injuries, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and suicide. Not surprisingly, that group plus cancer and the flu make up the top 10 causes of death in the U.S.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/12/08/has-us-life-expectancy-maxed-out-first-decline-since-1993/95134818/
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