Life expectancy in the United States drops yet again as drug overdose deaths continue to climb — taking more than 70,000 lives in 2017, a record high — and suicides rise, a US government report says.
The drug overdose rate rose 9.6 percent compared to 2016, while suicides climbed 3.7%, says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics.
As a result, the average life span in America — seen as a key indicator of national health and prosperity — dropped to “78.6 years, a decrease of 0.1 year from 2016,” says the report.
That puts the average American lifespan at 3.8 years shorter than Israel’s 82.4 years.
The data comes as the United States grapples with a vast opioid epidemic, fueled by addiction to prescription painkillers as well as street drugs like heroin and synthetic opioids including fentanyl.
— AFP
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